Florida's Everglades National Park covers 1.5 million acres of marshes, rivers and sawgrass prairie. Because they can access even super-shallow areas, airboats offer a unique perspective on the proverbial "river of grass."
Coopertown Everglades Airboat Tours
Crocs —
Crocodiles live in the Everglades' salt and brackish water habitats. The park is the only place in the world where you might spot alligators and crocs in the same body of water.
Courtesy Everglades National Park
Daily drama —
Everglades National Park was the first U.S. national park set aside for its biodiversity.
Courtesy Everglades National Park
Skimming the water —
"We want people to understand this is a very special, very unique ecosystem," says Jesse Kennon, owner of Coopertown Everglades Airboat Tours.
Coopertown Everglades Airboat Tours
Kayaking —
You could spend a few hours or a few days paddling among the Everglades' marshes, mangrove islands and orchid-lined canals.
Courtesy Everglades National Park
Chickee camping —
Throughout the park's mangrove estuary and the Florida Bay are 17 chickee camping sites. Chickees are raised and covered platforms. They have a toilet and not much else.
Courtesy Everglades National Park
Sweetwater chickee —
Chickees are only accessible by boat.
Courtesy Everglades National Park
Alligators —
Alligators are a keystone species of the Everglades. They live in the park's freshwater marshes and lakes.
Courtesy Everglades National Park
Gator trails —
The National Park Service recommends park visitors stay at least 15 feet away from the alligators -- that's not always easy.
Courtesy Everglades National Park
Shark Valley —
Shark Valley's 15-mile tram and bike loop cuts through a flat-as-a-board freshwater ecosystem of sawgrass marsh and tree islands. Alligator sightings are almost guaranteed.
