Biscayne and Everglades National Parks

In our pursuit of warmer temperatures we continued south to Florida where we crossed off two more National Parks from our list, Biscayne and the Everglades. There is a third park in Florida, but it wasn’t in the cards this trip. The Dry Tortugas is only accessible by a fairly expensive ferry boat and no overnight camping options were available. Overnight dates are released six months in advance and fill quickly and so since we don’t even know what we are doing tomorrow, we were unable to coordinate that one. We opted to leave it for another time when we could plan better and really get the full experience. So let’s start with Biscayne as that is the first park we visited in Florida.

Biscayne National Park is 95% underwater, not like it was flooded or anything, it’s just that it is a park of the sea. Reef’s, shipwrecks, mangroves are all part of the parks ecosystems and it just so happens a majority of the wildlife that resides in the park is underwater. You can rent kayaks and explore, or opt for snorkeling or scuba diving. If you don’t like getting wet there are also boat tours as an alternative. Lots of options for you to peruse, whatever suits you best. We went with a snorkeling excursion which noted that depending on the weather we would be snorkeling one of three sites, the mangroves, a reef, or a shipwreck on the heritage maritime trail.
We arrived a half hour before our departure time to the visitor center and that was plenty to get checked in, rent gear if needed, use the bathroom and get ready to roll, or swim in this case. We already had our fins/mask/snorkels but they are available to rent for $16 if you don’t happen to have your own, this is in addition to the tour cost and unfortunately isn’t included. No wetsuit needed though, the water was totally manageable even in December (another reason we are taking our time traveling through Florida, soaking up those warm temps).

We got lucky on a Wednesday morning, we had a small group, only one other couple and a solo traveler, so we actually got to experience two snorkeling sites as well as a stop at Boca Chita island/lighthouse. Our first dip was to snorkel a shipwreck! We have been fortunate enough to snorkel several different times in our lives and we have done scuba diving once before in Puerto Rico, but we have never snorkeled a shipwreck, so we got to experience a bucket list dive. The water was crystal clear and we saw hundreds of tropical fish, a jellyfish, the porthole in the ship was a particularly exciting feature, as well as coral, sponges and starfish. We had about 45 minutes at this location and upon climbing back up on the boat our captain said since our group was small we could go check out the mangroves next, we had the time.

The mangroves were slightly murkier water as it was shallower there, sand is easily kicked up by passing boats and waves. We swam in near the roots of the mangroves where overhead a cacophony of birds squawked to their hearts content. A small green iguana was navigating the tree’s limbs and beneath the water we were able to view more fish, a stingray and our captain pointed out a dark shape from the boat and guided us so we could actually swim along with a sea turtle!
If I had it to do over again I would most definitely put my phone in my waterproof case with lanyard and take it into the water, I just didn’t know if I would be able to do it depending on the location, but I totally could have. It was basically like a scene out of the Little Mermaid though so just picture that and you are there. Following the mangroves we stopped at Boca Chita to use the restroom and take some photos of the lighthouse. Normally you can go into the lighthouse but our captain let us know it was closed due to some renovations at this time.

I would highly recommend going on the snorkeling tour in the morning as opposed to the afternoon. Typically the sun is not as intense and the wildlife is more active at that time so you are more likely to see lots of critters. I would also recommend bringing some snacks, maybe that’s just a me problem, always hungry syndrome, or maybe it’s the sun and the salt but a snack would have been perfect on the ride back. We did have water with us but I definitely had a fierce growl going in my belly by the time we got back.
There is a nice boardwalk that goes from the parking and kayak rental area out around the little marina where the tours depart where you can spot people fishing (with appropriate licenses of course) and it continues on out to a jetty. After eating some lunch in the van to temper the impending hangries, we took a stroll along the boardwalk and could see several fish, including some needlefish which are very distinct in appearance and an aptly named aquatic friend. These fish are quite common and we have seen a lot of them throughout the state as we hugged the coast.

After a magical morning and early afternoon on the water we headed over to the Everglades where we had reserved a campsite at the Long Pine Key Campground. Don’t be alarmed that the link is to an outside company. One strange thing we noticed with the parks in Florida, none of the booking is actually through the National Park website or rec.gov like all the other parks we have encountered, it is all through outside parties.
We had toyed with the idea of renting a canoe and doing a back country trip in the Everglades and although we are fairly experienced in biking and hiking, paddling navigation is not something we have a lot of experience with. Actually, not a lot is an overstatement, we have paddle navigated ZERO times before.
We also couldn’t get the back country permit for the campsite where we would have wanted to stay for a reasonable first time out, AND even the park rangers said the bugs can be “brutal” in the back country. So having just barely recovered from a savage no-see-um attack on a beach in Port St. Lucie, we decided to enjoy the comforts of our van behind bug screens, layers of Deet (even the rangers stated the natural stuff just won’t cut it in the Everglades) and anti-itch ointment. We listened to the universe and took its advice this was not the time or place for our first foray into aquatic navigation.

Before checking in at the campground, we decided to walk the .5 mile Anhinga Trail upon advice from the ranger at the visitor center who said that would be the best bet for seeing alligators and other wildlife. I would like to note, we had been in Florida for 13 days at this point and had not seen a single alligator yet. There are sports teams named after them for gosh sakes, why weren’t we seeing them!?
But finally, there they were, like blackened, lazy old handbags/dinosaurs, sleeping away, likely with a belly full of turtle in the Florida sunshine. Every single alligator we saw throughout the rest of our trip was very docile, and thouroughly enjoying its day in the sun. It is easy to see why they would have no real cares to give about humans walking around, they have abundant food sources only a scaly claws reach away as well as a perfect environment.

I mean look at this fella’s front legs, just splayed out like a dog on a cool tile floor in the heat of summer, not a care in the world. Please do not misconstrue this as an invitation to harass or otherwise feed, harm or torment these creatures. All animals should be treated with respect and distance in our National Parks (or anywhere for that matter). We have zoom on our cameras for a reason and these are wild animals that should never be assumed to be harmless. Just like you or me if they feel threatened they will protect their territory, as they absolutely should. I have said it a million times but I will keep saying it, for the people in the back, we are in THEIR house.
That being said, if the alligators are not being harassed by a human, they really seem to have no desire to bother one since they are living their best life. Alligators eat everything from insects when they are younger to turtles, birds, and even deer or invasive species like Burmese pythons when they reach adulthood, and why not, they are stinking alligators, they can eat whatever they want! Alligators as a species are over 150 million years old and avoided extinction when their pals the dinosaurs weren’t so lucky about 65 million years ago. So when it sounds like we are joking and say they are dinosaurs, we are not, they are just dinosaur adjacent.

In the images above you can see a pond slider turtle, an American White Ibis, a juvenile cottonmouth (please note this nope rope was photographed using a heck of a zoom and was approached from the non-business end), a Double-crested Cormorant and the trails namesake, an Anhinga. All of these critters were spotted on this half mile paved trail, mere steps from a bathroom and parking lot, just a few miles down the road from the park entrance. They are not fenced in, it is not a zoo, this is just their natural habitat that fortunately, is still protected at this time. We have been to 14 National Parks so far and the Everglades and Biscayne have been big hitters as far as critter count goes. We love to experience new wildlife sightings and try to keep track of all the different species we have seen. Rocky Mountain National Park is also a big one for spotting wildlife if you are into that kind of thing which, obviously, we both are. I would say that the alligators in the Everglades are one of the coolest animal sightings to date for me.

The sun went down and the bugs came out so we enjoyed our dinner behind the semi-safety of our screened windows and prepared to bike the only bike path at the Ernest F. Coe visitor center entrance which conveniently started from the Long Pine Key campground where we were staying. The path we would bike was called Long Pine Key Trail. There were hardly any other campers in the park’s campground on a Wednesday in early December which was a lovely break from the noisy Cracker Barrel parking lot or warehouse district parking spot next to a popular dumpster that we had stayed at most recently. We are eternally grateful for places to stay for free, but sometimes a paid spot is worth its weight in gold for a little quiet. The campground also had warm showers and a bathroom so that was a nice treat.

It is only fitting that we went the wrong way out the back side of the campground and ended up doing 20 miles on the day instead of the 14 that the out and back trail of our original plan would have been. It seems that whenever I bike with Eric we end up doing more miles than originally intended, but that’s ok, just makes us stronger right? We took the long way around taking time to stop and do a short .4 mile loop walk. The bike trail went from the campground to a small lake, Pine Glades Lake to be exact, where Eric performed a magic trick, balancing both our bikes with ease.

Although we did not see a lot of wildlife besides the enumerable marsh birds that are everywhere in Florida as a whole, the trail was quite interesting and we enjoyed the different landscapes. Sheets of limestone with water mere inches below, areas with a Great Plains feel and tracts of trees that were giving off a very Serengeti vibe.

It was a lovely ride and we really enjoyed it. We then took a walk down the next trail off the main road, Mahogany hammock, another .5 miler. All the trails off the main road in the park are very short and most are paved making it very accessible. We then went back for another walk through Anhinga trail to try to get another alligator sighting under our belts, which we did easily.

Little did we know that the REAL place to see more alligators than you could shake a stick at (do not shake sticks at alligators) would actually be at the Shark Valley visitor center entrance to the north. We made it over there in another couple of days after a key lime pie quest and we rode our bikes along the 15 mile paved loop of Shark Valley in the Everglades. There are also bicycles (and e-bikes) or tram rides available to rent if you do not have your own bike with you.

This was definitely where the action was. Sometimes back in Michigan we would count deer on our ride or drive somewhere, but here we counted alligators and bonus, crocodiles! Along the 15 mile path we tallied 38 alligators and two crocodiles. The Everglades is one of the only places on earth that these two species coexist.
Science lesson of the day: how to tell alligators and crocodiles apart. Alligators typically have a more rounded snout and you can only see the first few teeth in their mouth, the exposed teeth are only jutting down from the top jaw. Crocodiles have a more arrowhead or sharp pointed nose and they call it a crocodile smile for a reason, their teeth are visible all the way back to the hinge in their jaw and are visible on top and bottom like the image below.

Eric spotted and identified this grinning fool as our first crocodile of the day, one of the juvenile males in the park. A kind volunteer we met on the path also told us that crocodiles actually have a salt secretion gland which allows them to live in fresh water as long as they like. Alligators on the other hand do not, so they can only spend a maximum of about two days in salt water before they have to get back to a fresh water environment and flush out the salt.

These two parks were amazing and we count ourselves lucky to have been able to experience them both. I would highly recommend snorkeling over a boating only adventure in Biscayne to really experience the incredible underwater world that exists if at all possible. As we travel with a modest budget in mind, the snorkeling was a more expensive outing but I would say it was 100% worth it and is, in my opinion, the best way to see the park. We will end up having been in Florida for about a month once all is said and done and the Everglades Shark Valley plus the drive out through Big Cypress produced the most alligator sightings in the whole state. So if it’s alligators you would like to see, you know where to go.

Being able to be on the road full time and to experience so many beautiful things that our country has to offer before they are gone is such a gift. We continue to practice gratitude daily and love to share this journey with anyone reading along. We encourage you to find your joy and pursue it with all your heart. If ever you have a question for us feel free to send us a message, we would love to hear from you.