Did you know the Everglades National Park is the 3rd largest National Park in the lower 48 states? The park was established for its abundance of diverse plant and animal species rather than its scenic views. We actually grew up not far from the park, but this was the first time we ever visited, and it’s not what you would expect. While it doesn’t have breathtaking peaks, rivers, and valleys, Everglades National Park offers visitors a lot.

Everglades National Park Campgrounds

There are two campgrounds located within the park. Both campgrounds can accommodate tents and RVs. A limited number of group sites are also available.

Long Pine Key Campground is located six miles from the Main Visitor Center. Sites are available in the Long Pine Key Campground on a first-come, first-serve basis only. There are no electric or water hookups at the sites, but the campground has a dump and potable water station. There are modern restrooms with flush toilets, a dishwashing station, and solar-powered hot-water showers. (We stayed here)

Flamingo Campground is located much further into the park near the Flamingo Visitor Center, about a 45-minute drive southwest of Long Pine Key Campground. This campground does take reservations (via Reserve America) and run by a contracted company for NPS. They offer a wide range of services, rentals, and accommodations. You can check the current offerings on this website.

Wildlife

Everglades National Park is home to many threatened and endangered plant and animal species. Some of the best known are the Florida Panther, American Crocodile, American Alligator, and the West Indian Manatee. If you look closely, you see a lot of wildlife. Careful with small children and pets as gators are very common along the road.

Park Programs

Everglades NP has a very active event schedule. The park is open every day of the year, with ranger-led and self-led programs available all year.  Visit the events calendar here.

Prescribed Burns

Is that smoke in the background of our photo?  Yes!  Don’t be alarmed if you see large plumes of smoke lingering over the park. In “most cases,” these are persecuted burns managed by NPS. Everglades NP has one of the most extensive prescribed burn programs in the NPS.

Area Attractions

Biscayne National Park

If you’re on a journey to visit all National Parks (like us), what better to get a two-for-one deal on visits. Biscayne’s NP Visitor Center is about 20 miles from Everglades NP Visitor Center. This is a great day trip from Everglades NP.  Be sure to check out our article on Biscayne National Park.

Nike Missile Base

The Nike Missile Site HM-69 is a former Nike-Hercules missile base west of Homestead, Florida, now designated as a historic site. It’s on Long Pine Key Lane and has static displays you can see. Check here for the schedule.

Robert is Here Fruit Stand

This is a family-run fruit stand in Homestead, Florida. They specialize in rare and exotic fruits and vegetables, which are mostly grown at their farms. Although it began as a simple fruit stand on the road’s side, Robert is Here has developed into a full-fledged tourist destination with an Animal Farm, Play Area, and picnic tables. The smoothies are the best!

Everglades Outpost Wildlife Rescue

The facility takes hurt and injured wildlife, rehabilitates it, and releases it back to the wild when possible. Most of the animals at the Everglades Outpost have been confiscated from illegal, traumatic, and abusive situations. You can get pretty up close and personal with the animals at this park if you desire.

Conclusion

For many years (as somewhat locals), we overlooked Everglades National Park as a must-see destination. The park is not all swamplands and mosquitos but an exciting place to learn about Florida’s unique wildlife and ecosystem. We were able to see more wildlife at this park compared to several other National Parks combined. It’s an excellent destination for RV’ers in the wintertime as temperatures are manageable, and it’s outside of hurricane season for the area. We spent a week in our spot and managed well with our generators and would go back without hesitation. Be sure to add Everglades to your must-see list if in the area.

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We spent nearly a month in the State of Maine this summer. Eight days of it was staying in Acadia National Park on the Schoodic Peninsula. The Schoodic Peninsula, the only part of Acadia National Park found on the mainland, boasts granite headlands that bear erosional scars of storm waves and flood tides. Although similar in scenic splendor to portions of Mount Desert Island, the Schoodic Coast is a more secluded area. It is about an hour’s drive to the Hulls Cove Visitor Center in the entrance area of the park.

You can access the main attractions of Acadia and Bar Harbor by driving around on Route 3 or by taking the ferry boat from Winter Harbor. The trip takes about an hour, regardless of what method you choose. The ferry drops passengers off in picturesque town of Bar Harbor, where you’ll be able to have walking access to restaurants, bars, gift shops, and the free buses called Island Explorer. The Island Explorer is a network of bus routes that moves you around the park.

Once on the bus from Bar Harbor, you can get to any area of the park you desire to explore. Jordan Pond is a top-rated destination due to the beautiful lake, hiking trails, and famous Popovers they serve at Jordan Pond House. Popovers are a pastry baked in a well-greased popover pan or muffin tin. They are traditionally served warm or hot with butter and strawberry jam. They were sooooo delicious, warm and ready to eaten when we got them….we didn’t even get a chance to take a photo of them.

A list of bus destinations and timetables are available here. They are seasonal so be sure to check before you visit.

One of the more popular areas you’ll need to find transportation to is Cadillac Mountain. The bus service does not provide a direct drop-off to the overlook, but you can hike to this location from surrounding bus stops. Sunset and sunrise are the key times to visit Cadillac Mountain. When the visibility is good, it’s truly a sight to behold!

As with all the great National Parks, the hiking options are endless in Acadia for all abilities.  One our whole family enjoyed was the Ocean Path hike.  It’s a fairly easy 3+ mile trail that begins at Sand Beach, a stunning sandy beach in the middle of the mountains & rocky shoreline.  Once on the path, you will come along various side trails that are absolutely worth exploring, as you will be treated to exceptional views of the coastline and local wildlife.  A stop not to miss along the trail is Thunder Hole.  If you’re able to time your stop with the tides you will be treated to a thunderous show of sound and the oceans power.  Even on a calm day, this was still a gorgeous place to stop and explore.   Following down further, you will hit Otter Point.  This was our stopping point and where we caught the bus back around the island. Only after we found a great little area where we could enjoy our packed lunches and and breathe in that cool, soothing salty air.

We’ve been to many National Parks (Grand Canyon, Yosemite, Volcano, Sequoia, etc…), and Acadia is one of the most beautiful parks we have visited. The peninsula is lovely to get away from the crowds and get quiet, but to have relatively easy access to the more extensive park attractions is nice. Planning a visit to incorporate both sides of the park might be even better.

Some other tidbits:

If you’re a road cyclist, mountain biker, or beach cruiser, then you’ll love the several miles of biking trails Schoodic Peninsula offers. I enjoyed riding the Schoodic Loop Road and the 8.3 miles (13.4 km) of bike paths! Bicyclists must obey the one-way traffic flow on the road and are encouraged to use free Island Explorer buses and bike paths to get around. Steep and winding bike paths provide spectacular views both on pavement and off.

Acadia also has a “light pollution program.” This means at night, it will be dark, dark, dark! No city lights to throw off your celestial views! We took advantage of this by doing some nighttime photography, but you can see much of this with the naked eye. Absolutely incredible to see!

A hui hou Maine….we definitely fell in love with all your gorgeous mountains and coastlines. While very different in appearance, this is one place that reminded us of our island home with it true natural beauty.  We will be back to explore again very soon!

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Quick Note: My “rudimentary history” knowledge of North American forests over the past 120 years consist of ONE CHAPTER from the well-known book by Bill Bryson “A Walk in the Woods.” I was gifted this book by my buddy Justin who plans to hike the AT with me one day!

If you ever want to see what the landscape looked like when Native Americans lived across the land, then Congaree National Park is a pretty good representation. Astonishing biodiversity exists in Congaree NP, the largest intact expanse of old-growth bottomland hardwood forest remaining in the southeastern United States. Waters from the Congaree and Wateree Rivers sweep through the floodplain, carrying nutrients and sediments that nourish and rejuvenate this ecosystem and support national and state champion trees’ growth.

Hiking is aplenty at Congaree, with all levels of trails & many of which are accessible. We visited the Harry Hampton Visitors Center and easily walked the Boardwalk with our group (ages 10-46).

I’ll be honest; this park appears to be a little underfunded so much that you may see some older displays at the visitor center or 1/2 completed work in progress on the trails, but don’t let that discourage you!  We found the Rangers to be overly welcoming and eager to share information about the park with us.

This park only gets about 130,000 visitors a year, so it probably won’t be busy if you choose to visit. While it doesn’t have the expansive views of Glacier National Park or the breathtaking visuals of the Grand Canyon, Congaree is definitely worth a stop if you’re traveling along I-95 or I-26 in SC.

What also made this day trip pretty awesome is we got to visit with some of our Ohana.

A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail

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Features

Author	Bill Bryson
Binding	Mass Market Paperback
Brand	Bryson, Bill
Catalog Number List	Catalog Number List Element: XM-0307279464
EAN	9780307279460
EAN List	9780307279460; 8580001042855; 8601416423388
Edition	2nd
ISBN	0307279464
Item Dimensions	Height: 120; Length: 690; Weight: 45; Width: 420
Label	Anchor
Manufacturer	Anchor
MPN	9780307279460
Number Of Items	1
Number Of Pages	397
Package Dimensions	Height: 120; Length: 670; Weight: 55; Width: 410
Package Quantity	1
Part Number	9780307279460
Product Group	Book
Product Type Name	ABIS_BOOK
Publication Date	2006-12-26
Publisher	Anchor
Release Date	2006-12-26
Studio	Anchor
Title	A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail

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Down we go! Off on the “Great Onyx Lantern Tour” at Mammoth Cave National Park.

Mammoth Cave National Park preserves the longest known cave system on earth (400+ miles) and 53,000 acres of beautiful forest. With nearly a dozen miles of cave trail below ground, there are also nearly 70 miles of surface trail, 13 backcountry campsites, three campgrounds, and over 20 miles of navigable river for visitors to explore and enjoy. It really is two worlds in one.

The Great Onyx Cave is beautiful in its own right. It houses an abundance of beautiful geologic formations that sparkle in the lantern light of this tour. Visitors on this tour can see many stalactites, stalagmites, gypsum crystals, and helictites. This cave was also the site of very important cultural history in the early days of Kentucky cave tourism. This tour is ideal for people with interest in cave tourism history and unusual rock formations.

Check out our visits to other National Parks.

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The sky’s were amazing tonight!!! Not a cloud to be seen. Got some great photos of the #milkyway. #acadianationalpark #winterharbor #maine

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Quick visit to @greatsanddunesnationalpark yesterday. That’s National Park #3 done so far! Minus the Chicago skyline – the dunes look like beaches you’d find in NC. Very cool! #nationalparks #greatsanddunesnationalpark #nofloatiesneeded #sanddunes #fulltimerv #fulltimefamily #summertimefun

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