Everglades - Miami travel tips & trip planner - Miami trips guide
The Everglades National Park has a number of trails which are short and handicapped accessible too. Do not miss the Anhinga Trail - we captured a bird eating a fish on video. You can also see alligators, fish etc. The Alligator farm has its own reptiles as seen in the pic. There are several shows with snakes, alligator feeding; airboats are not really a must-do-trip. If you have kids, great place. Else, feel free to spend the time in the park - there are several lovely picnic spots by lakes and ocean.
Everglades National Park is the largest subtropical wilderness in the United States. The area boasts rare and endangered species, such as the American crocodile, Florida panther, and West Indian manatee. It has been designated an International Biosphere Reserve, a World Heritage Site, and a Wetland of International Importance, in recognition of its significance to all the people of the world
Though much modified by agricultural development in central and southern Florida, the Everglades is the southern half of a large watershed arising in the vicinity of Orlando known as the Kissimmee River system. The Kissimmee flows from Taylor Creek, Nubbin Slough, and Fisheating Creek, and discharges into Lake Okeechobee, a very large (730 mi˛ or 1,890 km˛), shallow (10 ft or 3 m) fresh water lake. Water leaving Lake Okeechobee in the wet season forms the Everglades, a shallow, slow-moving flood at one time 40 miles (60 km) wide and over 100 miles (160 km) long moving southward across a nearly flat limestone shelf to Florida Bay at the southern end of the state. The Everglades extends from Lake Okeechobee on the north to Florida Bay on the south and was once bordered by Big Cypress Swamp on the west and the Atlantic Coastal Ridge on the east. It has been called River of Grass because of the slow flow of water from Okeechobee southward and the predominance of a sedge known as sawgrass. Slightly elevated points in this extremely flat area are covered with trees, usually cypress and red mangrove.