American alligator Camouflage in the water.It's a large crocodilian reptile endemic to the southeastern United States and the official state reptile of: Florida, Louisiana, and Mississippi.; Shutterstock ID 390166753; Your name (First / Last): Lauren Keith; GL account no.: 65050; Netsuite department name: Content Asset; Full Product or Project name including edition: Guides Project Eastern USA

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Everglades National Park

This vast wilderness, encompassing 1.5 million acres, is one of America's great natural treasures. There's much to see and do – from spying alligators basking in the noonday sun as herons stalk patiently through nearby waters in search of prey, to going kayaking in mangrove canals and on peaceful lakes. You can also wade into murky knee-high waters among cypress domes on a rough-and-ready 'slough slog.'

Attractions

Must-see attractions

  • Anhinga Trail Boardwalk through the Everglades National Park, Florida.

    Anhinga Trail

    Everglades National Park

    If you do just one walk in the Everglades, make sure it's on the Anhinga Trail. Gators sun on the shoreline, anhinga spear their prey and wading birds…

  • Coral Castle

    Coral Castle

    Everglades National Park

    ‘You will be seeing unusual accomplishment,’ reads the inscription on the rough-hewn quarried wall. That’s an understatement. There is no greater temple…

  • Museum of the Everglades

    Museum of the Everglades

    Everglades National Park

    For a break from the outdoors, don't miss this small museum run by volunteers who have a wealth of knowledge on the region's history. Located in the town…

  • Fakahatchee Strand Preserve

    Fakahatchee Strand Preserve

    Everglades National Park

    The Fakahatchee Strand, besides having a fantastic name, also houses a 20-mile by 5-mile estuarine wetland that looks like something from the beginning of…

  • Shark Valley

    Shark Valley

    Everglades National Park

    Shark Valley sounds like it should be the headquarters for the villain in a James Bond movie, but it is in fact a slice of National Park Service grounds…

  • 10,000 Islands

    10,000 Islands

    Everglades National Park

    One of the best ways to experience the serenity of the Everglades – somehow desolate yet lush, tropical and forbidding – is by paddling the network of…

  • Ah-Tah-Thi-Ki Seminole Indian Museum

    Ah-Tah-Thi-Ki Seminole Indian Museum

    Everglades National Park

    If you want to learn about Florida’s Native Americans, come to the Ah-Tah-Thi-Ki Seminole Indian Museum, 17 miles north of I-75. All of the excellent…

  • Big Cypress National Preserve

    Big Cypress National Preserve

    Everglades National Park

    The 1139-sq-mile Big Cypress Preserve (named for the size of the park, not its trees) is the result of a compromise between environmentalists, cattle…

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