TheAmericanTravelProject
Level 2 Member
Everglades National Park with Kids
We visited Everglades National Park in South Florida in December of 2013 during our Christmas/New Years/Winter break from school. It was the perfect time of year for a visit. The weather was beautiful, and we were not bombarded by mosquitoes as is common in warmer months. Although the crowds are said to be higher at this time of year, we practically felt like we had the park to ourselves much of the time. Because Everglades National Park is the third largest in the National Park system (after Yellowstone and Death Valley), it feels vast and there are many places to explore (just watch out for the alligators!).
We started our visit from Marco Island, where we were spending 4 nights (you can read more about that part of the trip here). We spent the day driving through Everglades National Park via the Tamiami Trail (41/90 as seen on the map), stopping at many places along the way.
Our Route from Marco Island through Everglades National Park
There are several places to enter the park, but because we were coming from the West, our first stop was at the Gulf Coast Visitor Center in Everglades City. Here you can book various boat tours and grab your Junior Ranger packets and park maps. You can also get the schedule for Ranger-led programs. We attended one about dolphins that was interesting. We didn’t take a boat tour because we had just splurged on a boat rental the day before, so our goal was to keep our costs for the day on the low end.
As we drove along the route, we stopped at various places that were marked on our park map. There are boardwalks and viewing platforms throughout the park, so that visitors can get a look at the wildlife without getting dangerously close. There are places to get dangerously close though, so keep a close eye on the toddlers, if you have any.
One of the boardwalk viewing platforms in Everglades National Park
As we drove along the Tamiami Trail, we wondered how easy it would be to spot alligators and other wildlife. Searching for gators is a highlight of an Everglades National Park trip with kids, so I was hoping we would not be disappointed. We saw lots of interesting birds, but weren’t having much luck spotting anything else. Then we came to the section called the Loop Road.
Loop Road, Everglades National Park
The first part of the Loop Road drive was eerie. There was not a sign of another human anywhere, and the landscape was kind of creepy. We took a short hike and ate a picnic lunch. And we came across this sign, which made us feel even more creeped out:
But we kept going anyway
As we continued to drive, the scenery started to change. The shift was dramatic, as we started to see the swampy waters among the trees. There were tons of birds everywhere. We aren’t bird lovers or anything, but we were impressed by the variety and unique looks of the birdlife here. It was so quiet, except for the different sounds that all of the birds were making (oh, and the occasional fight between the kids). This ended up being my favorite part of the park. So peaceful. We even started spotting lots of alligators along the way.
Cypress Swamp on Loop Road
We started spotting tons of alligators everywhere!
As we were coming toward the end of Loop Road, we started seeing houses along the way. At one particular house, we saw a guy standing on the side of the road with a huge snake wrapped around his neck. So we did what any morons tourists would do. We stopped and rolled down the window to ask him what was up with the snake. He told us that it was a poisonous snake & that he catches them (with his bare hands, as he demonstrated) and removes them from people’s gardens. I still can’t decide if he was messing with us, and I also can’t figure out what possessed us to roll down the windows.
Our next major stop was at the Shark Valley Visitor Center. This is where we found a ridiculous amount of alligators. They were so close to the walkway that it seemed as if they were placed there as props. We had to remind ourselves that these were actually real, live, dangerous animals. Again, watch your toddlers, please. Our kids were old enough to get close, but not too close. Although as I look at our photos I can’t believe we got that close.
Not so sure this was a great idea, in hindsight. Luckily the alligators were docile.
At the Shark Valley Visitor Center you can take a tram ride, rent bikes, or walk along the trails. We were too late to get a reservation on the tram, so we chose to walk along the trails. Again we were able to spot lots of birds (and of course, the alligators).
We really enjoyed the day that we spent visiting Everglades National Park with the kids. They loved seeing the alligators so up close and personal. I think that visiting during the wintertime made the trip much more enjoyable than it would have been had it been hot and humid with millions of bugs everywhere. I’m sure we will be back at some point, as Florida is one of our favorite places to go, and I’d like to go to the parts of the park that we did not get to see on our one day visit.
The post Everglades National Park with Kids appeared first on The American Travel Project.
Continue reading...