Camping In & Caring About Everglades National Park

Last weekend was our final camping trip of the season and we went to Everglades National Park.  You may remember from my previous Everglades post, Everglades National Park is, at 1.5 million acres of land, one of the largest wetlands in the world and the largest subtropical wilderness in the United States. 

When many people think of the Everglades, they think of alligator-infested swamps but the entire Everglades ecosystem is so much more than that.  It is actually eight different ecosystems - Hardwood Hammock, Pineland, Mangrove, Coastal Lowlands, Freshwater Slough, Freshwater Marl Prairie, Cypress, Marine and Estuarine.  Many of the Florida State Parks I have camped in are one or more of these ecosystems but it is only in Everglades National Park that you will find them all together.

The dog-friendly Flamingo Campground in Everglades National Park is located at the southernmost point of mainland Florida.  This is where the two Freshwater Sloughs, the Taylor Slough and the Shark River Slough (also known as the "River of Grass") discharge into the Florida Bay.  It is in this brackish water that you will find the American Crocodile as well as corals and sponges on the hard Bay bottom.

The Florida Bay is a great place for a campground.  We set up in a campsite that had a partially obstructed view of the Bay but that still allowed for the easterly breeze to sweep through our campsite all day and night.  We were thankful for the constant breeze because it helped keep the mosquitoes and no-see-ums away from our site.  (At the Park entrance it said "Mosquito Level: Moderate" which roughly translates to "there are tons of them and they are big enough to chew your arm off"!)

Our campsite was an easy walk to the Coastal Lowlands and the Florida Bay Beach.  Here we enjoyed the relaxing sights and sounds of the ebbing and flowing tides.  It is also where I enjoyed barking and chasing the many birds flying by including terns, ospreys, kites and vultures.  In the evenings we would walk to the beach to enjoy happy hour and watch the sunset.  Even the Ranger joined us for sunset one evening!

And at night...oh, the sky was just gorgeous.  Everglades National Park does a great job at preserving the natural lightscape of the night sky by using minimal light fixtures even in the campground.  The result is that we could see what seemed like every star in the sky as well as the Milky Way.  It was breath-taking.

We spent three days and two nights camping at Everglades National Park and I would say it was one of our best trips!

As I sat quietly on the beach one day, I thought about the many people, even residents of Florida, that have not visited Everglades National Park.  There are many Floridians who don't really even care about the Park, saying it's "just a giant swamp filled with alligators, bugs and snakes"...but they should care.  In fact, everyone should care about The Everglades.

In the past, people didn't care and The Everglades were exploited, polluted and there were even attempts to drain the water to make room for commercial building.  In recent years, some people still don't care and The Everglades has become the place where people dump their unwanted animals - from exotic species (think Rock Pythons, Burmese Pythons and Tegu lizards) that kill all kinds of native animals to pet dogs (don't believe me? check out 100+ Abandoned Dogs of the Everglades and Everglades Angel Dog Rescue). 

Everglades National Park, the third largest national park in the lower 48 States, protects some of the most diverse habitats in the United States.  It is permanent home to amazing creatures, big and small, many of which are on the Endangered or Threatened list including the American Alligator, the American Crocodile, the West Indian Manatee and the Florida Panther.  The Everglades also serve as a temporary home to many northern species of birds who migrate south for the winter.  It is said that over 360 species of birds have been spotted within the boundaries of the Park.

One of the best ways to preserve our National Parks is to visit and appreciate all they have to offer.  If you never considered visiting Everglades National Park, I encourage you to do so (during the Dry Season - December to April - is best).  You will be amazed that a "swamp" can be a place of such diverse natural beauty.  And remember: "Take only photographs and Leave only footprints".