Friday, January 29, 2021
Everglades City to Clewiston
In 2009 we came through the Everglades and took an airboat tour with Speedy Johnson, our chosen tour operator due to his most hilarious name. This time we came to the Everglades to bike. Before our ride, though, we had a scenic loop to drive.
The elusive Florida panther
East of Everglades City, off the Tamiami Trail (US 41), we turned onto Loop Road, a/k/a County Road 94, part of the Big Cypress National Preserve. We took our sweet time enjoying the swamp and looking for wildlife along this mostly unpaved scenic road, driving its 24 miles in a blistering two and a half hours. At one point we were rewarded with the sight of a nest of baby gators. Cute!
First alligator of the day
Snaggletooth
Inhospitable swamp
Egret gone fishin'
Baby gators
Back on the Tamiami Trail, we entered Everglades National Park via the Shark Valley entrance, purchasing an $80 “America the Beautiful” pass on our way in, good for one year at over 2,000 national parks and federal recreation lands. What a deal! Driving in from the west, this place seems like the middle of nowhere, but in reality we were only about 30 miles from Miami. Go figure.
Largest tropical wilderness in the U.S.
Anhinga sunning itself
Shark Valley has two attractions: the .4-mile Bobcat Boardwalk and the 15-mile Tram Road, a paved trail through the wetlands along an alligator-filled canal, accessible by hiking, biking, or a two-hour park-operated tram tour. Limited bike rentals are available, or you can bring your own. We were all set.
Gaping gator
Riding with dinosaurs
Seems happy to see us
The bike ride at Shark Valley was awesome! It was a cloudless day, so loads of gators were out sunning themselves near (and sometimes on) the trail. We were even lucky enough to see some swimming in the canal. We didn't keep count, but we probably saw 30 or 40 alligators today. Wow!
Gator buddies
Stealthy swimmer
Lying low
I was afraid the park would be busy on such a beautiful Sunday, especially since this entrance had only recently been reopened after having been closed for several weeks due to heavy flooding, but not to worry. The pedestrians didn't venture far down the trail, and we only saw three trams the whole time we were there.
At the far end of the loop is an observation tower offering an aerial view of the wetlands. We waited at the bottom for few minutes until the folks from one of the tram tours left, then we had to tower all to ourselves!
Shark Valley Observation Tower
Egret and alligator
Tram Trail
Long view from above
The west side of the loop runs along a canal, while the eastern portion curves through the sawgrass without following a channel. A lot of riders do an out-and-back on the canal side because that's where the majority of the gators hang out, but we opted to do the full loop and enjoyed the more expansive views the eastern section of the trail afforded.
Colorful unidentified bird
Sawgrass slough
Too close, Tom!
Hunting heron
With all the lollygagging and picture taking, it took us two and a half hours to complete the trail. Had to get our money's worth, after all! We ended our visit by walking our bikes across the short Bobcat Boardwalk before loading up and heading out around 5:30.
Bobcat Boardwalk
We'd reached the southernmost point of our trip, and it was time to turn back. Exiting the park headed east on US 41, we soon turned north, traversing the edge of wilderness in the deep dark on Highways 997 and 27 for two hours before reaching the shore of Lake Okeechobee and stopping for the night at the Historic Clewiston Inn (now an America's Best Value Inn) in Clewiston – more on that tomorrow.
After checking in, we picked up some Wendy's takeout and ate in our truck at the city park across from our hotel before unloading our luggage and taking much-needed showers. The hotel manager offered to store our bikes in the hotel's former ballroom, but we were tired and left them loaded on the truck.
Tom
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