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mgmaple
No trip to the Everglades would be complete without a stop here. There are alligators everywhere. The trail is filled with wildlife - alligators, vultures, turtles,and water birds to name a few. It is a great hike on a boardwalk through wetlands and marshy areas. One of our favorite stops in the Everglades.
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ninanancy
We took a free tour with the park ranger and it was just enough to get our feet wet. (Not literally.) If you just want to see some wildlife and of course some alligators, this was a great way to do that for free and simple. Make sure to take the free tour. We would have missed 80 percent of the wildlife without someone there whose trained to spot it. It was a great little tour and we got some great pics of alligators.
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282marybethd
In the mornings, vultures flock in the parking lot, gnawing on the rubber parts of cars (e.g., wiper blades). Borrow a tarp and bungee cords from next to the visitor center ASAP and cover your vehicle. There's a small gift shop, restrooms, and vending machines... but, most people hit the trail right away! The Anhinga Trail here is top-notch.
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brenb2015
We got mosquito repellant and some nice pins from this park store. The bathroom was quite adequate. The trail was amazing!
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165janeta
These two short trails were among the most interesting we took. The trail heads were close together but the trails were through totally different habitats. Ahninga, named for the cormorants, winds around a pond, while the Gumbo Limbo is named for the strange red barked trees on the viney forest trail. Apparently part of the tree was an ingredient of the original Gumbo.The Visitor center has bathroom facilities, a gift shop and some food available.
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Mmmidwesterner
If you go to the Everglades National Park, past Ernest Coe, you pay a small "toll" and then reach the Royal Palm Visitor Center. There are bathrooms and drinking fountains and it is the most convenient place to park to access the Anhinga Trail.This is a great short trail, well marked, some of it is even boardwalk above the water. You'll see birds, alligators and air plants. We were there in November and it was lovely weather. I wasn't even bitten by any bugs.
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zevb
Beautiful blue lake and river; beautiful palms trees, cormorants, anhingas, vultures, little blue herons, great egrets, etc, etc. Its all there just for you. The wildlife are not afraid of you and you get to see birds up close. The alligators are active. Even if an alligator lies still for 15 minutes, sooner or later it will plunge in the water, start swimming, and thrash around.
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BriantheLionTauranga
Small visitor centre where the Anhinga Trail starts - this trail takes less than an hour and is the best. Good washroom facilities at the visitor centre.You can check out the large map and decide on your next activity.
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ChapinaCiudadVieja
The Visitor Center it's full winter program on December 21st which included the "Slough Slog" also known as the Cypress Dome tour. You get a walking stick and wade through mud and nature into a Cypress Dome. The 1:30 tour takes a maximum of 15 people and there were 8 adventurous souls on our tour. You drive about 10 miles away from the Royal Palm and then walk for less than a mile, but the tour goes slowly since you have to make sure not to slip in the mud. A walking stick is provided and we saw an owl, a snake, and an alligator on our 90 minute walk (total time is 2 hours including the drive to and from Royal Palm Visitor Center). It was an authentic nature walk and a lot of fun to get wet and muddy, yet it was a pretty mild walk. Highly recommend it.
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Selah-in-Texas
Don't skip the movie as it shares a lot about the area. We started our trip here and it was very beneficial to learn about the area first before we planned out how to spend our time.