©Lonely Planet Publications Pty Ltd The Everglades Why Go? Everglades National The Everglades truly make South Florida unique, even more Park ...............................137 so than Miami. Called the ‘River of Grass’ by its initial Native Tamiami Trail .................137 American inhabitants, this is not just a wetland, or a swamp, Homestead to or a lake, or a river or a prairie, or a grassland – it is all of the Flamingo Point ..............146 above, twisted together into a series of soft horizons, long Biscayne National vistas, sunsets that stretch across your entire fi eld of vision Park .............................. 150 and the creeping grin of a large population of dinosaur-era reptiles. When you watch anhinga fl exing their wings before break- ing into a corkscrew dive, or the slow, Jurassic fl ap of a great Best Places to Eat blue heron gliding over its domain, or the sun kissing miles » Robert is Here (p 147 ) of unbroken saw grass as it sets behind humps of skeletal » Joannie’s Blue Crab Café cypress domes, you’ll have an idea of what we’re speaking of. (p 144 ) In a nation where natural beauty is measured by its capacity for drama, the Everglades subtly, contentedly fl ows on. » JT’s Island Grill & Gallery (p 145 ) » Rosita’s (p 148 ) » Oyster House (p 145 ) W h e n t o G o Best Places to Everglades City Stay °C/°F Te m p Rainfall inches/mm 40/104 8/200 » Everglades International 30/86 6/150 Hostel (p 147 ) » Everglades City Motel 20/68 4/100 (p 145 ) 10/50 2/50 » Ivey House Bed & Breakfast (p 145 ) 0/32 0 J FDNOSAJJMAM » Wilderness Camping (p 150 ) Dec–Mar Dry Apr–Jun Jul–Nov Lots » Rod & Gun Club Lodge season: top wild- Although the of heat, lots of (p 145 ) life viewing along weather gets bugs and (except watercourses, but pretty hot, there’s October and No- some kayaking a good mix of vember) chances will be difficult. water and wildlife. of hurricanes. EVERGLADES NATIONAL 137 PARK Tamiami Trail Calle Ocho, in Miami’s Little Havana Although the grassy waters – the Everglades (p 85 ) happens to be the eastern end of the ecosystem – extend outside Everglades Na- Tamiami Trail/US 41, which cuts through the tional Park (the third-largest in continental Everglades to the Gulf of Mexico. So go west, USA), you really need to enter the park to ex- young traveler, along US 41, a few dozen perience it. There are three main entrances miles and several diff erent worlds away from and three main areas of the park: one along the city where the heat is on. This trip leads the southeast edge near Homestead and you onto the northern edges of the park, past Florida City (Ernest Coe section); at the long landscapes of fl ooded forest, gambling central-north side on the Tamiami Trail halls, swamp-buggy tours, roadside food PARK NATIONAL EVERGLADES THE EVERGLADES (Shark Valley section); and a third at the shacks and other Old Florida accoutrements. northwest shore (Gulf Coast section), past Past Hialeah, Miami fades like a trail of di- Everglades City. The Shark Valley and Gulf minishing Starbucks until…whoosh…it’s all Coast sections of the park come one after huddled forest, open fi elds and a big canal the other in geographic succession, but the off to the side (evidence of US 41’s diversion Ernest Coe area is entirely separate. At all of of the Glades’ all-important sheet fl ow). The these entrances you’ll pay $10 for a vehicle surest sign the city is gone and the Glades pass, or $5 if you’re a cyclist, both of which have begun is the Confederate fl ag decals on TAMIAMI TRAIL are good for entrance for seven consecutive Pit BBQ (p 144 ). The empty road runs past days into any entrance in the park. the Miccosukee Resort & Convention These entrances allow for two good road Center (%305-925-2555, 877-242-6464; www trips from Miami. The fi rst choice is heading .miccosukee.com; 500 SW 177th Ave; r Dec-Mar/Apr- Nov $150/120; aW). It’s essentially a casino- west along the Tamiami Trail, past the Mic- cosukee reservation and Shark Valley, all the hotel complex full of slot machines and way to Everglades City, the Gulf Coast and folks chunking coins into them – not really an ecological wonderland. Rooms have at- the crystal waters of the 10,000 Islands. tractive geometric Native American designs The other option is to enter at Ernest Coe worked into the furniture, but again, there’s and take Hwy 9336 to Flamingo through the no need to stay here unless you’re gambling. most ‘Glades-y’ landscape in the park, with As you head west you’ll see fi elds and unbroken vistas of wet prairie, big sky and fi elds of pine forest and billboards advertis- long silences. ing swamp tours. Airboats tours are an old- 8 Getting There & Away school way of seeing the Everglades (and The largest subtropical wilderness in the conti- there is something to be said for getting a nental USA is easily accessible from Miami. The tour from a raging Skynyrd fan with killer Glades, which comprise the 80 southernmost tatts and better camo), but there are other miles of Florida, are bound by the Atlantic Ocean ways of exploring the park as well. to the east and the Gulf of Mexico to the west. The Tamiami Trail (US Hwy 41) goes east–west, SHARK VALLEY parallel to the more northern (and less interest- 1Sights & Activities ing) Alligator Alley (I-75). Shark Valley PARK ( %305-221-8776; www.nps.gov/ever/planyourvisit/ 8 Getting Around svdirections; car/cyclist $10/5; h8:30am-6pm) You need a car to properly enter the Everglades Shark Valley sounds like it should be the and once you’re in, wearing a good pair of walk- headquarters for the villain in a James Bond ing boots is essential to penetrate the interior. movie, but it is in fact a slice of National Having a canoe or kayak helps as well; these can Park Service grounds heavy with informative be rented from outfi ts inside and outside of the signs and knowledgeable rangers. Shark Val- park, or else you can seek out guided canoe and ley is located in the cypress-and-hardwood- kayak tours. Bicycles are well suited to the fl at roads of Everglades National Park, particularly and-riverine section of the Everglades, a in the area between Ernest Coe and Flamingo more traditionally jungly section of the park Point, but they’re useless off the highway. In than the grassy fi elds and forest domes sur- addition, the road shoulders in the park tend to rounding the Ernest Coe visitor center. A be dangerously small. 15-mile/24km paved trail takes you past continued on p142.