Everglades Holiday Park Tour

Everglades Holiday Park sits at the western end of Griffin Road, where the Broward County suburbs stop and the sawgrass starts. It is a private park on the boundary of the Everglades rather than a National Park gate, and the distinction is practical: about an hour from Miami Beach, airboats through the day, no park reservation needed. What lies past the dock is the real thing — a sheet of fresh water sixty miles wide and anywhere from a few inches to a few feet deep, sliding south towards Florida Bay at a fraction of a mile a day. Marjory Stoneman Douglas gave it the name that stuck, in 1947: the River of Grass.

A visit is built around an airboat run of roughly an hour through the sawgrass channels, then a live alligator presentation at the park's pit. Nothing on the water is staged: alligators, herons, anhingas and turtles are what the marsh holds, and how much you see depends on the season far more than on the operator. Two to three hours covers the site; with the drive it becomes a half-day out of Miami, self-driving, on a small-group tour with the transfer included, or privately.

Practical. The dry season from November to April pulls wildlife in towards whatever water is left and is the clear best window for seeing anything large; the first departures of the morning have the most going on. Summer afternoons are the worst possible slot — heat, mosquitoes, and the daily thunderstorm, which stops the boats, because this is the most lightning-prone corner of the country. Airboats are loud: ear protection is handed out and you should wear it. There is no shade on the boat, so a hat and sunscreen matter more than a jacket. Tipping the captain five to ten dollars a head is normal here rather than generous. The park is half an hour from Fort Lauderdale, parking is free, and with the drive from Miami the outing runs four to five hours.