Head to Everglades City to find alligators, Swamp Apes, and a disappearing way of life.
Florida take pack . There ’s the northern part , which culturally qualify as the Deep South . Orlando is theLand of the Mouseand its many exurbs are primarily characterized by the strip mall . Then there ’s Miami , which is basically its own country within a country — sort of like Vatican City but withgreat foodand vaguely terrify highway driving .
Just 90 minutes south of that urban center is what many cite to as the last large flake of wild in the US , and for secure reasonableness . The Everglades boast anational parkand two wildlife preserves within minutes of each other , as well as something for every adventuresome traveler , no matter of their comfort with or around alligators . More physically active tourists can kayak down the Turner River , and people who just want a distanced peak of thebeautiful local faunahave their choice of well - maintained trails and boardwalk to peer off of , as well as a plethora of airboat tours at their disposition .
skirt by that surface area of nature is Everglades City , a tiny stretch of a town that has admittedly seen better days due to a 1985 ban on commercial fishing and its aftereffect . But as the largest wetland in the body politic with endless opportunities for adventure , those who are unforced to take the trek will still be vastly pay back .
Photo courtesy of Wooten’s Everglades Airboat Tours
Travel time:
1 hour and 45 minutes from Miami1 hour and 40 minutes from Fort Myers50 hour from Naples
If you don’t do anything else: Kayak the Turner River
Tod Dahlke is a former manufacturer for MTV who grow up in Fort Myers . After a career in Hollywood , he moved to Everglades City back in 2009 , bought a couple of kayak , and set up what is one of the best bang - for - your - buck tour groups in the surface area . For a mere hundred buck and modification , he or one of his knowledgeable guides will take you and a friend down a leisurely trip on the Turner River , which runs all the way out to the Gulf of Mexico , although you wo n’t go quite that far .
Instead , you ’ll paddle ( or , more likely , just sort - of rudder using one half of the paddle ) for a leisurely 1.5 geographical mile while stopping to snoop alligators , bromeliads , and Blue Herons ( which are , shockingly enough , a predator to alligator ) . In all , it takes about three or four hours , and you may check off tons of wildlife sighting on your Everglades bucket leaning . If you need to see an alligator up close while chatting with naturalist and local booster station who sleep together their stuff , this is the way to do it . Dahlke might not be a manufacturer anymore , but he knows how to manufacture a Florida experience that ’s unforgettable throughTour the Everglades .
Fill Your Days
Outdoor activities in Everglades City
visitor will come out seeing dozens of billboards for airboat tours about 45 moment out . ButWooten’sis one of the oldest manipulator in the area , dating back to 1953 . It ’s now owned by a family of proportional newcomers who move to the Glades in the other 2000s , but this inflow of capital and new blood does n’t mean that Wooten ’s has lost its charm or credibleness — far from it . Your captain will most in all likelihood be someone who grew up on the piddle , though they will now have been indorse by the Coast Guard . Wooten ’s offers a variety of tours , all of which center around a drive through a belt of in private owned swamp . Give the experience about two hours , plus a little more if you make up one’s mind you want to do a self - guided boost on their boardwalk . Oh , and included with all packet is the chance to harbour a babe alligator . possibly a little hokey , but in spades up - close - and - personal .
If you ’re coming from Naples rather than Miami , it ’s worth stopping atCorkscrew Swamp Sanctuary , which is home to the large bald cypress tree endure in the domain . Its history set out in the 1950s , when unregulated logging had all but destroyed this native tree , which was desirable during Florida ’s development gold rush for its relatively suave wood . sense the theory of extermination , the then - chairwoman of the Audubon Society grease one’s palms 13,000 acres and converted them into a park with a 2.25 - mi boardwalk that you’re able to tour with guides like Arnie Collins , who ’s go to bed here from Detroit and screw the Western Everglades as well as any bear - and - raised naturalist . cosmopolitan admission is $ 17 , and Sunday tours are offered by four different people who all put their own twirl on the park .
Meanwhile , you ’re look for something a little less commercial once you ’re in town , Kent Daniels is a tenth - generation local who served both state and federal time during South Florida ’s stack - running epoch ( check the documentarySquare Grouperbefore visiting to get a sense of how the drug swap affected this area ) . Now he ’s a all-fired good private sportfishing scout and amateur historian who knows the Ten Thousand Islands like the back of his hand and will arrange you up to cod Pisces for snook and snapper . If nothing else bites besides ladyfish — not good eating — you’re able to at least flow the eternal rest of your runt to the many brown pelicans that be near where he docks for a unspoiled show . He range his sauceboat out of nearby Chokoloskee and can be touch viaemail .
Arts, culture, and shopping in Everglades City
TheMuseum of the Evergladesis one of five detached local museums , and by far the enceinte . The guy running it is originally from Wisconsin , but like many Northerners before him , he ’s turned his fascination with this squashy wild into both an spare-time activity and a passion . It ’s a great place to study about the chronicle of the Calusa kin , the Spanish IE who come in later ; the Collier family , after which the county is nominate ; and the local Gladesman civilisation that still make do to persevere despite every imaginable challenge .
Meanwhile , theSkunk anthropoid Headquartersin Ochopee ( another teeny tiny community that is basically synonymous with Everglades City ) is one of thegreat roadside attractionsin America . For those who do n’t know , the titulary cryptid is kind of like the Florida version of BigFoot . The owner , Dave Shealey , take to have 60 prints from the creature in his collection and spends five months out of the year looking for more . Besides putting in 10 to 12 miles per night , he ’s also hazard animation and limb to spread awareness about the Skunk copycat . “ Logistically , you ’re pop off to get off on an gator at least once when you ’re doing that much walk out there , ” he says . “ That ’s just the legal philosophy of averages . ” Not that he ’s afraid of critter — a 400 - Irish punt reticulated python named Goldie also lives there .
Meanwhile , theSmallwood Storeis a marvel of engineering that has survived more hurricane than you could count . They ’ll charge you a few bucks to get in and it ’s not much more than a souvenir shop and quasi museum , but it ’s deserving it to hear the taradiddle of how the country ’s infamous serial cause of death was taken out by a sack team behind back . There ’s tons of good South Florida chronicle books and fable on offering , as well as souvenirs that showcase quirky local storey .
Photo by Alfonso Duran for Thrillist
Eat, Drink, and Sleep
Restaurants and bars in Everglades City
TheRod & Gun Clubis probably the most historic place in Everglades City besides the Smallwood Store . It ’s not the best place to get food in town — you’ll require to go somewhere that trade seafood new off the sauceboat for that — but it ’s deserving have a beer at the hotel bar so as to catch a glimpse of the Sir Henry Wood - paneled walls and taxidermy . Several chairperson and Ernest Hemingway all visited back when Florida was fundamentally a one - stop workshop to fill up one ’s human race spelunk . Bears , alligators , cougar — everything was on the table for the dauntless sport back in the Clarence Shepard Day Jr. — and this is where you could see some of their despoilment .
Camilla Street Cafeis a better option for lunch . It ’s one of a fistful of places to sample local seafood , even if it ’s a little bit on the expensive side . But that ’s equality - for - the - course . Everglades City is jolly removed , so expect everything to be about four dollars more than you might pay commonly . There ’s alsoJoanie ’s Blue Crab Cafe , which is the oldest standing building in the Everglades and has the stories and menu ( conceive frog legs and lima bean stew ) to prove it . If you ’re not looking for atmosphere , it ’s much chintzy to get stone crabs wholesale atGrimm ’s Stone Craband eat them under the covered pavilion and McLeod Park .
For those sick of seafood , HavAnnA Cafeis a charming Cuban restaurant that ’s technically locate in Chokoloskee , which was its own island until a causeway was work up to colligate it to Everglades City back in the ‘ 50s . But do n’t worry — it ’s only about six min away by cable car . It ’s now owned by Carlos and Dulce Valdes who are endeavour to make this arena more of a destination for sunny tourists . Start the day with a cafecito and some empanadas , or a beer and a shell of mojo pork served with rice , beans , and maduros when it ’s time to watch the sun set . Stone crabs are usable when in season here , too , if you ’re the kind of person who never gets sick of seafood .
Photo by Alfonso Duran for Thrillist
Lastly , there ’s a coffee bar counter calledNely ’s Cornerthat sells very decent coffee , charmer , and sandwich to take out on whatever boating excursion you ’re manoeuvre toward . It ’s inside the local bait shop / outfitters / one - stop - shop class , where you may also sit and enjoy a $ 5 slice of Key Lime Pie before you fill up up your tank and head back down the Tamiami Trail toward whichever airport you flew into .
Where to stay in Everglades City
If you ’re loose to camping and want to experience the Everglades up - close - and - personal , Panther Key is the place to do it . You ’ll need a guide to get there , and a backcountry pass to bide , but it ’s deserving it to get to one of the only berth in Florida where you ’ll get a exculpated perspective of the stars at nighttime . This is a similar experience to one you could have in the Dry Tortugas National Park , but it ’s much leisurely to get here than it is to the third - least - visit commons in the system , which is only accessible via an expensive ferry .
For more traditional accommodations , theIvey Houseis a good stead to prove , fix right on the main puff for loose access to whatever activities get you here in the first billet . Those willing to drop a little more should tryEverglades Isle , which put up more amenities like a puddle , billiards , and pickleball court .
Smallwood Store|Photo by Patrick Connolly/Orlando Sentinel/Getty Images
Photo courtesy of Joanie’s Blue Crab Cafe
Photo by Photo by Alfonso Duran for Thrillist
