Everglades National Park – Florida

After we had been driven to Key West the day before, as described, it was now time to drive ourselves. We rented the car at Alamo in Miami Beach and from there the day trip to the Everglades National Park started. My driving skills are not exactly the best, and so I was accordingly nervous before the car inspection. Before the trip, all the people assured me that driving a car in the USA was no problem at all and completely easy. I can only agree with that to a limited extent. The first kilometers on the 6-lane (one-way) highway in the middle of Miami was the horror. The worst thing I think is that the cars are allowed to overtake both left and right, and you sometimes feel like you’re in a sardine can. You get used to the driving style, but I think it also needs real nerves.

From Miami, we head south towards Florida City. We wanted to reach the National Park via the Ernest F. Coe Visitor Center. To get there, you have to turn onto the B336 in Homestead and then go more or less straight ahead. The great thing about the route of the B336, which leads to Flamingo, is that you cross almost all the vegetation areas of the Everglades National Park. Not everything looks equal “swampy”, depending on the water supply, different plant groups are created, such as mangroves, cypresses, coastal prairie and seagrass.

Trails in the Everglades National Park

After the Visitor Center, there are various trails, most of which offer rather short routes to viewpoints or along watercourses. The routes are all not strenuous at all and can also be done well with a stroller or a wheelchair. First we tackled the Anhinga Trail and were totally surprised how many crocodiles we saw along the trail. It then remained at this high point. The following trails (in the direction of Flamingo) offer beautiful views of an endless grassland and glimpses of tropical forests, but we didn’t see any more crocodiles. Another way to observe animals is the canoe trails. On these, you can go on a journey of discovery by canoe. However, we didn’t find out where you could rent canoes locally and came to the conclusion that you would have to take it with you. If anyone has other information, I’d be grateful for hints (for next time).

And by the way, the loud propeller boats that you see everywhere in the advertisements for the Everglades are prohibited in the national park and only drive outside the park area, which, I think, is totally right.