Everglades National Park
The Everglades National Park is one of the largest in the United States, covering more than 1.5 million acres of land in southern Florida. Located an hour and a half outside of Fort Myers, this park is everything it’s cracked up to be. It’s home to a network of waterways, wetlands and forests, hundreds of animal and bird species, and some of the most breathtaking landscapes in the entire state.
Such a diverse park allows for a wide breadth of activities, too. The airboats you see gliding down mossy canals in films are the real deal here, but they’re not the only way to get around. You can kayak or canoe, hire a bicycle to circle around the 24-kilometre loop in Shark Valley or hike through any number of trails cutting through the dense vegetation.
And the Everglades wouldn’t be the Everglades without its most famous residents – crocodiles and alligators. Spotting them skulking through the reeds is far from uncommon here, with many tours devoted exclusively to this task. All in all, there are 36 endangered or threatened animals that can be found in the Everglades National Park, including the Florida panther, four species of sea turtles and the West Indian manatee.