The Everglades is one of the last great wildernesses in the United States — a vast, flat, slow-moving "river of grass" that covers the entire southern tip of the Florida peninsula, about 1.5 million acres of sawgrass prairie, mangrove swamp, cypress dome, and coastal estuary. It was designated a national park in 1947, and has since been recognised as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, an International Biosphere Reserve, and a Wetland of International Importance. It is the only subtropical preserve in North America, and the only place in the world where alligators and American crocodiles exist side by side.
The park's reputation rests on its birdlife. The Everglades is one of the premier birding destinations in America: roseate spoonbills, wood storks, great blue herons, anhingas, and a spectacular variety of egrets are all common, especially in the winter dry season (December–April) when the water levels drop and birds concentrate around the remaining pools. Alligators are everywhere and easy to see — the Anhinga Trail at Royal Palm is the classic short walk, a boardwalk through the sawgrass where alligators bask within arm's reach of the railing. Further into the park, Shark Valley offers a 15-mile tram loop through the heart of the sawgrass with an observation tower at the halfway point, and Flamingo at the southern tip has kayak and canoe trails through the mangroves and Florida Bay.
The best time to visit is the dry season (November–April), when the weather is pleasant, mosquitoes are manageable, and the wildlife is concentrated. In the wet summer months (May–October), the mosquitoes are legendary — genuinely intolerable in places — and much of the park is flooded. The main park entrance is near Homestead, about an hour south of Miami on US-1, and the Ernest F. Coe Visitor Center is the starting point for most visits. From there, the main park road runs 38 miles south to Flamingo. The Gulf Coast entrance at Everglades City, on the park's western side, is the launching point for the Ten Thousand Islands — a labyrinth of mangrove islands that are one of the best kayaking destinations in the eastern US.
Bring water, sunscreen, insect repellent (not optional), and binoculars. Leave the Everglades to the Everglades — take nothing, leave nothing, and remember that you are in one of the most important wetland ecosystems on the planet.