• Menu
  • Skip to right header navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Before Header

  • About
    • Who is LL?
    • What to Pack & Stuff
    • Where I’ve Been
    • LL’s Fav Quotations
  • Work With Me
    • Video Consulting
    • My Writing
    • Photography Portfolio
    • My Books
  • Contact
  • Facebook
  • Instagram

LL World Tour

Slow Travel. Eat Local.

  • Start Here
  • Blog
  • Resources
    • Shop
    • My Books
    • Learn Video Production
  • Destinations
  • Food
  • Travel Tips
  • Search

Mobile Menu

  • Blog
  • Destinations
  • Food
  • Resources
    • My Gear
    • My Books
  • About
  • Work With Me
    • Published Writing & Media Coverage
    • Video Consulting + Production
  • Privacy + Disclosure
  • Contact
Alligator Florida

The Florida Everglades

You are here: Home / North America / USA / Florida / The Florida Everglades

//  by Lisa 18 Comments

The Everglades

The Everglades

As we adjusted our bottoms on the hard metal seats of the airboat, Captain Rick regaled us with his lovely tales of mosquito swarms and the dreadful night he decided that being here was a good idea. Then he powered up the awfully noisy motor and we were off, skimming the  shallow waters of the Everglades.

The Florida Everglades is the largest subtropical wilderness area in the United States and the third largest national park in the continental U.S. At nearly 1.5 million acres in size, this park is an important habitat for many rare and endangered species like the manatee,  American crocodile, and the elusive Florida panther.

Everglades Map

Sometimes called the “River of Grass”, the Everglades is part of a complex system of interdependent ecosystems that include cypress swamps, mangrove forests, tropical hardwood forests, and the marine environment of Florida Bay. Because of its huge size, there are several entrances to the park all over south Florida, on both the East and West coasts (with the Everglades being in the middle).

Everglades Holiday Park

Alligator Everglades

Just a 40 minute drive west of Ft. Lauderdale, you feel like you are finally going “down south.” It’s like two different worlds leaving the resort, city feel of Ft. Lauderdale and entering the ‘glades.’

Everglades Bird

Everglades Holiday Park has recently been turned over to Broward County, but still has a bit of that country/ramshackle flavor. We took one of their very popular airboat tours. It was so loud and seemed so disruptive to the environment that I have to admit it seemed a little counterintuitive. I later read that most of the nearly 2400 square miles of Everglades National Park is managed as a wilderness area and Airboats are prohibited in those parts of the park.

Boat Captain Everglades

Captain Rick Reda was quite a character who had been a lifelong resident of the “glades.”  For the first half of the boat tour, I wasn’t sure if he was just telling dramatic tales for the tourists’ amusement or if these were true stories. When he fed a bird a worm out of this own mouth, I started to swallow his seemingly tall tales.

Everglades baby Purple Gallinules

Everglades baby Purple Gallinule

Everglades Birds

Conservation Issues

We did see some wildlife, but I had mixed emotions about the environmental impact of the boats and other activities in this particular park. Just last summer, one boat operator (at a different park) had part of his arm bitten off for illegally feeding an alligator, likely in order to make his tour more exciting and in turn make more tips. Just another reason to re-think how these private parks operate and to perhaps ban the boats in more places to allow the animals to live in their habitat and keep the people separated. There are many conservation concerns with the Everglades that I won’t get into here, but suffice it to say, over the last century this area has shrunk to half of its original size as agricultural and residential development in the region (and, in turn, irrigation and flood control demands) has expanded. The process has been accelerated over the last several decades by the growth of the sugar industry and skyrocketing development of Florida’s east coast. Because of this, water is diverted from and sometimes to the Everglades as the needs of these adjacent residential and agricultural uses dictate. Accordingly, the ecological balance of the area has been thrown off, resulting in habitat and biodiversity loss.

Alligator Florida

At  Everglades Holiday Park, they also had some kind of alligator shows with the “Gator Boys,” but honestly, I avoided this as I came out to the wilderness to see animals actually in the wild, not held captive. This part of it seemed a bit too circus-act to me and is not my thing. In the end, I might recommend checking out one of the official Everglades National Park entrances rather than this formerly-privately owned property.  

Disclosure: During my time in Ft. Lauderdale and the Everglades, I was a guest of the Harbor Beach Marriott Resort, but as usual all writing and opinions are my own. 

Share
Pin19
19 Shares

About Lisa

Lisa Lubin is an established travel/food writer and photographer, three-time Emmy® award-winning TV producer, video consultant, and travel industry expert. After more than a decade in broadcast television she took a sabbatical, which turned into three years traveling around the world. She created this blog in 2006. Lisa also owns LLmedia, a media & video consulting business. Her writing and photography has been published by American Way, Hemispheres, Wall Street Journal, Chicago Tribune, West Jet Magazine, Scandinavian Traveler, Orbitz, and Luxury Las Vegas. Her book, The Ultimate Travel Tips: Essential Advice for Your Adventures, is available on Amazon.

These posts may also interest you!

beach gulls

Escape to Fernandina Beach: Your Ticket to Tranquility

Miami

Flower Lover? Best Places in Miami for Picturesque Blooms

Sirata Bonfire

St. Petersburg, Florida Beach Resorts: Sirata Beach Resort Review

sunrise lago di garda

The Gift I Received from My Birthday Trip to Italy

Alligator Florida

The Florida Everglades

marriott-haiti

Marriott Hotel Coming to Haiti

Yachts of the Intracoastal Waterway

Fort Lauderdale, Florida Today…it’s changed!

Nostalgic for Fort Lauderdale

Disclosure

This post may contain affiliate links. If you make a purchase through a link, I receive a small commission at no additional cost to you. Read the Disclosure.

Previous Post: «marriott-haiti Marriott Hotel Coming to Haiti
Next Post: Video Interview: Warren and Betsy Talbot of Married with Luggage »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Noah @ Somewhere Or Bust

    February 6, 2013 at 8:02 pm

    I love the Everglades. My favorite thing to do down there is bike around this circuit where gators sit alongside the path. The stupidest thing I ever saw occurred there. A family, who were traveling the loop via golf carts, allowed their 3-year old to wander near the gators. They must have been full on that tour guide’s arm, otherwise, it would have been bad, bad news.

    Reply
    • Lisa

      February 24, 2013 at 6:00 pm

      Hey Noah! Wow…some people are just, well, stoooopid! Next time, I’d love to do that bike ride. Where is the park entrance for that?

      Reply
    • Linda

      February 25, 2013 at 3:18 am

      About as stupid as my ex…..we came across a nest of babies & he picked one up!…..Kids & I ran!

      Reply
      • Lisa

        March 29, 2013 at 10:59 am

        Yikes! Guess it makes sense he’s your ex!

        Reply
  2. Sofie

    February 7, 2013 at 1:57 am

    Thanks for a great report and a heads up on the company. I don’t think I’d be able to enoy the ‘tour’ as much when I knew it was disturbing the environment. Of course, one can say humans visiting nature and seeing it as an ‘attraction’ is always disturbing, but I believe there’s a big difference in how these types of tours are handled from one place to another.

    Reply
    • Lisa

      February 24, 2013 at 6:01 pm

      Totally agree Sofie. It’s always that hard balance of educating people by allowing them ‘in’, but being careful that it doesn’t cross that line where it starts to erode what’s there.

      Reply
  3. Linda

    February 7, 2013 at 11:05 am

    I’ve never in my life been anywhere that had the same impact on me as the Everglades. It is, quite simply, amazing. I’m so glad that you highlighted the problems as well as the wonder of it. It does seem that there is a surprising number of voters in the state who aren’t at all concerned about the environment or nature, but more about their own air-conditioned comforts. Happily, there is also a huge number who do care. Have you read “River of Grass” by Marjory Stoneman Douglas? It’s utterly fascinating, pretty much the history of all central and south Flordia really.

    Reply
    • Lisa

      February 24, 2013 at 6:06 pm

      Thanks Linda! The Everglades are so big…I barely scratched the surface. Hoping the new conservation efforts will pay off. Have to check out that book. Florida is so ‘new’ in a way, I bet it’s fascinating.

      Reply
  4. Jam @icoSnap

    February 9, 2013 at 7:00 am

    Awesome bird photos! So cute.

    Reply
    • Lisa

      February 24, 2013 at 6:06 pm

      Thanks Jam!

      Reply
  5. Jools Stone

    February 9, 2013 at 11:23 am

    Ahhh, love the little birdies!

    Reply
    • Lisa

      February 24, 2013 at 6:07 pm

      Thanks Jools! Can’t deny the power of soft, downy baby birds!

      Reply
  6. Cathy Sweeney

    February 11, 2013 at 12:50 pm

    Hey, Captain Rick looks familiar! I wonder if he piloted the airboat I rode down there. Probably not – it was a long time ago. Loved taking the airboat in the Everglades. It’s an exciting ride. Great pics, Lisa.

    Reply
    • Lisa

      February 24, 2013 at 6:08 pm

      Thanks Catherine! Sounded like Capt. Rick was a lifer…so who knows?!

      Reply
  7. Ruth

    February 12, 2013 at 4:39 pm

    I would take your recommendation of visiting the actual National Park. I am sure the rangers can provide a lot of information on how to spot wildlife while keeping sahe both humans and wildlife.

    Reply
    • Lisa

      February 24, 2013 at 6:09 pm

      Definitely! THanks Ruth!

      Reply
  8. Kim

    February 15, 2013 at 7:42 am

    I love the bird on the arm photo, he seems so tame

    Reply
    • Lisa

      February 24, 2013 at 6:10 pm

      Thanks Kim. According to the driver…he has ‘known’ the mama bird since she was a baby so they had a special bond. But i wasn’t sure if that bond was just the fact that he comes and gives her food everyday. 🙂

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

hi there! i’m lisa.

Lisa LubinI chucked it all – the TV job, the guy, the “normal” life – to travel around the world. I've been to 60+ countries & live a life based more on experiences. I want to inspire you to travel slowly & eat locally! MORE...

Subscribe

Subscribe to get my FREE Travel Tips Guide with all my best tips to help you travel cheaper, safer, and easier today!

You have Successfully Subscribed!

Travel Inspiration Video

Get $40 off Your First Airbnb Trip!

airbnb logo

Where I’ve Been

Where Ive Been Placeholder
Where Ive Been
/united-states
/category/north-america/canada/
/category/south-america/argentina
/category/australia/
/category/new-zealand
/category/europe/hungary
/category/europe/switzerland/
/category/mexico
/category/central-america-caribbean/puerto-rico
/category/central-america-caribbean/belize
/category/central-america-caribbean/costa-rica
/category/south-america/ecuador
/category/south-america/chile
/category/south-america/colombia
/category/europe/england
/category/europe/sweden
/category/europe/Norway
/category/europe/portugal
/category/europe/spain
/category/europe/France
/category/europe/Germany
/category/europe/italy
/category/europe/austria
/category/europe/slovenia
/category/europe/denmark
/category/europe/latvia
/category/europe/lithuania
/category/europe/Estonia
/category/europe/Poland
/category/europe/Russia
/category/europe/slovakia
/category/europe/Romania
/category/asia/turkey
/category/central-america-caribbean/dominican-republic
/category/middle-east/israel
/category/middle-east/jordan
/category/middle-east/Egypt
/category/africa/Tanzania
/category/asia/bhutan
/category/middle-east/uae
/category/asia/hong-kong
/category/asia/China
/category/asia/Japan
/category/asia/vietnam
/category/asia/cambodia
/category/asia/Thailand
/category/asia/singapore
/category/europe/amsterdam
/category/asia/india
/category/asia/laos
/georgia

Recent Posts

Best road trips from Chicago

Best Road Trips From Chicago

Ode to Chicago

Possibly My Hardest Break-up Yet: Goodbye Chicago

Chicago's Wicker Park

My Next Chapter: I’m Leaving Chicago

Acadia

10 Michelin Star Restaurants in Chicago + COVID Update

Popular

Best road trips from Chicago

Best Road Trips From Chicago

Best Road Trips From Chicago
Ode to Chicago

Possibly My Hardest Break-up Yet: Goodbye Chicago

Possibly My Hardest Break-up Yet: Goodbye Chicago
Chicago's Wicker Park

My Next Chapter: I’m Leaving Chicago

My Next Chapter: I’m Leaving Chicago
Acadia

10 Michelin Star Restaurants in Chicago + COVID Update

10 Michelin Star Restaurants in Chicago + COVID Update
Divvy bikes

Biking in Chicago

Biking in Chicago
Chicago outdoor activities

Outdoor Activities in Chicago

Outdoor Activities in Chicago

My Gear

Gear Recommendations

As Seen In…

LL World Tour media


LEARN MORE

Booking.com

Footer

Be Inspired

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did. So throw off the bowlines, Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover. – Mark Twain

Disclosure

LLworldtour.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon. For more info see my privacy policy.

Site Footer

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest
  • YouTube
  • About
  • Work With Me
  • Destinations
  • Privacy + Disclosure
  • Contact

Made with in Chicago.

Copyright © 2006-2025 LLmedia | All Rights Reserved | Powered by the Genesis Framework with Mai Lifestyle Theme. | Thanks for reading the small print. Now go travel.