Your gateway and first stop to Everglades! You can easily do laps around the area and start your…read morejourney to get a feel of how it is inside the park. Definitely stock up on liquids before you go and you have enough gas because it will take a while to get to flamingo and you will have to walk around to enjoy the trails.

I decided to take the nice drive with my family to visit the Park. We started from Homestead, where…read moreI live, and drove all the end by the Ocean. It was towards the end of Hurricane Season, so everything was packed away like the canoes etc. It was about a 2 hour drive and we got there after 5:30pm. So the store was closed and people where loading up their boats and canoes. There's a two story building that very under used with overgrown shrubs. We then drove around the campsite area and started dreaming of going camping . We then drove by the restroom area close to the ocean but we were in prepared and were attacked by mega mosquitoes. Wow we got bitten. There were a lot, or we were just fresh blood. I'm not saying this to take away from the review; but to enhance. We will return 2/10/17.

It seems like the end of the Everglades! We really enjoyed our time here. There are manatees,…read morecrocodiles, a boat launch, a place to rent kayaks. They have a small shop with some essentials for camping and souvenirs. You can launch your boat and go out fishing. It was a very cool place to visit. The visitor center looks brand new, they have restrooms and things to look at. The view is gorgeous. We also walked on the beach (clay) near the amphitheater and it was a very unique and pretty spot. They have camping here too. Every staff member we came into contact with was very kind and helpful.

Don't bother driving to the edge of the Earth for this one. There's not much to see here, and the…read more"staff" are third-party contractors who couldn't care less about your existence. Unless you're captaining a vessel, you'll be staring at empty boats at a marina. The real kicker? Fishing from the shore is "harmful to wildlife," but apparently, fish stop caring about conservation the moment you pay for a boat rental. It's a massive trek to the southern tip of the Everglades for a whole lot of nothing.

Stopped in here and was given lots of great information from the very friendly owner. She…read moresuggested great ideas of fun things to do in Key West and offered discounts for certain activities. The gift shop is also full of unique items that are really nice. Great place to stop!

I can't say enough about this place. David Shine helped us find the best things for us to do. Looks…read morekinda dumpy from outside but believe me, worth the time if you are a first time or repeat visitor. Deals, information or just a nice friendly face.

Good info, pamphlets, and coupons. The staff was also super nice and helpful! Convenient restroom…read morelocation.

This is a nice clean roomy visitor center. Sometimes there's one lady, sometimes there's two…read moreladies helping tourists and visitors. Their bathroom is also very clean. You can take a survey about your experience as a tourist on their common use computer. There's plenty of information about the area....restaurants, shops, lodging, etc.

**Pre Hurricane 2024 season visit review…read more It was a nice spot to use the restroom and grab drinks once we left the mainland. Nothing wonderful to say about it, but also nothing negative to say about it. 02.03.2025

Absolute must if your first time visitor. Crissy was amazing.She helped book our entire itinerary…read morefor a spontaneous trip into the keys.She had a lot of insights and got us some good deals.

If you are wanting a taste of the Everglades without spending a ton of money or a lot of time, this…read moreis the BEST place to go from Miami to do that. It's an easy drive (beware speed traps on the way though), parking is easy, there were not a lot of people the day we went, and the trails are well maintained and easy for everyone, from kids to older adults. You will almost definitely see alligators, fish, birds, turtles, and other creatures on your walks. There's some nice shaded seating areas and good signage. Both trials are fairly short (less than a mile each). Bathrooms are fairly clean and there's a small gift shop. There's a larger visitors center and museum on your way in. All in all, a great taste of the Everglades that can be done in a half-day from Miami!

Small visitor center, two trails starting here, gumbo limbo trail about 0.5 mile, shaded by trees,…read morenot many viewpoints. Anhinga trail 0.8 mile broadwalk, nice viewpoints with many wildlife but it's not shaded and kind of hot even in winter.

This Shark Valley trail itself is five stars, but the way it's operated isn't…read more Get there early if you'd like peace and quiet before the trams start which seems to be 9:30. Trail is paved, direct sunlight. In Jan saw over 60 gators a couple crocs. Took about 2.5 hrs with stopping to watch. Most national parks will allow you to access and pay earlier hours -- this park doesn't. This park gate opens at 8:30am, and creates a line that goes out into traffic, clearly only catering to people using the trams. We had to park on the Hwy and bike in, which was allowed but there was someone at the booth even at 730 to take money-- why not just open the parking lot early if someone is manning it anyway? To cater to the trams, which are very expensive. We were trying to enjoy watching some baby gators and the tram came up to about a foot behind us on our bikes to loudly scream over an intercom about the babies. Really takes away from the natural experience.

I am generally a fan of National Parks. The Everglades is fairly uniform and spread out over a huge…read morearea. There are multiple entrances (and perhaps visitors' centers) but we only checked out this one. Shark Valley is about an hour west of Miami on Hwy 41. En route, you pass 3 - 4 airboat tour companies that all take you near or into part of the park on their tours. That is, to me, the quintessential Everglades experience. However, you can't do that tour at the Park HQ. At Shark Valley, the main apparent draw is a large (15-mile) loop road that goes south from the highway. At the far end is some tall observation tower. You cannot drive on this road, so you have 3 options: walk it, rent a bike from the ranger station, or take a periodic tram tour (2 hours) that costs (I think) about $34. When we arrived, it was already 3 p.m. and if we took the 4 p.m. tram tour, we'd have been driving back through downtown Miami in the dark. Traffic there is scary enough in daylight, so we skipped that. They also had a boil water advisory that day (?), so we could not refill our water bottles. The ranger station was nice enough, with a few exhibits. I think the entrance fee is $20 per car. When we arrived, the lot was full so you could either wait in a short line of cars (where the let one in as one left) or park out on a wide shoulder of Hwy 41 and walk to the ranger station (probably about 1/3 of a mile one way). Depending on what sort of Everglades experience you're looking for, this may be worth a stop. Or you may just want to choose one of the airboat places instead.

It was a beautiful Saturday to explore the Everglades. We headed to the Ernest Coe Visitor Center…read moreto visit the Everglades. I brought my America the Beautiful National Parks & Federal Recreational Lands Pass giving us all access to Everglades National Park and supporting conservation efforts & visitor services enhancements here. The Ernest F. Coe Visitor Center is at the Homestead entrance of Everglades National Park. The park's 1.5 million acres are home to wildlife including more than 360 different species of birds, at least 50 kinds of reptiles, manatees and the Florida panther. The center is named after the "father of the Everglades," Ernest Coe. This center features educational displays, works by local artists & informative films. Visitor center staff are available and eager to help plan our visit & provide information about hiking trails and camping. The visitor center provides access to Long Pine Key Nature Trail, one of 5 Everglades National Park biking trails. We you can rent an e-bike from this center.

I visited the Ernest F. Coe Visitor Center, located inside Everglades National Park, and it's a…read moregreat first stop before exploring the park. The center features educational exhibits that both children and adults can enjoy, making it informative without feeling overwhelming. There is also a small gift shop where you can purchase souvenirs, and clean restrooms are available. perfect if you want to take a break before heading further into the Everglades. Overall, it's a convenient and worthwhile stop that helps set the tone for the park experience.

I love to visit to Big Cypress Preserve to see the plants and animals of the Everglades. Big…read moreCypress was supposed to be part of Everglades National Park when it was created in 1947 but the land was still privately owned so it was released from the park. In the 1960's the land that is now Big Cypress Preserve was slated to become a large jet port. Community activists made up of environmentalists, sportsmen, conservationists, and members of the Native tribes, Seminole and Miccosoukee joined together to halt the impending development. On October 11, 1974 Big Cypress Preserve along with Big Thicket National Preserve in Texas became the first National Preserves when the United States National Park System was created. Thanks to a dedicated group of people 700,000 acres were preserved leaving them to protect the estuaries of Florida's southwest coast. Big Cypress Oasis Visitor Center is one of two visitor centers in Big Cypress Preserve at each end of Tamiami Trail. Oasis is on the east side closer to Miami. The building for the Big Cypress Oasis Visitor Center was built in the 1960's when this area was once a private airport that had an airplane hanger and restaurant. A passenger plane was mounted to the roof as a decoration. Later on it became a service station before being purchased by the National Park Service in the 1980s to be used as a visitor center. Today the Big Cypress Oasis Visitor Center houses a gift shop, exhibits, educational information, educational film, National Park Service rangers who can give advice, information on available activities, and directions. Outside the center is picnic tables, native flower garden, and interpretive panels giving the history of the area. My favorite part is the boardwalk along a canal that is filled with alligators. You can also see gar, herons, snowy egrets, and red-shouldered hawks. There is a hiking trail just north of the visitor center that is best during the dry season, November through April.

Nice Visitor Center. They have a huge parking lot and a clean restroom opened after ther visitor…read morehours! So, if you go to an airboat tour in the area and they don't have restrooms, pop in before and/or after to use the facilities. It is a nice area to explore and walk around, they have a pond with a few big aligators, very nice! My only complaint, they close the center and its store too early at 4:30 pm! I would have liked to shop there and check out the place. If they want to make more money, keep the place open for another hour! Otherwise, the Oasis is a nice Visitor Center!

After not being able to book an excursion through Miami Seaquarium we booked for a Dolphin Odyssey…read morethrough the website and it was so easy. Turns out Dolphin World actually goes TO the Miami Seaquarium and that's where you have your excursion! Ordered round trip to and from the hotel car service and our driver, John, was so kind and attentive. He had a cute little stool to help us in and out of the car and even walked us to check-in and showed us where to go and explained everything in detail to us. Very pleased with the whole service and experience Dolphin World provided to us!