Everglades National Park Hiking Trails

Everglades National Park has about a dozen hiking trails as well as a number of canoe and kayak trails through the South Florida park. The park is not known for hiking however due to the combination of heat and mosquitos found here. Most trails are a few miles or less.

Everglades Hikes:

Anhinga Trail – This is a .8 mile roundtrip trail named for the diving birds frequently seen drying their wings along the trail which departs from the Royal Palm Visitor Center.

Coastal Prairie Trail – This is an approximately 15 mile out and back trail with its trailhead near Loop C of the Flamingo campground and its destination at the backcountry Clubhouse Beach campsite. The trail is open but no longer maintained.

Eco Pond Trail – There is a short loop trail around the Eco Pond, as well as an observation platform, in the Flamingo area between the campground and the visitor center. It has been called one of the best destinations for birding in the park.

Gumbo Limbo Trail – This is a short half mile trail including a paved section and boardwalk departing from Royal Palm through a hammock of gumbo limbo trees as well as royal palms and ferns. This hardwood hammock demonstrates how a small change in elevation (2-3 inches) in the Everglades can create an entirely different ecosystem.

Guy Bradley Trail – This is a short trail between the campground area and the Visitor Center along the Florida Bay in Flamingo. There are restrooms and an old amphitheater area near the Guy Bradley trail.

Long Pine Key Trail – There are 22 miles of trails connected to the Long Pine Key Nature Trail, which departs from the Long Pine Key Campground.

Mahagony Hammock Trail – This is a short self-guiding boardwalk trail of about a half mile through a hardwood hammock. Mahagonay Hammock is like an island of higher, drier ground on the edge of Shark River Slough.

Old Ingraham Highway – Once the only road to Flamingo, it has been closed to cars for years. There is a 10 mile one-way section from Royal Palm that can be used for hiking (although it is reportedly not a very interesting hike). It was once popular for biking and had two backcountry campsites along the road, but it has reportedly been designated a wilderness area closed to biking (as well as closed to backcountry camping).

Pa-hay-okee Trail – This is a short 1/4 mile boardwalk trail to an observation point reached by vehicle through a detour from the Main Park Road.

Rowdy Bend Trail – This is a 2.6 mile one way trail that can be combined with the main park road and Snake Bight trail for a 12.6 mile journey from the Flamingo Visitor Center. The trail is known for its woodland bird watching and starts about 3 miles north of Flamingo.

Shark Valley Trail – This 15 mile mile paved trail can be used for an out and back hike as well as the tram tour and biking.

Snake Bight Trail – This is a 3.6 mile out and back trail to the Florida coast. It connects with the Rowdy Bend trail shortly before reaching the coast.

Canoe Trails – The 99 mile wilderness waterway travels through the national park from Everglades City to Flamingo, which is a popular multi-day canoe trip. There are also day trips for canoes and kayaks at Nine Mile Pond and Hell’s Bay near Flamingo.