In 1947, Marjory Stoneman Douglas published her book titled The Everglades: River Of Grass, the description she bestowed upon the shallow, slow-moving sheet of water flowing through and over the grasses, forests, and prairies of this south Florida landscape. Congress formally dedicated this as a national park in 1947, the same year as Douglas’ book.  

Native Americans have lived and hunted this land since 1,000 B.C. and men of European ancestry known as “Gladesmen,” hunted, fished, and lived here. These peoples loved the land, understood its vagaries, and relied upon Everglades’ abundant resources to sustain them while most others thought the terrain totally worthless - a waste of space which, if dry, would be better suited for farming and residential housing. After all, this landscape of wetlands was swampy and prone to flooding, filled with toothy alligators and crocodiles, venomous spiders and snakes, and hordes of blood-sucking mosquitoes out to get you. That was the misconception, back then.

Efforts were made to drain and manage this geography by constructing levees, canals, and other water control structures. The results damaged both Everglades’ ecosystems and the myriad species living there. Conservationists and environmentalists realized something needed to be done to preserve this unique southern Florida landscape.

According to park staff:

With the support of many early conservationists, scientists, and other advocates, Everglades National Park was established in 1947 to conserve the natural landscape and prevent further degradation of its land, plants, and animals. Although the captivation of the Everglades has mostly stemmed from its unique ecosystem, an alluring human story of the Everglades is deeply interwoven with its endless marshes, dense mangroves, towering palms, alligator holes, and tropical fauna. Various groups and people navigated through and wrestled with the watery landscape to make it home, and even to exploit its natural wonder at times.

Today, at Everglades, you can discover the park’s rich and varied ecosystems while biking, camping, hiking, and/or embarking on a commercially-guided tour or ranger program for a "slough slog" or "wet walk" to learn about the unique wildlife and plant life of hardwoods, mangroves, prairies, coastal lowlands, and marine and estuarine environments. You can also explore the park from a watery perspective while motorboating and paddling are great ways to explore the Everglades. You can even rent a houseboat and bring along the comforts of home while motoring the park’s waterways and coastline. Experience the solitude of the 99-mile (159.3-kilometer) Wilderness Waterway or test your angling skills with rod and reel. Fishing is one of the most popular activities within the park. Nearly 300 different species of fish are known to inhabit the freshwater marshes and marine coastline, so bring your rod and reel (and fishing license). You might pull up snapper, sea trout, redfish, bass, bluegill, or catfish for dinner.

Bring your binoculars and camera, because Everglades is a birder’s paradise. From flamingos to flycatchers to herons to hummingbirds to harriers, it’s a guarantee you’ll spot many of the 360 species of birds living there or migrating through. You might also spy one or more of the 40 mammal species (including the gentle manatee), 17 species of amphibians, 50 distinct kinds of reptiles, and the thousands of insects, spiders, centipedes, and millipedes found within this national park – some charismatic, some creepy, and all amazing. As a matter of fact, there are so many no one knows the exact number and no park-wide inventory has been carried out, to date.

There is a "wet season" and a "dry season" in Everglades National Park. Most people visit during the dry season (November - April), when the temperatures are lower with less humidity, there's a proliferation of wildlife, and those pesky mosquitoes are fewer in number. The south Florida climate combines mild and tropical temperatures for an explosion of plant life, as well. You might see one or more species of exotic bromeliads, orchids, colorful wildflowers, lichens, grasses, marine plants, and unique cacti and succulents including the “Queen of the Night” cactus which booms only at night. You will also find what the park terms “problem plants:” invasive, non-native species crowding out the native plants of the park and threatening other areas beyond the park’s borders.

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While much work and billions of dollars have been spent to restore the natural flow of the "river of grass" from Lake Okeechobee to Florida Bay, a rejuvenation that should pay huge benefits to the park's flora and fauna, on-the-ground battles continue against invasive predators that have been robbing the park of its small mammals and nonnative vegetation that has overwhelmed portions of the mesmerizing sawgrass prairie.

Everglades was the last stop in a nearly yearlong journey by the National Parks Traveler's editors and writers to gain a better understanding not just of the invasion of nonnative intruders on the National Park System's landscapes, but to learn steps National Park Service personnel and contractors are taking in the battle and the successes they are seeing.

To read more of this article, head over to this page. 

Encompassing 1.5 million acres (>600,000 hectares) stretching over the southern portion of Florida, Everglades has a northern section and a southern section, but no road linking them. There are three different entrances to this park via three different cities. The northern section is accessible via Miami or Everglades City, and the southern section may be reached through Homestead.

The park’s size, along with the variety of outdoor activities invite more than just a day of exploration, so, it’s nice you can lodge or camp right next to the park at Homestead, or in Florida City, each about 9-10 miles (14.5 – 16.1 kilometers) from the park’s Homestead Entrance. You can also find plenty of hotel/motel-type lodging in Miami and its suburbs some 40 miles (64.4 kilometers) from the park.

With so much acreage to Everglades, it might be a little overwhelming trying to decide where to go, how to get there, and what to do. The pages below will help you get a jump start with planning.

Traveler’s Choice For: Birds, fishing, botanicals, paddling, photography