How to See Everglades National Park in One Day: The Perfect Itinerary

After spending five days exploring Everglades National Park and being blown away by its sheer size, unique landscape, and jaw-snapping wildlife, we’ve compiled the best ways to see the park in one day. Spanning 1.5 million acres, this national park may seem too overwhelming for a day trip, but you’d be surprised at just how much ground you can cover! To help you out, we’ve drawn up two unique 1-day itineraries to the Everglades. They can stand alone or be combined into a 2-day trip!

1. Grab Breakfast at Robert is Here Fruit Stand

Before heading into the park, stop by Robert Is Here, a legendary fruit stand in Homestead just before you enter the park. Known for its fresh tropical fruit, delicious milkshakes, and smoothies, it’s the perfect spot to grab a quick breakfast, lunch for the day, or even some local products as take-home souvenirs!

2. Learn about the Everglades at Ernest F. Coe Visitor Center

Open from 8 am to 5 pm (9 am to 5 pm in the summer), the Ernest F. Coe Visitor Center houses some of our favorite educational displays in Everglades National Park. Spend the beginning of your day here, learning about the flora and fauna of the park, grabbing a map, and informing yourself of any unique weather conditions.

3. Look for wildlife on the Anhinga and Gumbo Limbo Trails

Next up is the Anhinga Trail, one of the most well-known and wildlife-rich trails in the Everglades. We were amazed by how many alligators, turtles, herons, and anhingas we spotted in such a short walk! This easy, accessible boardwalk near the Royal Palm Visitor Center is a must-visit, though it can get busy due to its proximity to the Homestead entrance.

Afterward, take a quick stroll on the Gumbo Limbo Trail, a shaded path through a tropical hardwood hammock that offers a striking contrast to the open wetlands of the Anhinga Trail. We’ve attached AllTrails maps below for both of these trails.

4. Visit the HM69 Nike Missile Base

If you’re visiting on a Saturday, don’t miss the Nike Missile Base—a fascinating Cold War-era site open only from 10 am – 2 pm on Saturdays. This decommissioned missile site offers tours led by park rangers, giving you an inside look at its history and its role in national defense during the Cold War.

If you’re not visiting on a Saturday, an alternate plan is to sign up for a ranger-led program in either Royal Palm or Flamingo. We recommend booking this in advance if you know you won’t be coming in on a Saturday. You can reserve these in person at the Ernest F. Coe Visitor Center, although some of the more popular programs sell out several days in advance.

5. Picnic at Flamingo

After leaving the Missile Base, or your ranger program, make your way down to Flamingo Marina for a picnic lunch. Although it’s about a 50-minute drive down to Flamingo, you’ll be here for the rest of the day. The Flamingo Marina is equipped with shaded picnic tables overlooking the water, making it the perfect place to relax and refuel!

As you eat, look out onto the marina, as manatees and crocodiles are often spotted near the docks! In particular, keep an eye out for “Freddie,” a 14-foot-long croc named after Freddy Kruger who’s been known to kill female crocodiles, when typically males only kill other males.

Once you’re done eating, check out the educational displays on the 2nd floor of Guy Bradley Visitor Center! Here, you’ll learn about the local history of the area, as well as the unique flora and fauna that are specific to this southernmost point of the Florida peninsula.

There’s even a small gift shop with books about the region! We love listening to audiobooks while we drive and learning about the environment we’re driving through. Two books we love about Florida and the Everglades are The Everglades: River of Grass by Marjorie Stoneman Douglas and A Land Remembered by Patrick D. Smith. Marjorie Stoneman Douglas even has one of the Everglades visitor centers named after her.

6. Explore the Waters of Flamingo

Flamingo offers two fantastic ways to explore its waterways—by boat tour or on a kayak/canoe. Whether you prefer a relaxing guided tour or a more hands-on paddling adventure, both options provide incredible opportunities to experience the Everglades up close! Here’s information about each.

How to Reserve a Boat Tour from Flamingo

If you’re feeling tired after a day of hiking, this boat tour from Flamingo Marina is the perfect way to experience the Everglades by water. Glide through Buttonwood Canal, Coot Bay, and Whitewater Bay while a naturalist guide points out wildlife like birds and alligators and shares fascinating insights about the ecosystem. This particular tour departs from the dock in front of the Flamingo Marina Store and lasts for about 90 minutes.

How to Rent a Canoe or Kayak from Flamingo

Another option is to travel the waters by canoe or kayak! You can find canoe and kayak rentals in Flamingo Marina. They cost $20/2 hours or $28/4 hours. From the marina, you can paddle into the Florida Bay or up the Buttonwood Canal, a mangrove waterway. This option is doable in 2 hours. Another option is a canoe trail called 9 Mile Pond located a few miles back up the Main Park Road. It requires you to have a vehicle suitable for transporting the canoe to the canoe trailhead. This canal takes 3-4 hours to paddle, so keep this in mind when reserving.

7. Hit the Snake Bight Trail

The Snake Bight Trail is a 1-hour, unpaved out-and-back trail that runs alongside a creek flowing into Florida Bay. While it might sound like “Snake Bite,” the name is correct—“bight” refers to a bay within a bay, which is exactly where the trail ends. Along the way, we spotted horseshoe crabs, lizards, birds, snakes, and even alligators! Note that the trail isn’t actively maintained to allow endangered plants to regenerate. In our case, we liked this as it felt like a more natural, adventurous experience.

8. Grab Dinner in Flamingo or Homestead

After a day of exploring the Everglades, you’ll likely be ready to grab a bite. If you’re still in the Flamingo area, consider stopping by the Flamingo Lodge & Restaurant for a laid-back meal with views of the water.

If you’re heading back toward Homestead, there are more dining options to choose from. Here are some highly-rated spots we found:

• Mario’s – Popular Cuban restaurant, Open Daily until 11 pm (12 on weekends)
• Farmer’s Market Restaurant – Casual American restaurant, Open Daily until 9 pm
• Red Crab Seafood & Grill – Popular seafood restaurant, Open Daily until 10 pm (11 on weekends)

Itinerary No. 1 Map

How to use this map: We have saved the locations from this guide on this map. You can save this map to your Google Maps by pressing the star icon. In your Google Maps, click the menu icon and then Saved Maps, where this map will appear.

🐊 Itinerary No. 2—Shark Valley + Big Cypress

This itinerary is perfect for those who prefer to explore Shark Valley and the neighboring Big Cypress National Preserve—two incredible spots on the northern edge of the Everglades. As Shark Valley is a 75-minute drive from Ernest F. Coe Visitor Center and a 2-hour drive from Flamingo, we prefer not to combine Shark Valley with these areas in the same 1-day itinerary.

1. Start your day at Shark Valley Visitor Center

Begin your adventure at the Shark /Valley Visitor Center, which opens at 9 am (entry gates open at 8:30 am) and serves as the gateway to some of the park’s best wildlife viewing opportunities. Here, you can grab a park map, pick up any needed supplies, and ask the rangers about current trail conditions or wildlife activity.

2. Go on a Ranger-Led Wet Walk

The Ranger-Led Wet Walk (Slog) in Shark Valley was one of our favorite activities we did during our visit in the Everglades! We were given walking poles and waded through the knee-to-waist-deep waters of the slough, a slow-moving river, as we learned about the unique ecosystem of Shark Valley. This free walking tour runs on certain dates (check here) from 9 am – 12 pm, departing from the Shark Valley Visitor Center.

If you’re visiting on a date that doesn’t offer a wet walk or are just interested in another ranger-led activity, visit the Shark Valley Ranger-Led Programming Page. This was easily one of our favorite activities in Everglades National Park and highly recommend it to anyone who is physically able to do it.

3. Recharge with a Picnic Lunch

After your Wet Walk, it’s time to recharge! Enjoy a picnic at one of the designated picnic areas around the Shark Valley Visitor Center. Pack your own lunch or grab something from the small convenience store nearby. The picnic areas offer peaceful spots where you can relax and enjoy your meal while, as always, keeping an eye out for nearby wildlife!

4. Hike, Bike, or Ride the Tram Down Shark Valley Tram Trail

Once you’ve fueled up, it’s time to visit the main attraction in Shark Valley—the Tram Trail. This 15-mile paved trail is where you’ll spot wildlife like alligators, herons, and maybe even a few panthers (if you’re lucky!). There are 3 different options for making your way down this trail—by foot, by bike, or by tram. Here’s a breakdown of each:

• Shark Valley Tram Tour – $33 per person, 2 hours, guided tour; book in advance
• Rent bikes – $22 per bike, 3-4 hours, book in advance (a few bikes are left for same-day reservations)
• Hike – Free, 4-4.5 hours to hike

If you’re not up to hiking the entire trail, or paying for a tram tour, there are a few shorter trails nearby the Shark Valley Visitor Center that you can consider—the Bobcat Boardwalk Trail and the Otter Cave Hammock Trail.

We love using AllTrails to download maps offline so we can always stay on the trail. Sign up for AllTrails+ so you too can download maps offline before your hike!

5. Climb the Observation Tower

Almost halfway through the tram trail, at the 7-mile point, you’ll arrive at a 45-foot observation tower that provides 360-degree views of the sawgrass prairie. Its strategic location places you above a watering hole where alligators, birds, and turtles are frequently spotted. This is a great spot for wildlife photography!

6. Drive Over to Big Cypress National Preserve

After finishing the tram trail, drive 30 minutes west to Big Cypress National Preserve, a lesser-visited but equally stunning area. This park is 100% free to visit, and although it isn’t the Everglades National Park, we just had to include it because of how unique the landscape was, how much wildlife we saw, and how close to Shark Valley it is! If you arrive before 4:30, stop at the Oasis Visitor Center to speak with the park rangers and maybe just get lucky enough to spot an alligator sunbathing nearby.

7. Explore Loop Road Scenic Drive

We were blown away by all the wildlife we saw on Loop Road, a scenic drive that takes you through a cypress and pine tree forest. Here, we saw tons of alligators, turtles, and, above all, so many unique birds! You can also take a short hike on the Kirby Storter Boardwalk, a quick and easy nearby boardwalk trail leading into a lush cypress swamp, perfect for spotting birds and alligators. Check out a full list of the top trails in Big Cypress on AllTrails.

We love using AllTrails to download maps offline so we can always stay on the trail. Sign up for AllTrails+ so you too can download maps offline before your hike!

8. End the Day with Dinner

After a full day of exploring Shark Valley and Big Cypress, it’s time to refuel with a well-earned meal. Consider continuing the drive down Route 41, stopping at Joanie’s Blue Crab Café (open until 5 pm, closed on Wednesdays), a local seafood joint, or HavAnnA Cafe (open until 8 pm), serving Cuban cuisine.

Itinerary No. 2 Map

How to use this map: We have saved the locations from this guide on this map. You can save this map to your Google Maps by pressing the star icon. In your Google Maps, click the menu icon and then Saved Maps, where this map will appear.

Related Articles

• Our 9 Favorite Hikes in Everglades National Park
• The 5 Visitor Centers of the Everglades: Decide Which is Right For You
• How to Camp in the Everglades: RV + Tent-Camping Guide

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