Anhinga Trail — Local services in Florida City

"Gators, Glorious Gators – A Wild Walk Back in 2015!"

Throwback to 2015 – when our sunscreen was SPF 10 (mistake) and selfie sticks were still socially acceptable – we visited the Anhinga Trail in Florida’s Everglades National Park. And let me tell you, it was an absolute wildlife thrill ride.

From the moment we stepped onto the trail, we were surrounded by nature like never before. Birds flying just over our heads, turtles sunbathing like little scaly retirees, and most impressively – alligators. Lots of them. Everywhere. We're talking gators so close, we felt like extras in a Discovery Channel special. One gator was about three feet away from us, chilling like it was on vacation, and we were the weird ones. The boardwalk takes you right through the marshes, offering front-row seats to the "Gator & Bird Show," and it’s all 100% real.

We took a million photos – some of them still make us laugh to this day. There’s one where a gator is just lying in the background like he knows he's part of the shot. He might’ve been smirking.

BUT WARNING! Before you even think about heading off on the trail: cover your car. Seriously. Why? Because the local birds (we suspect a gang of delinquent vultures) have developed a weird taste for rubber. We're talking windshield wiper blades, door seals, anything remotely chewy. You’ll come back from your magical gator adventure to find your car looking like it got into a fight with a raccoon armed with pliers. We watched them pull rubber off someone’s rental car like they were making a nest out of it. Brutal.

So yes – the Anhinga Trail is stunning, unforgettable, and absolutely worth it... but unless you want to explain to your car rental company why your wipers are now bird souvenirs, bring a car cover or park far, far away from the main snack zone.

Nature: 10/10. Bird crime rate: Also 10/10. Still 5 stars, because Florida is wild...

The Anhinga Trail was possibly my favorite destination at the Everglades. We spent a short day in late April and only had the opportunity to take a boat tour, walk this trail, and spend some time learning at a few of the visitor centers. I learned about the trail from a few podcasts and each person said that the Anhinga Trail offers the greatest diversity the park has to offer.

The Anhinga Trail is designated as a hiking trail, but it's a flat boardwalk, accessible to easy walking, wheelchairs, and strollers. The beginning of the trail is located just behind the Royal Palm visitor center. The board walk goes alongside the wetland where you can view a pond brimming with wildlife. We saw the anhinga bird, which is what the trail is named after, some turtles, and lots of fish.

From a distance, it looks like the boardwalk just leads you through an un-mown mass of tall grasses. But in reality, there's a few feet of water just below, teeming with tons of species of wildlife. We even viewed alligators from the boardwalk.

The boardwalk seemed to be newish, no rotting wood or anything along the way, there were benches in some places, a few overhangs where visitors can escape the sun, and plaques with information about the park (mostly wildlife).

I highly recommend walking this trail if you want a good feel of...

First things first, the park offers you blue tarps because apparently the vultures peck off the rubber gaskets around your windshield and roof, the more you know.

The trail itself is at first paved then opens onto 3 boardwalks that all connect. The views on these are breathtaking. You can see for miles and miles. Lots of bird species and of course alligators, that’s what some of us are here for. You can find some basking in the sun at various points. The water is crystal clear and tempts you to jump in, don’t though, it’s not environmentally considerate and there are friendly rangers that patrol often.

I went on a windy, partly cloudy, Wednesday morning on Feb 2nd with a temperature of 24C/76F, there were ZERO bugs. If you are looking for some solitude and soaking in nature come here a little on the earlier side, folks seem to show up here a little later 1030 and on (ie school buses and large tours of elderly).

Ps: the Gumbo Limbo Trail is on the same park premises so you might as well enjoy that too, a...