8 Things To Do on a Solo Trip to Everglades National Park
Planning a solo trip to Everglades National Park? My guide includes ideas for glamping, boat rides and hikes in the South Florida destination.
I'll be honest — before my Everglades solo trip, I wasn’t that excited about revisiting this park. I grew up in Florida, so swamps and alligators didn’t seem all that interesting. Plus, I wasn't sure how much there actually was to do beyond the wildlife watching, short boardwalks and airboat rides I’d already done here as a kid.
But after spending a few days in this massive South Florida wilderness, I'm totally sold on the Everglades as a solo adventure destination. Did you know that this is actually the third largest national park in the Lower 48?
Everglades National Park is way more diverse than I expected, with multiple sections offering different experiences. I biked past dozens of alligators in Shark Valley, walked trails full of anhinga birds, spotted crocodiles and manatees on a boat tour, and even glamped under the stars at the southern tip of the park. There are other activities I didn’t even have time for, like wet walks in the swamp and kayaking in the bay with a ranger.
The Everglades turned out to be the perfect blend of animal encounters, outdoor activities and unique landscapes that kept me busy for days. If you're considering a solo trip to the Everglades, here are the best things to do based on my experience exploring the park alone.
Bike Shark Valley
Biking the Shark Valley Loop was possibly my favorite solo Everglades adventure, even though I was totally intimidated by it at first. A combination of the alligators along the path and the idea of pedaling 15 miles when I’ve never done that had me a bit nervous before I got going.
It turned out to be super fun cycling through the swamps, checking out the different landscapes, and pausing every now and then to snap photos of the gators. I actually saw more than 60 alligators on the routes, but they’re very chill and mostly just lay in the sun. Sometimes they can be on the road, but I didn’t encounter this.
This activity is in the Shark Valley section of the park off the Tamiami Trail, about 40 miles west of Miami. At the Shark Valley Visitor Center, you can rent bikes or join tram rides from an onsite vendor. It’s actually best to reserve your bike or tour in advance to ensure availability. I was able to grab a bike on the spot on a weekday by arriving first thing in the morning, but I’d recommend reserving it to make sure you get one.
The bikes are very basic single speed bikes and some have a basket (I asked for one and they added it). The path is flat, which made it fairly easy, but headwinds did wear me out on the way back and made the final few miles take a lot longer than I expected.
Halfway along the route, there is a lookout tower with 360-degree views over the swamp landscape. It’s the perfect rest spot! There are porta potties and a water station, but it was dry (this seems to be common). Take lots of water and wear sunscreen and a hat for shade.
If you don’t want to bike, you can book the tram tour, which also stops at the lookout tower. You also don’t have to bike the entire 15 miles unless you want to make it to the lookout tower. You could just go a couple of miles out and back if you wanted to.
Kayak Tour From Everglades City
The tours run for about two to three hours, depending on which one you book, and the guides can get you started if it’s your first time kayaking. This is a great chance to spot gators and turtles up close.
Drive Big Cypress National Preserve Loop Road
This scenic drive is a fun activity for the middle of the day when it’s hot outside. Big Cypress Preserve is right next to the national park on the Tamiami Trail.
The 24-mile Loop Road includes paved and unpaved sections through a cypress swamp. I saw several gators on this drive, including a few laying right on the side of the road. You definitely want to drive slow and keep your eyes peeled! I also spotted a few turtles, hawks and other birds.
There are a couple of trails off the road, but I just drove the route and wildlife watched from the car. There’s also a visitor center for Big Cypress National Preserve a couple of miles further down the Tamiami Trail.
Walk the Anhinga Trail
The southern section of Everglades National Park has several boardwalk trails (I mention a few more below), but the Anhinga Trail was my favorite and the best for wildlife watching. It’s only 0.8 miles long through a sawgrass marsh, and I spotted several alligators, egrets, turtles and anhinga birds (and their babies).
This is definitely one of the most popular and crowded trails, so I’d recommend doing it first thing in the morning when you arrive to this section of the park or at the end of the day as you exit.
Drive Main Park Road
Main Park Road is in the southern section of the park near Homestead (about 40 miles south of Miami). It connects Ernest F. Coe Visitor Center and the pink Guy Bradley Visitor Center at the Flamingo Marina. The 38 mile route covers a variety of landscapes and has several short trails to walk and a lake for canoeing.
Hike Mahogany Hammock, Pa-Hay-Okee, Pinelands, and West Lake
I grouped these short hikes together because they’re each only half a mile or so long with trailheads off Main Park Road, though each offers different scenery. It’s pretty easy to stop at all of them for a short walk to stretch your legs and most of them are boardwalks.
My favorite of the bunch was Mahogany Hammock Trail (0.5 miles), which loops through dense vegetation, including gumbo-limbo trees. Pa-Hay-Okee is an elevated boardwalk (0.16 miles) with a lookout platform where you can see a “river of grass” stretching far into the distance.
The Pinelands Trail (0.4) is a short, natural surface walk through a pine and palmetto forest. And West Lake Trail (0.5 miles) has a boardwalk leading through red mangroves to the waters edge.
I’d recommend prioritizing the first two if you’re short on time.
Boat Ride or Kayak With Flamingo Everglades
At the end of Main Park Road, the Flamingo Marina offers boat tours and equipment rentals of kayaks, canoes, bikes and small boats.
I decided to book a guided boat tour of the backcountry, where we cruised slowly down a canal spotting crocodiles and manatees and then zipped across some lakes and bays. There’s also a boat tour that goes out into the Florida Bay, where you may spot dolphins.
If you want to paddle solo, you can rent a kayak and explore the canal. I wanted to do this, but was a little nervous kayaking alone in crocodile territory. After experiencing the guided boat ride in this area and observing the surroundings, though, I would feel comfortable kayaking next time. There are several boats and other kayakers around, so you’re not totally alone, and it seems pretty easy to keep your distance from the crocodiles.
Our guide commented that the crocs here are mostly opportunistic predators, so you want to avoid doing things like dangling your hands or legs in the water to cool off.
Glamp in Flamingo
Did you know you can glamp in Everglades National Park? Flamingo Everglades offers accommodations at the southern end of the park in a lodge, campsite, glampsite and houseboats.
I picked glamping because I haven’t camped solo yet and didn’t want to bring gear. In winter, the glamping tents have beds, bedding, electricity, fans, a light, and towels, so it’s a pretty comfy experience. In summer, the tents are bare bones without beds. There’s a bathhouse with showers and flush toilets and the lodge down the road even has a restaurant.
The night skies from the campground were so dark and splattered with stars and in the morning, I was able to watch the sunrise over the water. It’s such a cool experience sleeping in the swamp to the sounds of nature, and glamping made it super easy.
Everglades Solo Travel Tips
Is it safe to travel solo in the Everglades?
I didn’t encounter any unusual safety situations on my solo Everglades trip. I also didn’t notice any other solo female travelers while I was there, which I found a bit strange. I did go during the middle of the week, though, so there were fewer visitors overall (and way more field trippers).
The thing about the Everglades that’s also true for many other parks is that you can participate in activities that range from barely outdoorsy to absolutely adventurous. For example, for mild adventure, you could just stroll the short boardwalks, ride the tram in Shark Valley, and join a boat tour – all activities where you’ll never really be left alone. On the flip side, there are crazy long, multi-day kayaking trips where you sleep on a dock and paddle for miles daily.
Somewhere in the middle, you can bike, paddle and glamp solo in areas that still have a good amount of people around. I went this route.
The main annoying thing I encountered is that a couple of paddle tours I wanted to do in the Flamingo area were on canoe only, and you had to have an even number of people to sign up. There wasn’t an option to go solo on a kayak instead, so I just had to miss out. There is a free ranger-led kayaking tour, though, if you’re an experienced paddler. I was super interested in doing this, but wasn’t sure I could handle the waves by myself. Ultimately, there didn’t end up being one that worked for my schedule so I skipped it.
Solo glamping safety in the Everglades
As a solo traveler, I did note that there were a lot of dudes in the Flamingo section of the park where there is a campground, glamp site and lodge. The glamp site where I stayed seemed to be a mix of couples and male groups. I actually didn’t notice any other solo female travelers anywhere in the park.
I never felt in danger, but it was hard to avoid being noticed as a solo female traveler. There were also some things the vendor could work on to make the experience a little safer for women. The women’s restroom, for instance, was on the far, darker side of the building out of sight from the campground and the door was frequently left unlocked (it auto locks when completely closed). It seems like the bathroom lock codes may have been the same for both restrooms as well, and they also wrote it on my visable parking tag, which meant anyone could access the ladies room.
There was one lock provided for the tent, but there were actually three different zippers you’d need to lock to be completely secure. The zippers are very loud and not completely smooth though, so if you’re a light sleeper, you’d hear someone trying to come in. Strangely, they also wrote the lock code on my parking tag for anyone to see, so locking the tent from the outside when I left would be pointless.
There’s also no service or WIFI in this area unless you have AT&T (they do warn you about this). Despite these things, I did enjoy glamping in the Everglades and would do it again.
Wildlife safety in the Everglades
My main wildlife safety concern before my Everglades solo trip was encountering alligators and crocodiles alone. I grew up in Florida knowing that alligators were in all the waterways, but they do still make me nervous sometimes. I’m totally unfamiliar with crocodiles, though, and had no idea how prevalent they would be where I was going.
Despite a bit of anxiety, I found biking alone through the alligator-filled Shark Valley to be totally safe. I saw more than 60 of them on the 15-mile route, but literally only two or three even moved an inch. It is possible to encounter them sunning on the road (I didn’t), but you just need to give them a wide berth and wait for them to move. The tram tours drive by periodically and I imagine the vehicle would scare them away if they haven’t moved.
As for crocodiles, they live in the southern section of the Everglades, and I did see four of them on a boat tour from Flamingo. I was too nervous to solo paddle in this area, but after observing the crocs and the kayaking paths, I would definitely try it next time.
