Informational video about exploring the Everglades Gulf Coast and Ten Thousand Islands.
- Credit/ Author:
- NPS video by Jennifer Brown
- Date created:
- 2010-08-12
Ranger: Approximately 1.3 million acres of Everglades National Park is wilderness.
And, really few people get off the beaten path.
But, this is a really great jumping off point for doing that.
You can go out and fishermen love this area.
Paddlers also love this area.
And, probably one of my favorite things to do here is paddling.
Gulf Coast visitor center is really all water accessible.
So, unless you are gonna get out on the water, do a canoe trip or maybe do some kayaking, it is really difficult to enjoy what Gulf Coast has to offer.
I would definitely recommend planning your trips with the wind if possible.
But, definitely with the tides as well.
This is all a tidally influenced area.
So, the Gulf Coast visitor center is here in Everglades City.
It is a lot different than what people think of when they think of the Everglades.
We are kinda tucked away in the northwest part of the park.
But, it is definitely a hidden jewel.
There is something out here for everyone.
We are in a small town so you can find everything from lodging to restaurants to any of the basic amenities that you may need.
We have a lot of different tours that we offer here at Everglades National Park.
A lot of different ways to really explore this without spending a whole day or trying to get out in the backcountry.
Everglades National Park boat tours is our concession here in the park.
They do the Ten Thousand Island boat trip.
It will take you through the Ten Thousand Islands out to the edge of the Gulf of Mexico.
And, people like this one for a lot of reasons.
One, just getting out on the water: Sometimes you might see a dolphin or a manatee.
It is a great way to get out and get a sense for the Ten Thousand Islands.
Tour operator: We also have some sanderlings, maybe some of the ruddy turnstones.
There is also some of the sandwich terns mixed in here.
Now, folks, I brought us back here because if you look out in front of the boat to the right, you will see the top of the trees:
There is an osprey nest there.
And, there is an osprey nestled down in this nest.
You may be able to see her head as we go a little further forward.
The female is the primary incubator but the male will go do all the hunting.
And then there are also several other ranger-led programs.
Usually, we have canoe trips.
Ranger: Everglades City, I kind of touched on it a little bit: Real rich in history.
Yeah, in 1947, President Harry Truman stood at this airport and dedicated the park.
We will talk a little bit about that too as we go along.
This area here is an estuary.
An estuary is where we have freshwater that comes in from the North and it mixes with saltwater from the Gulf of Mexico.
And, it creates what we call brackish water.
So, that is what we we are going to be exploring today.
Some of the places that you can camp:
If you go all the way out to the Gulf of Mexico, you can camp here on beaches.
But, there is also a more inland route:
Something known as the Wilderness Waterway.
It is a 99-mile boating trail. Or a canoe/kayak trail…however you want to do it.
It starts here and goes all the way to the South end of the park near Flamingo.
So, it is a little bit more inland and it opens up to some large bays.
But, you can stay on some different ground sites.
But, there is also chickee sites.
And, these chickee sites are elevated and over the water.
And, it is really just a platform to put a tent for the night.
I am in Everglades City and I am here at the ranger station.
Over the next eleven days, I am going to Flamingo which is roughly, on the outside, about 80 miles.
It is the largest wilderness area east of the Mississippi.
It is fantastic to be out there completely immersed in nature.
Because, I always do my best work when I am living it 24 hours a day.
But, once you get a day’s paddle away from Everglades City, you are by yourself for the most part.
It is a great experience to do the West coast.
I mean, most people see the Everglades from a road.
You know, the park service road coming down which is pretty.
But, you don’t really get to see what it is like, especially out here.
This is a different area and very pretty.
You have to get your feet wet to see the Everglades.
Yeah, I have a…ooooh!!!
Well, really the first thing you guys have to do if you want to go out into the backcountry on the Wilderness Waterway:
Definitely check out our website at www.nps.gov/ever
And, right there you can find the Wilderness Trip Planner.
The Wilderness Trip Planner is really what you need to do, the check-list to really start planning your trip.
Filmmaker: How common is it for boaters to get stuck out here?
Ranger: I think from the locals, who have lived here all their lives, they say nobody doesn't get stuck.
So, everyone has gotten stuck at least once...but, from what I hear, it happens a lot.
Out here, I tell them, instead of going as fast as you can, go slow and look at what you are getting into.
Read your charts, they usually tell you the average water.
So, if it says one foot, you maybe want to go somewhere else.
Fisherman: Third time out here and just feeling a little more comfortable about how to get to the fishing places, getting out of the pass and all that.
I mean, it is challenging and you can not just rely on maps and everything, so.
What else are you relying on?
A hand-held GPS. So, without that, I think it would be pretty tough.
Ranger: This is Sandfly Island. And, we are on the other side of Chockoluskee Bay.
So, on the other side of where the visitor center is.
This is the only trail that we have in our district…sort of a walking trail is on Sandfly Island.
It is about one mile long and it is sort of a loop.
Real rich history out here:
This is a shell mound. So, this was actually built up by the Calusa Indians.
That is what these shell sites are made of are individual shells.
We have these oyster shells here and these welk shells that you see scattered about.
The trail goes completely around the horseshoe shape itself.
And, the green represents high ground.
And, there is some theories about why the Calusa Indians made it this horseshoe shape.
Maybe they used this to trap fish as a sort of fishing tool itself putting up a net during high tide and as the tide went out, they trapped fish in there as well.
You see this leaf here?
All these trees we see around us are constantly losing these leaves.
An acre of mangrove trees are able to lose several tons of leaves per year!
And by doing that, they are really starting the food chain from the ground up.
These mangrove leaves are eaten up by these microorganisms.
Microorganisms are eaten by the smaller creatures as you go up the food chain until you get to the larger animals that people really like to see in this area.
People like to see the dolphins, people like to see the ospreys, occasionally we will see a bald eagle and the wading birds as well.
That is what people really like to see but sometimes they forget about the smaller life that is really eating these leaves here.
We have crabs, we have snails, we have so many different little lifeforms and unless you really take some time out here, it is very difficult to really get a grasp on what this place has to offer.
Now, mangrove trees are trees that have adapted an ability to live in a salwater environment.
And, by living in a saltwater environment, they can do what no other trees can do...they really take over this area.
So, all these Ten Thousand Islands are just filled with these trees.
Here at the Gulf Coast visitor center, you can really come out and see us any time of the year for the boat tours.
It is a great way to see the park.
But, if you guys want to come out and do some backcountry camping or fishing, you might want to think twice if you are trying to do it during the summer months.
I would say that really our peak season is late November and then into early April.
