Hike the Anhinga Trail, Everglades

The Anhinga trail starts at the Royal Palm visitor center and stretches .8 miles through a fascinating sawgrass marsh. Being close to the park entrance, this is a very popular and busy trail. Expect crowds.

If you have a choice of season, winter is a particularly active time for wildlife and mosquitos aren’t as prevalent. Winter is the dry season, and with lower water levels, the wildlife is more concentrated.

The Anhinga Trail is one of the best places to see alligators in this part of the Everglades, so be sure to walk to the end of the paved path and around the boardwalk loop. Gators like to hang out on the islands or drift through the inky water below the boardwalk. You may also see turtles, egrets, herons, cormorants and many other marsh-dwelling birds. Several species of fish call Anhinga home including the alligator gar, a prehistoric fish with a gator-looking snout. For more information about the wildlife of the park, click here.