Activities: Hiking

Info:
State: Florida
Location: Everglades National Park
Length: One-Way: 2.6 miles
Trail type: Out and Back
Minimum Elevation: 0 feet
Maximum Elevation: 5 feet
Elevation Change: 5 feet
Best Season: Spring, Fall, Winter
Difficulty: Moderate
Usage: Moderate

Description: The Rowdy Bend Trail is a 2.6-mile one-way Hiking and biking trail. The trail is located less than three miles north of Flamingo along Main Park Road. The Rowdy Bend Trail is an old roadbed through a thick buttonwood forest. The well traveled dirt road only extends several hundred feet before the Rowdy Bend Trail splits off to the right. The Rowdy Bend Trail ends at the Snake Bight Trail. You can take the Snake Bight Trail back to Main Park Road, returning a little north of Rowdy Bend Trailhead, or down to Florida Bay. It offers sights of open coastal salt prairie rich in bird and animal life.

Activities: Hiking

Info:
State: Florida
Location: Everglades National Park
Length: Round Trip: 0.5 miles
Trail type: Out and Back
Minimum Elevation: 0 feet
Maximum Elevation: 7 feet
Elevation Change: 7 feet
Best Season: Spring, Fall, Winter
Difficulty: Easy
Usage: Heavy

Description: The Pineland Trail is a short half mile one-way hike, located about seven miles from the main park entrance. The trail offers examples of lush Caribbean pine, which is native to the Everglades. The pines are abundant on the limestone keys. Along this trail, you’ll also see saw palmettos and wildflowers. This trail has one of the highest elevations within the national park, about seven feet above sea level. Eventually, the pines in this area will become a part of the hammock. This trail is handicapped accessible; though narrow and uneven in places where roots have pushed the pavement up.

Activities: Hiking

Info:
State: Florida
Location: Everglades National Park
Length: Round Trip: 0.5 miles
Trail type: Out and Back
Minimum Elevation: 0 feet
Maximum Elevation: 5 feet
Elevation Change: 5 feet
Trail Surface: Boardwalk
Best Season: Spring, Fall, Winter
Difficulty: Easy
Usage: Heavy

Description: Located near the Shark Valley Visitor Center, the Bobcat Boardwalk Trail provides scenic views of the typical Everglade sawgrass sloughs and tropical hardwoods. This particular area is lush with Everglade plant life as depicted on the interpretive signs. The trail is actually a boardwalk over a marsh. By arriving early in the morning, you’ll have a better chance at seeing wildlife along this busy well-worn walkway. The Bobcat Boardwalk Trail is a good complement to the loop road leading to the wildlife observation tower that provides a panoramic view into the sawgrass prairie.

Activities: Hiking

Info:
State: Florida
Location: Everglades National Park
Length: Round Trip: 0.3 miles
Trail type: Out and Back
Minimum Elevation: 0 feet
Maximum Elevation: 5 feet
Elevation Change: 5 feet
Best Season: Spring, Fall, Winter
Difficulty: Easy
Usage: Heavy

Description: Located half mile down the popular tram road from the Shark Valley Visitor Center, the Otter Cave Trail carries you into a Caribbean hardwood hammock with sights of gumbo-limbo and stranger fig. The Otter Cave Trail is a short Hiking path offering glimpses of wildlife which are more prevalent early in the morning before the bulk of the visitors enter the region. The name Otter Cave is a little misleading since there is not a cave along this trail but you may see otters. Markings along this rough limestone trail are poor so watch your direction. This trail tends to be flooded during summer. This trail is a good complement to the loop road leading to the wildlife observation tower.

Activities: Hiking, Fishing

Info:
State: Florida
Location: Everglades National Park
Length: Round Trip: 0.5 miles
Trail type: Out and Back
Minimum Elevation: 0 feet
Maximum Elevation: 5 feet
Elevation Change: 5 feet
Trail Surface: Boardwalk
Best Season: Spring, Fall, Winter
Difficulty: Easy
Usage: Heavy

Description: Located several miles north of Flamingo along Main Park Road, the West Lake Trail is a self-guided boardwalk trail wandering through a forest of white mangrove, black and red mangrove and buttonwood trees to the shore of West Lake. These mangroves here and throughout southern Florida act as hurricane barriers and protect inland areas from the brunt of storms. The mangroves also serve as a nursery for marine life including shrimp, crabs, lobsters, oysters and fish. The groping roots provide abundant protection from hungry creatures including raccoons, opossums and birds. Alligators are abundant. This trail is handicapped accessible.