Park Overview
Everglades National Park is the largest National Park in the contiguous United States, following Death Valley and Yellowstone. Additionally, it is the largest tropical wilderness in the United States. The park protects the original southern 20% of the Everglades, which is a network of wetlands and forests being fed by Lake Okeechobee. The Everglades are home to dozens of birds, the Florida panther, manatees, crocodiles, mangroves ecosystems, among many other animals and plants.
Getting to the Everglades
The Everglades are located on the southern tip of Florida. Unless you already live in Florida, it’s quite the trip to make in a car. Miami is the obvious city to fly into since it is only an hour from the park. Also, it is not a
I recommend staying in the town of Homestead, which is 40 minutes from Miami and only 20 minutes from the Ernst F. Coe Visitor Center. It’s also only 20 minutes from Biscayne National Park, in case you were also interested in going there.
I stayed in Homestead because visiting the parks was the point of my trip. However, many people stay in Miami and do day trips to the Everglades and Biscayne. This is a great option, but since I didn’t spend any time in Miami, I won’t be much help with where to stay.
Fees & Cancellation Stamp
It cost $30 per private vehicle to enter the Everglades. It is $25 for motorcycles and $15 for pedestrians/cyclists/paddle-craft. All passes are good for 7 consecutive days. If you are coming in a large group or as part of a tour bus, click here for your specific entrance fee information.
Cancellation stamps can be found at all 4 visitor centers and also the Royal Palms gift shop.
Time Required in the Everglades
You can see the main parts of the Everglades in one full day. However, if you plan on doing the Shark Valley Tram Tour or other activities like kayaking or an airboat tour, you will need 2 days. This is mostly because of the drive time between excursions and the times they are offered during the day. If you plan on doing any full day excursions you’ll have to add days accordingly.
Camping in the Everglades
There are two main campgrounds in the Everglades: Flamingo and Long Pine Key.
Flamingo Campground is open year-round and located in the Flamingo section of the park, which is in the southern tip. It has 65 RV only sites, 274 tent only sites, and 40 sites that you can walk or boat to. It offers electric hookups, solar-heated showers, dump stations, picnic tables, and grills. Fees range from $27-55 per night depending on when you go and and what type of site you stay at.
Long Pine Key is open seasonally from November to May. There are 108 RV only sites and 108 tent only sites. Although there are no electric hookups, there are showers and flush toilets available. Fees range from $27-55 per night depending on when you go and and what type of site you stay at.
Lodging & food in Homestead
If you would like more amenities than camping can provide for your visit to the Everglades, I recommend staying in a hotel or AirBnB in Homestead. Homestead is only a 20 minute drive to the Ernst F. Coe Visitor Center (and Biscayne National Park!) and has a lot of great restaurants. There are also plenty of shopping options if you forget something. One of the biggest perks of Homestead is that there are no toll roads like there are in Miami!
I stayed in an AirBnB and never really researched hotels, so I don’t have any specific suggestions for lodging. I also bought groceries and packed lunches/cooked all my dinners. However, there are a few places I stopped for snacks!
Robert is Here Fruit Stand
This place is a must if you are coming to the Everglades. They sell a wide variety of local and exotic fruits, veggies, and other produce. They also sell other items like jams, spices, and sauces. The best part of the fruit stand are their famous fruit milkshakes. (I got the Guanabana flavor!).
In the back there is an huge area to sit and enjoy your shakes, along with a little animal farm where you can feed the animals. Some days they even have live music. If you have kids you could easily spend 1-2 hours here.
Gator Grill
I saw this pop up as a suggestion on every website, blog, and YouTube channel I used to plan this trip. It turns out alligator is expensive, so I just got grilled gator bites as a snack. They were good! They also sell gator burgers and tacos.
Everglades Visitor Centers
Ernst F. Coe
I consider Ernst F. Coe the main visitor center because unless you come from the gulf coast, you have to pass it to see the rest of the park. Inside there is a park film, some nice displays, and a gift shop. There is a deck on the back where you can look out into the Everglades. If you’re lucky you might see some gators!
Royal Palm
Royal Palm is not technically a visitor center, it is more-so a popular area of the park that is about 10 minutes away from the Ernst F. Coe Visitor Center. There is no ranger desk but there are restrooms and a small gift shop. Also, a few of the most popular walking trails and ranger programs start from this parking lot.
Shark Valley
I loved the Shark Valley area! The most popular thing to do at this visitor center is the Shark Valley Tram Tour, which is a 2 hour guided tour around the 15 mile loop in the Shark Valley area. Biking the loop is also very popular because you can take your time and see more wildlife. Don’t worry, there are bicycle rentals on site! Minus a few short trails, the loop is the main part of this section of the park. Make sure to spend time at the Observation Tower, which is at the halfway point on the loop.
Flamingo
The main thing to do in the Flamingo area is water activities: kayaking, canoeing, and air boat tours. There’s also a marina and accompanying convenience store. The visitor center is currently closed for renovations, but there is a temporary portable set up where rangers can answer questions and a small gift shop. This is a neat area and I’m glad I spent the afternoon here, but if you don’t want to do anything in the water, it might not be worth the drive.
Gulf Coast
This is the only visitor center I didn’t visit. It wasn’t close to my AirBnB and is largely under water. All the same activities are offered in the Flamingo area, so I chose to skip this part of the park. But if you’re coming from the Tampa or Fort Myers area, definitely stop and take a kayaking trip!
Must-do’s in the Everglades
- Do the guided ranger talk on the Anhinga Trail
- Take the Shark Valley Tram Tour (or bike the loop)
- Climb to the top of the Shark Valley Observation Tower
- Visit the Pa-hay-okee Overlook
- Hike the Mahogany Hammock Trail
- Kayak in the Flamingo area
Know before you go
I took my trip to South Florida in June/July, which are not the best months to visit. The heat and humidity did not bother me, but the mosquitos were terrible. It was hard to enjoy the Everglades. Not to mention a good many trails were closed due to it being the off-season. However, the purpose of the trip was Dry Tortugas, which I wanted to do in June. The Everglades were really just a check off the ol’ list. If the Everglades are important to you, consider visiting during the peak months (November-April) so you can get the full experience!
Last Updated: September 4, 2022