One Day in Everglades National Park – Itinerary for Families

Can you visit Everglades National Park in one day? The short answer is YES! But it will be a long, adventure-packed day if you want to experience a large portion of all that this beautiful national park has to offer.

We had planned (or I guess you could say didn’t plan) our Florida road trip on a whim, booking camping spots, tours, and even a trip to Disney World only a day or two in advance along the way. That’s the beauty of van life, we can move when and where we please. We have had an amazing time in Florida, but one regret was not spending more time in the Everglades.

The park is 1.5 million acres of tropical habitat that supports massively diverse ecosystems. A large portion is accessible by car, but to really experience the park, we recommend building in some time for kayaking or an airboat ride.

We started the morning leaving Sanibel, Florida at 8am and ended the day at our camping spot in Key West around 10pm, but the 14 hours in between were filled with adventure. Our first stop was at the Shark Valley Visitors Center. Here you can hike or take a guided tram ride to the Shark Valley Observatory, something we did not have time to do, but would add to the list if you are planning in advance. The tram tours take about 2 hours and we had just missed the ride when we arrived. You can book tram tours here.

AIRBOAT RIDES

From there we continued down the road a few miles to Everglades Safari Park. An airboat ride in the Everglades is common, but there are actually only three airboat businesses that are authorized to provide airboat tours inside Everglades National Park. We passed quite a few other airboat companies, but you will not actually get to tour national park land unless you go with one of these authorized places. They are Coopertown Airboats, Gator Park, and Everglades Safari Park. (You can read more about authorized Everglades contractors here.)

Everglades Safari Park offers a 30-40 minute ride, and can take up to 24 people on a boat. They were only running at half capacity when we visited due to covid restrictions. However, the price of 5 tickets was the same price as the 60 minute private boat tour! This was a definite plus because it allowed more time in the park, and gave us a little more flexibility and space on the boat.

Here’s a tip 😉 prepare your small children for the fact that they will have to wear a life jacket. Our 2 year old did not handle it very well, luckily she fell asleep about 3 minutes into the ride.

The airboat ride was windy but was very relaxing and we got to see so much beauty in the park. We spotted 5 alligators, large and small, turtles, and numerous birds. Our guide was funny and knowledgable, and I highly recommend Everglades Safari Park.

After the airboat ride, we hopped back in the van and headed to a second entrance of Everglades National Park. A short drive from Miami, the Ernest F. Coe Visitor Center and the Flamingo Visitor Center are linked via Highway 9336. This highway is 38 miles long (between the two visitor centers), but there is no exit at the Flamingo Visitor Center. You have to turn around and drive the 38 miles back out. There are 2 campgrounds along the way, but reservations are recommended.

Start out at the Ernest F. Coe Visitor Center, get a map, and you can speak with some of the park rangers, for recommendations on must see sights. When you head down Highway 9336 into the park you will come to a booth where you must pay the park fee to enter, $30 per vehicle, or you can purchase/use your National Park Pass!

Once through the booth, we headed all the way to end of the road and the Flamingo Visitor Center/Camping area. Here you can rent boats, kayaks, and bicycles. A new indoor/outdoor restaurant is under construction and should be open by this summer (2021). Click here for information on Flamingo rentals and lodging.

One of the things we LOVED about this park were the many boardwalks and short trails available, as opposed to longer hiking trails.

ANHINGA TRAIL

One of our favorites was the Anhinga Trail. This is a paved trail with sections of boardwalk over the wetlands. Its a great trail to spot birds and alligators! The total length is a little under a mile, 0.8 to be exact.

MAHOGANNY HAMMOCK

Mahogany Hammock is another can’t miss trail that takes you through a grouping of Mahogany trees. Most of the mahogany trees were logged from this area in the 1800’s but this section was spared. This trail is also made up of boardwalk over wetlands and you feel like you’re in another world as you walk through the trees. It was very windy while we were there but we were fortunate not to run into any bugs.

PAHAYOKEE LOOKOUT

We ended the day at Pahayokee Lookout Tower. This overlook provides spectacular views of the Shark River Slough, the same large section we had seen earlier in the day via airboat. This area is marshy and is actually a very shallow river that flows all the way through the Everglades. I could not believe we were the only people on this trail. It is an extremely short walk to the overlook, less than a quarter mile, and there are stairs or a ramp up to the overlook. We sat here and watched the sunset over the beautiful park and it was the perfect way to end the day.

We walked back to the van in the last bit of light and headed out of the park and on to the Keys.

Planning Tips for Everglades National Park

Best Time to Visit – Florida is hot, even in the winter. The best months to visit are December through March when the temperatures and mosquito levels are lower. You can still enjoy the park in the summer but it will be humid and bug screen will be a must! We visited in February and the temp was around 65 degrees. It was extremely windy so that cut down on the bugs.

Don’t forget the sunscreen and bug spray – We were glad to have sunscreen on our faces because we spent the entire day outside, even though the air was cool, we could still have gotten too much sun if we weren’t careful. If you’re visiting in the summer, sunscreen and bug spray will be even more of a necessity!

Come prepared, Gas up and grab food before you enter the park! – Unless you plan on going all the way into the park to the Flamingo area, there will not be any food options. Stop in the nearby town of Homestead, FL to fill up with gas and grab all the food and water you could need for the day. The good thing about this park is that most of the trails are short so you won’t need to load up your packs with the snacks, you can leave them in the car for you to enjoy when you get back off the trail.

Is Everglades National Park on your bucket list? Comment below if you have any questions or want to add any tips!