Everglades National Park is the largest subtropical wilderness in the United States and a UNESCO World Heritage Site — 1.5 million acres of sawgrass marsh, mangrove coast, and shallow Florida Bay. The main entrance at Ernest Coe is 15 minutes west of Homestead, and the 38-mile park road leads south through habitats ranging from freshwater prairie to coastal mangrove before reaching Flamingo on the bay. Boardwalk trails off the main road give access to hammock forest and wetlands where alligators, herons, roseate spoonbills, and anhingas are reliably seen. Kayak rentals and guided boat tours are available at Flamingo.
Everglades National Park
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The Everglades is the only place on earth where alligators and crocodiles coexist in the wild. American alligators inhabit the freshwater marshes inland; American crocodiles, a rarer and more skittish species, live in the brackish coastal waters around Florida Bay. The Ernest Coe Visitor Center near Homestead is the main entrance point, and the 38-mile road to Flamingo passes through sawgrass prairie where both species can be spotted from boardwalk overlooks.