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Strategically located at the western entry to Everglades National Park, this little riverfront community has 367(2021) resilient residents,  a notable history from its glory years beginning in the 1890s, and plenty of outdoor activities for the visitor. 

Last week my wife Chris and  I spent three days enjoying this “City” and sampling the Everglades on an airboat. We arrived at the clean and quiet Ivey House Everglades Adventures Hotel at about 1 a.m. The stress of the night drive dissipated quickly when we went outside in the morning. It was so quiet, almost car-free, neither hot nor humid. with that gauzy tropical light. Absolutely perfect.

Everglades City occupies an island as flat as a pool table in what historians call Florida’s “Last Frontier” about two hours west of Fort Lauderdale along either I-75 or the fabled Tamiami(ta-me-am-ee) Trial that connects Tampa and Miami. This 2-lane highway through the Everglades, completed in 1929,  took 13 years to build and is regarded as an engineering marvel. Archeologists claim the Native Americans settled in the area 5,000-6,000 years ago. 

We generally chilled out except for the airboat ride. More on that later. We ate at each of the three rustic outdoor seafood restaurants on the Barron River. We gave City Seafood and Camelia 5-stars and Triad Seafood three stars.

These restaurants share this stretch of the riverside road with the active fleet of stone crab fishermen identified by the tall stacks of wooden traps called crab pots. South Florida fishermen catch most of this delicacy, and tiny Everglades City claims to be the Stone Crab Capital of the World. 

When you visit, check out the well-curated Collier County Museum of the Everglades managed by the enthusiastic and knowledgeable Thomas Lockyear II for the up-to-date history of Everglades City and the surrounding area.

Most people come to Everglades City to visit the Everglades. You can select from a variety of guided trips forOlde Goats from one-hour to all-day trips by kayak or canoe or you can hike and even camp overnight. We have canoed and kayaked, so we picked something different – an airboat. From several airboat operators, we wisely chose Everglades City Airboat Tours because it’s a fifth-generation operation and it uses 6-person boats.

We hopped in the front seat and put on quality headsets that let us ask questions and hear Captain Brian’s comments over the roar of the Chevy 356 engine that powers the large fans that literally blow the shallow-draft boat across the water. We spent the first 20 minutes floating along the Barron River watching a family of dolphins, then it was into the mangroves. Slow and scenic through the first few tunnels, then building up to a top speed of 40mph leaving no more than an inch or two between the boat and the foliage around blind curves. 

We were never afraid, but we knew better than to stand up or stick our arms out. It was great fun.

Brian explained that the airboat skims across the surface without disturbing the marine environment. He also said that we were more likely to see an alligator or Burmese python on Highway 41 than in the mangrove tunnel because the boat’s noise chased these creatures into hiding.

I would return to take a longer trip into the Everglades, one of the most intriguing natural areas in the U.S.

Dan Bell

Strategically located at the western entry to Everglades National Park, this little riverfront community has 367(2021) resilient residents,  a notable history from its glory years beginning in the 1890s, and plenty of outdoor activities for the visitor. 

Last week my wife Chris and  I spent three days enjoying this “City” and sampling the Everglades on an airboat. We arrived at the clean and quiet Ivey House Everglades Adventures Hotel at about 1 a.m. The stress of the night drive dissipated quickly when we went outside in the morning. It was so quiet, almost car-free, neither hot nor humid. with that gauzy tropical light. Absolutely perfect.

Everglades City occupies an island as flat as a pool table in what historians call Florida’s “Last Frontier” about two hours west of Fort Lauderdale along either I-75 or the fabled Tamiami(ta-me-am-ee) Trial that connects Tampa and Miami. This 2-lane highway through the Everglades, completed in 1929,  took 13 years to build and is regarded as an engineering marvel. Archeologists claim the Native Americans settled in the area 5,000-6,000 years ago. 

We generally chilled out except for the airboat ride. More on that later. We ate at each of the three rustic outdoor seafood restaurants on the Barron River. We gave City Seafood and Camelia 5-stars and Triad Seafood three stars.

These restaurants share this stretch of the riverside road with the active fleet of stone crab fishermen identified by the tall stacks of wooden traps called crab pots. South Florida fishermen catch most of this delicacy, and tiny Everglades City claims to be the Stone Crab Capital of the World. 

When you visit, check out the well-curated Collier County Museum of the Everglades managed by the enthusiastic and knowledgeable Thomas Lockyear II for the up-to-date history of Everglades City and the surrounding area.

Most people come to Everglades City to visit the Everglades. You can select from a variety of guided trips forOlde Goats from one-hour to all-day trips by kayak or canoe or you can hike and even camp overnight. We have canoed and kayaked, so we picked something different – an airboat. From several airboat operators, we wisely chose Everglades City Airboat Tours because it’s a fifth-generation operation and it uses 6-person boats.

We hopped in the front seat and put on quality headsets that let us ask questions and hear Captain Brian’s comments over the roar of the Chevy 356 engine that powers the large fans that literally blow the shallow-draft boat across the water. We spent the first 20 minutes floating along the Barron River watching a family of dolphins, then it was into the mangroves. Slow and scenic through the first few tunnels, then building up to a top speed of 40mph leaving no more than an inch or two between the boat and the foliage around blind curves. 

We were never afraid, but we knew better than to stand up or stick our arms out. It was great fun.

Brian explained that the airboat skims across the surface without disturbing the marine environment. He also said that we were more likely to see an alligator or Burmese python on Highway 41 than in the mangrove tunnel because the boat’s noise chased these creatures into hiding.

I would return to take a longer trip into the Everglades, one of the most intriguing natural areas in the U.S.

Dan Bell