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The best locations to photograph in Everglades National Park
are accessible only with a boat. There are plenty of places
in the area to rent airboats or canoes, and the park has several
marked canoe trails. Bring a GPS receiver and/or a solid knowledge
of navigation.
There are also places to photograph from dry land:
Hiking trails will bring you to more remote areas
of the park, and off-trail hiking is permitted. The trails are
the best way to photograph landscapes, and camping out will
give you easier access for morning and evening shooting.
Route 27 through the park will give you access to
most land-based starting points.
The Anhinga Trail (off Route 27, a short distance
from the east entrance) will give you some of the park's best
land-based access to photographing wildlife. It's a 1/2-mile
loop of boardwalk that brings you through wetlands. Good for
finding alligators and wading birds. Some landscape work is
possible. In mid-spring, Soft-shelled turtles nest in the area
and can be photographed. Also, in late spring you can photograph
Butterfly Orchids.
Pa-hay-okee Overlook (off Route 27 in the middle of
the park) provides some limited landscape photo possibilities,
but they're underwhelming. If the light isn't great, don't bother.
Morning is best.
Once a year — often in March — Mrazek Pond
(near Flamingo) serves as the stopping ground for hundreds and
hundreds of migratory birds. The show only lasts a couple weeks;
call a ranger for information. Shoot in morning; much of the
light will be blocked at the end of the day.
Alligators are one of the main photographic attractions in
the park. You'll have no trouble finding them on warm, sunny
days. If you come across baby alligators, watch out for their
mom — alligators aren't generally aggressive, but they
will be if you get too close to their kids. Juvenile alligators
stay with their mother for up to four years, so if you find
them, you'll find them in bunches.
Other opportunities for wildlife photos include turtles, panthers,
bobcats, butterflies, deer and scores of birds (including egrets,
herons, kites, storks, osprey, owls, hawks and bald eagles).
Bring a long lens.
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