Only have one day to spend in Everglades National Park? You can see some amazing things when only taking a few trails. Everglades National Park made it into the top 4 parks visited in 2022. After our visit, we can see why! Our favorite thing? The wildlife!
We loved the wildlife but the ecosystem at Everglades National Park is beautiful and unlike anything, we have ever seen. Everglades National Park is a unique landscape, and it is the only one of the two remaining Everglades that we have left in the world! The Everglades spans approximately 1.5 million acres in South Florida. Which is even more shocking considering that they used to be much larger than this! Only half of the Everglades ecosystem remains today.
Not only is it beautiful to see, but the national park is preserving unique geographic features and wildlife. The ecosystem here is fragile and one of those reasons is that Lake Okeechobee is not receiving clean water as it used to. There are 36 endangered species, 300 species of fish, 350 species of birds, 40 species of mammals, and 50 species of reptiles within the park.
When we saw we saw wildlife, we truly mean it! We are going to show you the best shots we captured that day but there were so many animals we didn’t capture. Turtles and fish were hard to capture under the water; however, we saw several!
We visited in March 2023 which is considered dry season within the park. The average high temperature is 80 degrees. During our visit, it was around 75 degrees, and the sun was beating down. Make sure to pack plenty of sunscreen and water! The Everglades off-season is considered November-April.
Everglades National Park has an entrance fee of $35.00 which will last seven days. You can also use your America the Beautiful Pass which we highly recommend if you intend to visit at least 3 national parks within the year that have an entrance fee.
Hiking
We started off the trip by doing a hike on the Anhinga Trail. This is where we saw all the wildlife! If you want to see a lot of amazing wildlife… this is the trail for you! If you do nothing else, make sure you do this trail! The trail is mainly on the boardwalk and is approximately 0.8 miles round trip. The average person can hike this in under 30 minutes; however, if you want to stop to capture all the wildlife, I suggest allotting yourself at least 45 minutes to an hour. The best time to see wildlife is before 10:00 in the morning.
This is also a popular and busy trail so the earlier you can visit, the better. We thought we wouldn’t see an alligator on this hike as we were coming to an end but on our way back, we saw one basking in the sun! Maybe hike a second time to make sure you see everything!
We also hiked the Gumbo Limbo Trail which is close to the Anhinga Trail; however, the hikes are completely different! They are both worth checking out. Gumbo Limbo does provide shade because you will be walking under a hammock of gumbo limbo trees. The trail is only 0.5 miles through a paved hardwood hammock where you can see some amazing flora.
Other hikes that we did not complete which are options are the Pinelands Trail, Pahayokee Overlook, and Mahogany Hammock Trail.
What Should You do if You See an Alligator?
This was my thought too. While I wanted to see an alligator in the wild… I was also nervous. Therefore, I researched the topic to ease my anxiety. Alligators are naturally afraid of humans. This is a good thing as they are more likely to retreat away from you versus approach you. However, please keep your distance as you can never predict how wildlife will react. Back away from the alligator slowly if you come into close contact. I know you want that picture as badly as we did! However, you must make sure you are doing this at a safe distance. We have a long-lens camera… so we weren’t as close as it appears! While it is rare that alligators will chase people, they can run up to 35 miles an hour but only for short distances. If you were to be chased, there is no need to run in a zig-zag line… run straight and as fast as you can for as long as you can. The alligator won’t be able to run as far of a distance as most humans.
More Wildlife
Where to Eat
We grabbed a smoothie for breakfast at Robert is Here Fruit Stand. We ordered a mango pineapple smoothie, and it was amazing! This is way more than just a fruit stand and it is so close to Everglades National Park. We truly believe that this stop is a must-do!
When I say it is more than a fruit stand… I mean it has an animal farm, a play area, and picnic tables. Outside of the extras, there are tons of fruit (shocker). There are very well-known fruits but there are also rare and exotic fruits and vegetables. Even cooler? They grow most of them right on-site.
Another unique experience was our lunch at the Gator Grill. This is an obvious must-do! You are at Everglades National Park where you can see gators… of course, that’s what you’re having for lunch! We had the stir fry and a burger which were both delicious.
We hope this helped you plan your trip to Everglades
National Park! Please feel free to connect with us on Instagram for any
follow-up questions or drop a comment below. Safe travels y’all! – Justin &
Caitlin