Ernest F. Coe Visitor Center — Attraction in Florida City

We visited on a Friday around noon in late Dec 2024. We had spent the night in Flamingo and were heading back out of the park. We stopped by on the way in quickly to check-in here with our Everglade Institute Guided Tour but didn't have time to explore.

The parking lot here wasn't as big as I thought it would be. There were still spots available but it was pretty packed inside the visitor center. Way more busy than the Guy Bradley Visitor Center at Flamingo.

When you walk in the exhibits are to the right and the NPS store is to the left. The info desk was kind of straight ahead to the left. There number and size of the exhibits inside the visitor center were similar to that of the Guy Bradley Visitor Center. It was interesting and I would say could keep the kids interested for maybe 30 mins. There was a theater as well and I asked the ranger if they showed any park films and she said they do it by request. So she made an announcement that she would start the film momentarily.

The NPS store was probably the largest of all the Everglades Visitor Centers. It had the most variety of merch as well. Shark Valley, Royal Palms and Guy Bradley all had smaller selections.

My kids picked up their junior ranger books down at Guy Bradley Visitor Center and turned them in here. The rangers here were very through in reviewing the book even though it was way more crowded. There is also the NPS Cancellation Stamp available here at the visitor center. Each of the visitor centers have their own stamp including the Royal Palms Visitor Center.

There is also a small observation deck out back behind the building. We saw 1 anhinga just chilling close by on a branch drying off. By this point we had seen dozens of them and it was no longer a novelty for us. Surprising it was very quiet out here. Everyone seemed to be inside the visitor center. Maybe people didn't know you could walk out here. Honestly there really wasn't much to see.

If you're coming into the park through this entrance I feel it's pretty important to start here to pick up a map and kind of get updates on trails and what not. I don't think I would spend that much time in here after visiting once. All the interesting things are outside. It's definitely worth it to explore the first time you visit but i don't feel it's necessary after that.

The other interesting tid-bit is that this visitor center is located BEFORE the park entrance gate. So you could visit here and not have to pay to enter the actual park. So if you're on a tight budget but still want a little taste of the National Park, this is the visitor...

We visited the Ernest F. Coe Visitor Center around 10 AM on a Sunday morning and it was uncrowded and easily accessible.

We did not purchase National Park passes before arrival because it requires a 2-4 week time lapse for processing and delivery, and we hadn't planned ahead. It was good that we waited; the park ranger at the entrance gave us helpful information and saved us money with our on-site purchase. It helped that we knew basically which pass we wanted, so we didn't hold up any cars in the entrance line.

The Visitor Center is a great starting point for your visit to the Everglades. We used the restrooms, that are in a separate building. We purchased our stickers and stamped them for our National Parks Passport collection. We watched the very informative movie in their comfortable mini theater. My husband visited the rangers at the information desk to ask about specific things we wanted to see and to get their suggestions on what we shouldn't miss. We did some shopping at their gift shop. We strolled through the many educational displays throughout the building. It is wide open and easily accommodates large crowds of people. On the day we visited, it was NOT crowded and we didn't have to wait to view any of the displays or read any of the accompanying signs.

Outside the building is a "back deck" that allows you to look out over the crystal clear water into the grasses. Wildlife is visible from this location but the Anhinga Trail is what you want to do to experience local wildlife "up close and personal".

The Anhinga Trail is handicap accessible (paved walkways and boardwalk). We happened upon a free park ranger guided tour shortly after starting our walk. We stayed with that group around the less than 1 mile trail and learned some things about the area that we would not have known otherwise. I suggest checking out the times of guided tours at the Visitor Center upon your arrival and time your trail hike accordingly. (see photos with that review)

A second trail is quite different from the boardwalk trail. It's a paved trail through "woods", and named after the trees found there: Gumbo Limbo. It is shorter than the Anhinga Trail but seemed longer, possibly because there were no birds or alligators to be seen here. It's a loop trail ending a little distance from the entrance. (see photos with that review)

All-in-all the Ernest F. Coe Visitor Center was a great addition to our visit to...

Definitely stop at the visitor center for sure for lots of info and there's some guided tours, a good film and a deck you can walk out to view fish and other wildlife right there.

Do the Anhinga trail for sure and youll see Gators and birds. Its less then a mile with nice boardwalks. The Gumbo Limbo trail is right there as well.

I would skip the others as theres not much to see unless you're into trees, canoeing or kayaking where there's some trails that you can rent there.

We did Drive all the way down to Flamingo which is Florida Bay about 35 miles, remember its 35 miles back!

You can see some manatees and there's crocodiles that feed near the marina that sometimes come up onto the dock we were told. We seen some swimming. They also have a good visitor center with lots of info and some guided tours and theres nice clean washrooms. Bring snacks you cant buy anything.

Honestly though it's a long drive with nothing in between but alot of grass and water. I would use my time by going to Shark Valley off US 41, its also in the National Park so you wont pay again.

We seen a Croc there basking in the Sun and there's lots of alligators and birds. See my Shark Valley review

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