Everglades - National Park

Alligator at Shark Valley bike ride

We visited Everglades National Park from February 1 through February 4, 2023. The Everglades landscape is like no other - mysterious, wild and sometimes a bit scary. Without a doubt the essence of the Everglades is found in the sharp ragged edges of the sawgrass blades. Its a wilderness unknown to most outsiders that extends from the Kissimmee River to Lake Okeechobee over low lying land. This mosaic of marches, sawgrass prairies and forest is a prolific ecosystem that replenishes the aquifer for clean water in south Florida.

The Everglades became a national park in 1947. There are two main seasons in the park, wet and dry. The wet season, May through November is a time of renewal, when wildlife disperses following the flood of rainwater across the landscape. During the dry season wildlife congregates in an around the ever shrinking water sources such as ponds and gator hole. The elevation within the park is measure in inches instead of feet. Elevation defines each habitat, from the lowest freshwater marsh to the higher tropical hardwood hammocks.

Will list out the trails we hiked/biked and then outline a few highlight:

• Shark Valley Bike Trail

• Bobcat Boardwalk Trail

• Otter Cave Trail

• Anhinga Trail

• Gumbo Limbo Trail

• Pinelands Trail

• Snake Bight Trail and part of the Rowdy Bend Trail

• Bear Lake Trail

• Bayshore Loop Trail

• Parts of the Coastal Prairie Trail

The Shark Valley area and bike trail is predominantly a fresh water sawgrass prairie that annually floods to become a 30 mile wide river, known as the Shark River Slough. Its named for the bull sharks found at the mouth of the river. If you want to see alligators and migratory birds, this is the place. We took a 15 mile bike ride through this part of the park and stopped at the observation tower to go up (its the highest point in the entire park). Great fun.

Hiking the Bear Lake Trail was also fun and a great view of Bear Lake. We hiked both the old gravel road to the trail and the wooded trail itself round trip for about a 7 mile hike. The old road runs parallel Buttonwood Canal which was a great view while hiking.

Of course Snake Bight Trail and the Bayshore Loop Trail were also fun. Snake Bight ends at the edge of Florida Bay so its cool to see the Bay. A good portion of the Bayshore Loop Trail also runs along side Florida Bay making for some good photos and a nice breeze for a hot day of hiking.

Our last day in the park we visited the Nike Missile Site HM-69 and we were pleasantly surprised. The base was built in 1964 at the height of the Cold War, immediately following the Cuban Missile Crises. At a time when national security against Soviet attack was America’s main priority this site was chosen within Everglades National Park to launch defensive missiles. Located 160 miles from Cuba the base was set up to launch anti-aircraft missiles (including nuclear missiles). The volunteers do a good job of telling you the history of the site, its purpose and the key features of the missiles. There is an actual non-armed nuclear missile on site to see.

Everglades is an awesome park and this one is a must.