Everglades National Park is a national park in the U.S. state of Florida. The largest subtropical wilderness in the United States, it contains the southern 25 percent of the original Everglades marshland region of southwestern Florida. It is visited by one million people each year, and it is the third-largest national park in the lower 48 states after Death Valley National Park and Yellowstone National Park. It has been declared an International Biosphere Reserve, a World Heritage Site, and a Wetland of International Importance, only one of three locations in the world to appear on all three lists.Unlike most other U.S. national parks, Everglades National Park was created to protect a fragile ecosystem instead of safeguarding a geographic feature. Thirty-six species designated as threatened or protected live in the park, including the Florida panther, the American crocodile, and the West Indian manatee. Protecting the largest U.S. wilderness area east of the Mississippi River, the park is the most significant breeding ground for tropical wading birds in North America, and contains the largest mangrove ecosystem in the western hemisphere. More than 350 species of birds, 300 species of fresh and saltwater fish, 40 species of mammals, and 50 species of reptiles live within Everglades National Park. All of southern Florida's fresh water is recharged by the park, including that of the Biscayne Aquifer.
Community Trips
Shark Valley is a 15 mile bike loop, just 40 miles west of Miami within Everglades National Park. Monica and I aired up our tires and hit the trail. Within the first 100 feet of the trail we saw our first alligator, literally, next to the paved path. More than once we passed gators over 10 feet in length. At the midway point of the trail stands a tower. At the top...
This trip begins at the Boat Ramp on West Lake. The
voyage continues on through Long Lake taking you to the Lungs. After
tightly navigating through Mangroves you'll arrive at an even tighter
Alligator Creek. This creek has earned its name with a bounty of
alligators within its waters. You'll soon come upon the first campsite
on this 22 mile...
Everglades N.P.: Anhinga Trail and Gumbo Limbo Trail
Goldcoaster Mobile Home Park, Florida, United States
1.3 miles
1.3 miles
1) Anhinga Trail: A must–see! This 0.8-mile loop trail offers one of the best opportunities to view wildlife, including alligators and birds, up close.2) Gumbo Limbo Trail: The 0.4-mile loop trail winds through a oncedense tropical hardwood hammock reshaped by Hurricane Andrew in 1992.
Went to both the South [Main] entrance and Chekika entrance (for me 1st time since Hurricane Andrew in 1992) it's pretty quiet there. The rest of the pictures can be found at my pbase gallery at http://upload.pbase.com/edit_gallery/saltwfish/evergl200901
Reviews
