Everglades Tours

A visit to the Everglades in Florida, is a must for everyone. At least, just once; come see what the Everglades is all about. It's a mosaic of sawgrass marshes, pine rockland forests, tropical hardwoood hammocks, mangrove swamps and coastal estuaries, unlike anywhere else on Earth. Unfortunately only about half of the original Everglades ecosystem remains. You can drive around part of the Everglades and there is even a driving map with highlights, the Everglades Trail. You can view a list of the sites (20 in all) here and download a map to print and take with you (http://www.evergladestrail.org/trail_map.htm).
The headwaters of the Everglades actually begins in Orlando (near Shingle Creek) and meanders a slow, stream downward to the Gulf and the Keys. This area is known to the west as 10,000 Islands. There are actually several state and National parks that encompass parts of the Everglades; The Everglades National Park, Collier-Seminole State Park, Big Cypress National Preserve and Biscayne National Park.
Throughout this wonderful vast ecosystem you will find some trails for hiking and biking, as well as camping and of course, paddling. You can enjoy fishing, birding, photography and learning about the more than 300 birds that call the Everglades home. These places are great for visiting again and again for a long weekend, or a week at a time.
Accommodations come in the form of primitive camping, to campsites, hostels and of course, regular hotel rooms and other lodging. There are several places where you can get guided tours, in relation to paddling and fishing, or nature tours.
My personal favorite happens to be with Captain Charles Wright with Everglades Area Tours, you can find them via website and also on Facebook. www.Evergladesareatours.com or 239-695-3633. They are a wealth of information and offer a variety of excursions from; eco tours, bicycling, hiking, sea kayak tours, day trips, overnight camping, sunset tours and guided fishing trips. Please tell them Loretta Lynn sent you and says Hi! they are located south of Naples & Marco Island in Everglade City.
Although you might be hard pressed to find any guide during the summer for regular kayaking as the mosquitoes will carry you off, boat and all!
Be sure and spend some time just walking around the area to really get a sense of what a jewel we have here. Don't speed down Alligator Ally at 60 miles per hour, or you will miss what the Everglades is all about.

Paddling the Everglades National Park

Well, my book is finally out. Well, en route to a bookstore near you. I received my advance copies last week and anxiously await them in the stores. I look forward to going back down and revisiting some paddle routes I did almost two years ago now. I'm fairly sure the flora and fauna haven't changed much since I've been down paddling.

President Harry S. Truman formally dedicated the Everglades National Park on December 6, 1947. This event culminated years of efforts by a dedicated group of conservationists to make a national park in the Florida Everglades.

A variety of floral is one of the key resources in the park. One of the more prominent and colorful plants are the Bromeliads and epiphytic orchids. It is said that as many as 25 varieties of orchids have been seen and documented in the park, along with more than 1,000 other kinds of seed-bearing plants and 120 species of trees. More than 36 threatened or endangered animal species reside in the Everglades, including the american Alligator, the Florida Panther, the West Indies Manatee and the Cape Sable Seaside Sparrow. More than 300 species of birds have been seen in the Everglades as well. Seven of which are rare or endangered.

Protection of wading birds and their rookeries from commercial exploitation and encroachments was the main reason for setting the park aside. Tens of thousands of birds nest and call the Everglades home throughout the year.

The Everglades National Park is also an International Biosphere Reserve, a World Heritage Site and a Ramsar Wetland of International Importance.

Where to start paddling in the Everglades

This beautiful, one-of-a-kind tropical oasis is a challenge, respite and natural wonder for everyone. The Everglades, not just the Everglades National Park, is an awe-inspiring place that everyone should visit at least once. It's a sanctuary for people and animals. A living museum. The Everglades encompasses thousands of acres, 1.4 million to be exact, from the headwaters near Orlando, south to Lake Okeechobe, east to Biscayne National Park south to Flamingo and then west to Big Cypress State Park. 

The Everglades has been referred to as, "The River of Grass," by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings. It is the jewel of America. I love exploring these ecosystems, eight in all, with their diverse habitat and terrain. At first glance, to most, they may appear similar and uninteresting, but if you stop, breath in the fresh air and just gaze into the hammocks or sawgrass, you will be amazed, surprised and delighted.

(more to come)