Half-day in evergaldes, where to go?

We just have a half-day ( afternoon ) to spend in everglades. I visited
the website and notice there are several visitor centers and each has
many trails. Which would be good for our time frame? We like to
hike/bike
and like good scenery with animals...

wrote:

We just have a half-day ( afternoon ) to spend in everglades. I visited
the website and notice there are several visitor centers and each has
many trails. Which would be good for our time frame? We like to
hike/bike and like good scenery with animals...

A good place to see the critters is the Anhinga Trail, which is near
the north entrance close to Homestead and Miami.

A good place to see fewer critters but take a nice bike ride is the
Shark Valley loop, which is about 30 minutes west of Miami ... you can
rent a bike and ride the loop road here, which I think is about 17
miles or so, level riding with alligators-on-the-asphalt likely to be
your main obstacle.

Bill

In article om,
(Bill) wrote:

*From:* "Bill"
*Date:* 21 Dec 2006 10:16:30 -0800

wrote:

We just have a half-day ( afternoon ) to spend in everglades. I
visited
the website and notice there are several visitor centers and each has
many trails. Which would be good for our time frame? We like to
hike/bike and like good scenery with animals...

A good place to see the critters is the Anhinga Trail, which is near
the north entrance close to Homestead and Miami.

A good place to see fewer critters but take a nice bike ride is the
Shark Valley loop, which is about 30 minutes west of Miami ... you can
rent a bike and ride the loop road here, which I think is about 17
miles or so, level riding with alligators-on-the-asphalt likely to be
your main obstacle.

I'd second Shark Valley. In terms of wildlife, you'll see lots of
alligators and some interesting wading birds. It's not too hard a ride
though the wind can be quite strong. Note that (IIRC) there is nowhere to
get water on the trail (unless you fancy getting down with the gators!).

BTW: This may not appeal to you, but once in Florida - and I can't begin
to remember where it was, unfortunately, because I've been up and down
both coasts - I visited a particular alligator park that looked really
tacky from the outside (so much so that I was hesitant about bothering
with it), but inside was quite fascinating. It claimed to be the only
place in the world that had examples of every alligator and crocodile
species (it also had some exotic birds, Galapagos tortoises, etc.), and
was run to support a research institute.

So - does anyone know where I'm talking about, and if so can they remind
me of the name?

Bill wrote:
A good place to see the critters is the Anhinga Trail, which is near
the north entrance close to Homestead and Miami.

A good place to see fewer critters but take a nice bike ride is the
Shark Valley loop, which is about 30 minutes west of Miami ... you can
rent a bike and ride the loop road here, which I think is about 17

Do you think 4 hours would be enough for both Anhinga trail and
Shark Valley?

wrote in message
ups.com...
We just have a half-day ( afternoon ) to spend in everglades. I visited
the website and notice there are several visitor centers and each has
many trails. Which would be good for our time frame? We like to
hike/bike
and like good scenery with animals...


Depends where you are starting from. We were in Ft. Lauderdale after a
cruise and took an airboat trip out of Doc Holiday's and was well worth the
time.

wrote:
We just have a half-day (afternoon) to spend in everglades. I
visited the website and notice there are several visitor centers
and each has many trails. Which would be good for our time
frame? We like to hike/bike and like good scenery with animals.

With only half a day, it really depends on where you are starting
from. If from SW-Fla, I urge you to do the Shark Valley tram
and also visit the Big Cypress Preserve Visitor Center. If from
SE-Fla, hit the road to Flamingo (the end of the road), and do a
few of the trails along the road there. If you can stretch to a full
day, head out early for Flamingo and rent a canoe or do a boat
tour. Alternatively, visit the Visitor Center at Biscayne N.P. --
the bay in which I intend for my ashes to be scattered one day.
=R=

Bill wrote:
A good place to see the critters is the Anhinga Trail, which is near
the north entrance close to Homestead and Miami.

A good place to see fewer critters but take a nice bike ride is the
Shark Valley loop, which is about 30 minutes west of Miami ... you can
rent a bike and ride the loop road here, which I think is about 17
-

wrote:

Do you think 4 hours would be enough for both Anhinga trail and
Shark Valley?

No ... they are about 1:15 or 1:30 apart so you'll waste that much time
just driving between them.

If you are coming from Miami and want to see a lot of critters up close
then the Anhinga Trail is better for you.

If you want to bike or are coming from the west (Naples etc) then Shark
Valley is better for you. It will probably take you a couple of hours
just to bike the paved look in Shark Valley.

Bill

wrote:

BTW: This may not appeal to you, but once in Florida - and I can't begin
to remember where it was, unfortunately, because I've been up and down
both coasts - I visited a particular alligator park that looked really
tacky from the outside (so much so that I was hesitant about bothering
with it), but inside was quite fascinating. It claimed to be the only
place in the world that had examples of every alligator and crocodile
species (it also had some exotic birds, Galapagos tortoises, etc.), and
was run to support a research institute.

So - does anyone know where I'm talking about, and if so can they remind
me of the name?

"really tacky" doesn't narrow it down much in Florida since it has so
many tacky tourist traps, but maybe you are referring to "Gator World"
(or was it "Gator Land"? can't remember for sure), a tacky-looking
place a bit south of Orlando which is pretty good inside. I think they
had a fire there in the past few months and part of it burned.

Rog' wrote:
wrote:
We just have a half-day (afternoon) to spend in everglades. I
visited the website and notice there are several visitor centers
and each has many trails. Which would be good for our time
frame? We like to hike/bike and like good scenery with animals.

With only half a day, it really depends on where you are starting
from. If from SW-Fla, I urge you to do the Shark Valley tram
and also visit the Big Cypress Preserve Visitor Center. If from
SE-Fla, hit the road to Flamingo (the end of the road), and do a
few of the trails along the road there. If you can stretch to a full
day, head out early for Flamingo and rent a canoe or do a boat
tour. Alternatively, visit the Visitor Center at Biscayne N.P. --
the bay in which I intend for my ashes to be scattered one day.
=R=

If you're a birder, there's a pond in Flamingo -- I think they call it
Evaporation Pond-- where they have a lookout platform and you'll see an
amazing number of wading birds, including roseate spoonbills, all kings
of egrets, hawks, etc.

Rog' wrote:
wrote:
We just have a half-day (afternoon) to spend in everglades. I
visited the website and notice there are several visitor centers
and each has many trails. Which would be good for our time
frame? We like to hike/bike and like good scenery with animals.

With only half a day, it really depends on where you are starting
from. If from SW-Fla, I urge you to do the Shark Valley tram
and also visit the Big Cypress Preserve Visitor Center. If from
SE-Fla, hit the road to Flamingo (the end of the road), and do a
few of the trails along the road there. If you can stretch to a full
day, head out early for Flamingo and rent a canoe or do a boat
tour. Alternatively, visit the Visitor Center at Biscayne N.P. --
the bay in which I intend for my ashes to be scattered one day.
=R=

If you're a birder, there's a pond in Flamingo -- I think they call it
Evaporation Pond-- where they have a lookout platform and you'll see an
amazing number of wading birds, including roseate spoonbills, all kings
of egrets, hawks, etc.