Gulf Coast Visitor Center Reviews

While the temporary visitor center didn't offer much to see, the rangers provided lots of helpful information. The winds and tides weren't favorable for kayaking (which was why we drove out from Fort Lauderdale), so we "settled" on the boat tour. We're so glad that we made this decision. It exceeded our expectations. The captain provided a wealth of interesting information as we cruised around looking for wildlife. We saw manatees, Atlantic bottlenose dolphins (who surfed in our wake), pelicans and roseate spoonbills. Whenever there was a sighting, we stopped so that everyone could get a good look and take pictures if they desired. It was a beautiful tour!

We were lucky enough to be the only passengers on the early morning boat ride through the Mangroves. Captain Marty was informative and friendly. We saw so many birds it was hard to know where to look. A few sleepy alligators also made an appearance.

On our way to the Everglades - this place offered glimpses of our worlds-greatest one-of-a -kind national park of marshes, mangroves, birds and other wonders of the world. We picked up literature to guide us on our way. A sneak peak into what would lead us to this wonder land of beauty ahead of us.

We went on the inland boat tour. Saw alligators and a large variety of birds. We found it very informative and enjoyable.

All you need to know about the area if available here. We were able to get all of our questions answered and the information we needed to plan our time in the area.

We stopped at the visitor center to pick-up our reservation tickets for the Ten Thousand Island Boat tour. The Visitor center and the rangers are always vwry informative and helpful. If you don't have a National Park Passport I highly recommend you get one. We wanted to get one for years but never took the time....bad mistake. We bought one and are going places we'd would have never stopped at before just to get the passport stamped and are learning a lot about this great country of ours. They have them for Children too and they can be sworn in as deputy park rangers and earn badges...are grandkids all have one now.

The ranger station looks like a large trailer. The inside room is small but staffed by a couple of very helpful rangers who can suggest where to go and what to see. You can also purchase tickets for a boat tour here, which I would recommend. The trailer contained a few small exhibits, for example the saw from a sawtooth shark and some bones.

Plenty of room on the boat since there were only 6 of us, which was nice. They made sure we saw dolphins up close and gave us plenty of information about the everglades. Relaxing trip.

This center was destroyed by the hurricane and has not been rebuilt yet. There is a trailer with very little in it and the worst porta potties I have ever seen. We went for the tour of the everglades, which I would certainly recommend, but don't go there thinking it's a visitor center or that it has hiking trails. It's only purpose is the boat tour.

The visitor center is located upstairs in a building adjacent to a marina. Downstairs is a shop that sells tours, food and the like. We went in it first, thinking it was the visitor center. Once we realized it was not National Park Service, we looked further and found it upstairs. It is not well marked, and I feel that some people miss it all together after they visit the first floor store. There is a small exhibit, sales of postcards and small items and a couple of rangers to answer questions. I did purchase post cards, and the ranger suggested that I stop and mail them in Everglades City at the post office. I was happy that I did, as the postmistress used a manual stamp from Everglades City to postmark them; good collectible for my grandchildren.

The visitor center does have clean restrooms....always welcome when you a touring all day long!

We visited this centre twice during our 3 week vacation in Florida. The information and facilities are good and on the first day there was an interesting Calusa Indian exhibition where the volunteers explained the history and lifestyle of the Calusa people. The location is beautiful and we enjoyed our picnic (bring your own as no food available). We returned for a 90 minute boat trip on the river and estuary. The motor boat carried 6 people and the guide provided a commentary and pointed out various birds including an osprey which had just caught a fish. The boat went among the overhanging mangroves and we preferred this trip to the much larger boat tours from the centre or any on the air boats..

The visitor center is a good place for information on boat tours. Be wary of alligators wandering the boat ramps and parking lots.

The visitor center is currently housed in a temporary structure as the original building was destroyed in a hurricane. There are only a few table top exhibits featuring some of the area’s fauna and some reproductions of Native American items produced by a local artist. Restrooms are in a separate structure nearby and were surprisingly adequate given their temporary nature as well.

We did find the rangers quite helpful in providing recommendations on places to visit and directions, and this is the departure point for concessionaire boat tours of the 10000 Islands area of the Everglades which we strongly recommend (however, we chose Smallwood Store Boat Tours over the official concessionaire for the personalized, small group experience at a similar cost).

I was told to stop here to get my National Park Passport book stamped by the Big Cypress Park Rangers. There wasn't a lot to see at this location but they did have a few nature displays upstairs.

7 miles on US 29S off US Route 41is a quick introduction to the Everglades NP. Primarily functions as a launch dock for boat tours of 10000 Islands and Everglades NP. Has a small visitor center, clean restrooms and minimal snacks. Worth the trip for NP buffs. Highly recommend the Boat Tour that we took.

It's not the museum in town yet it worked. As everyone says, make sure to go upstairs. I found the staff very friendly and helpful. The public bathrooms were clean and large.

Some interesting displays but little information to help find interesting places to visit or do. Staff were not very helpful.

Husband and I did both tours. While it was pricey, this was our once in a life time trip to Everglades so it we went for it. Really enjoyed the Mangrove tour. We did see a dolphin and various birds in addition to the mangroves which are cool.
We had rain for 80% of the 10,000 Island tour and because it was a downpour it did limit what we could see. The crew made a valiant effort and were successful in locating a dolphin and a couple manatee along with various birds.
If you have to choose just one, we would recommend the Mangrove Tour.

Tiny center, as National Parks go, so the main thing to do is get on the boat tour. The do have a nicely set up center and a Park Ranger (Jill) gave us an informative walk around the small grounds pointing out the various flora and how they relate to the ecosystem. Didn't have time to fully explore the center but what we did have time for was informative.

We went on the boat trip from the Everglades National Park Visitor Center. The trip was a small boat (6people!) into the mangroves and through the bay! The guide was funny and informative. We even got caught in a rainstorm and he had tarps we could all sit under... The trip was about an hour through mangrove tunnels and lakes. Wildlife EVERYWHERE!! And the best part was that it was the last trip of the day and we sat out in the bay to watch the sunset!!! Iv'e been on this trip 3 times and it gets better every time!!!

Only just arrived in Everglades City went for a look round and information. We were talked into a boat trip which was leaving in 10 minutes, the last of the day and the best time to see wildlife, we were told that there were herds of manatees and schools of dolphins which had been seen all day. Guess what we saw some raccoons in the distance and a few birds which you can see everywhere. We did see a manatees' head but it was much too rough to see anything properly as there was a storm coming in. The trip should never have gone out it was very disappointing.

This center is just one room with a park ranger and a few educational exhibits. You can ask them to put on the 20 minute Discovery Channel video about the Everglades. The ranger is happy to tell you about places to go and things to do in the area.

We stopped in here while we were waiting for our boat tour to start. Its part of the Everglades National Park. The displays are very cute and full of information. The ranger was friendly and helpful.

we stayed here 1 night before heading down to the keys. the area was very pleasant & worked well for our needs

We paid for a tandem kayaking and after two trips to the place they couldn't delivered the service paid for. Service was terrible and staff rude!

Truly felt that this woman loved her town and wanted us to have fun and enjoy our visit. Even though the center was busy with travelers, I did not get the sense that she was anxious to wrap up our engagement and move on to other guests. Great costomer service and sincere hostess of the Everglades Park.

Some educational displays, NPS souveniers. Larger commercial souvenier shop downstairs. And restrooms, of course.

This center is under construction. It has two rangers to answer a trailer (temporary office) full of people.
Why are the Everglades visitors centers so much smaller and offer little compared to other national parks?

We just made a quick stop - didn't really plan to take a tour. The display area was interesting. Be sure to stop up the road to see the alligators up close in the wild! I don't know what it is called.

Make a 30 minute stop here as you visit the everglades. There is a one room museum that talks about the ecology of the area and the wildlife. Downstairs has a gift shop with the usual "my parents were here and I got a t-shirt" stuff, but they also have detailed maps of the area.
Don't know the cost, but they have at least two massive excursion boats for tours of the area.

We stopped in to get suggestions about what to do with our time in the park and were not disappointed!

The actual location is different than pictured. I get the impression the old buildings didn't make it through a storm and there is currently a trailer and portable bathrooms (better than port-a-potties!) at the site.

The rangers stationed here are top notch! We got a ton of great suggestions (including a well annotated map from Ranger Jacob Trusty. He was fun and personable and took the time to get to know what we were looking for before making final suggestions (canoe trip on Turner Paddling Trail was a win! and the Oasis Visitors center in Big Cypress does indeed have the big gators). He was also able to help us figure out how much time to spend in the northern area vs the southern area of the park.

Thanks, Ranger Trusty! We appreciate you making our trip awesome!

Have rented canoes and kayaks here before, and took some friends here to have a great day kayaking in the mangroves, have always had superb help and advice from staff, and we received top notch help from staff at outside rental area.

But, the women who ran the inside sales counter could not have been more unprofessional and unhelpful if had they tried, in fact it seemed as if they were making a special effort to be as rude as possible, maybe it was already their last day and they just decided to end on a down note.

We took a 1 1/2 hour boat trip with a park ranger. Dolphins played alongside the boat, lots of birds showed up, and I enjoyed a real sense of these many mangrove islands. The small museum in the visitor center is worth a look.

We were first time visitors and we wanted to canoe the everglades. After speaking to the employees on the first floor of the visitors center about what was available, we decided on the river loop. We were given a rough map of the area and told where the canoes were. The open area that you canoe through to reach either the river or the islands looks lake like. Beware, this area can and did turn rough on us. We were two experienced adults trying to navigate the canoe through waves that could easily flip the canoe. This is not a trip for the inexperienced or families with kids. We were shocked that the visitors center didn't warn of the danger. Please check weather conditions and do not rent if any chance of wind or inclement weather.

I wanted to see the Everglades from the water. I started with the Gulf Coast Visitor Center in Everglades City. In addition to displays and trails you can also take an hour and half boat tour of the 10,000 Islands. The tour costs $32 and the crew was very knowledgeable and very entertaining. The boat includes open areas and places to stay out of the sun. There were several other photographers on board and there was plenty of room for all of us. We saw dolphins, manatees and sea turtles as well as lots of birds. The boat is big and we stayed in the main channel so all photo ops were from a distance.

I didn't get as many pictures from this cruise as I did the other two but it was still well worth the money and time. I really enjoyed the crew and learned some interesting things. President Harry Truman dedicated the Everglades National Park from the runway of the Everglades Airport on December 6, 1947. I did travel during the middle of the day and I'm sure I would have seen more if I had been there for the early morning cruise.

Was expecting a little more for a NOS Visitors Center, but what was there was good and the staff person was incredibly helpful!

Four of us took the inland Cypress tour and were very disappointed. We chose this tour because it was a small boat, 6 people, and it went into the Cypress bayous where we thought we would see more wildlife. As it turned out, a large percentage of the tour involved a high speed ride over open water and up a river to the Bayou. We saw a number of Osprey which are beautiful birds if you've never seen one but you don't have to go to the Everglades to see them. Other than that we saw some fiddler crabs in the mud, a blue crab on a log, and some wading birds in the distance. The boat operator/guide was not a trained naturalist nor a park ranger, and wasn't particularly knowledgeable or interesting. He did perk up at the end to let us know that he expected a tip for his services. These tours are offered by a private concessionaire located at the National Park visitor's center in Everglades city. For about $40 per person this tour was not worth it and you would probably enjoy any of the other tours in the area much more than this.

The rangers on the second floor were very informative. We did the Ranger nature tour. Since there is not much land it was around the small property. He was very informative and engaging about the trees and natural habitat of the Everglades Mangrove system. It was around 4pm so the mosquitos were out in full force so bring your bug spray.

They also offer a free 4 hour canoe trips that cover about 5 miles for only 4 people (I think). We did not participate but if you are a keen canoer (and in shape) this sounded like a great activity. Call and reserve in advance.

A great visitor center for this edge of the Everglades National Park.

I drove down here from my vacation place in Fort Myers Beach on November 6th, 2012. This is the Everglades National Park Service location for the 10000 Islands area on the Gulf of Mexico. Somewhat more than an hour's drive on I-75, arriving here you get the feeling you are in the outback. I liked it because it was uncrowded and personal. The most popular tourist attractions must be somewhere else!

Everglades City is a fishing town. You can purchase a ride on a boat here, advertized 1 hour plus for about 26 bucks. There is also a souvenir shop on the first level (I got an excellent tee shirt with the 10000 islands depicted in Google maps form), or go upstairs and visit with the Park Ranger and see the few exhibits.

On this random day there was a family with kids from New Jersey, a friendly German couple, and later there arrived some folks from NC who wanted to go on a nature ride on a boat. I signed up for the same boat.

One leaves every half hour or on the hour. We got on the 'Shark'. The weather was perfect for a boat ride out there on the gulf; about 75 F and sunny. We got to see lots of birds, but since there was some talk about sea turtles, dolphins, and manatees (there were even manatee area warning signs in the dredged channel), we saw nothing but birds. Bad timing I guess for wildlife but great weather.

This boat was what I would call a catamaran, Yamaha twin 200's, awnings overhead, but it is not a fishing boat. Leave your gear behind! Cameras only.

In the town of Everglades City there are seafood restaurants with food worth dying, freshest in the world. Please see my other reviews of Everglades City and Fort Myers Beach.

There is a lot of free stuff to do around here. If you are a large family, costs per person can get out of hand. So do your homework and you will find a cost effective nature experience.

The ranger program dec 23 was well presented, informative and enjoyable.
We took the boat tour out through the 10000 islands and were somewhat disappointed. We saw white pelicans and dolphins. We were led to believe that we would see manatees and rosate spoonbills. All the other birdlife we saw could be viewed from the road. We understand that you can't make wildlife appear on command, but think that if you have not seen them for over a week that this should be disclosed.
The scenery was magnificent.
We thought that there would be rangers leading the tour. It is a private enterprise with minimal information. I think we should have been informed that this was a private company. We thought we were supporting a National Park.

I've been going to Everglades City for about 20 years and always visit the Gulf Coast Visitor Center, mostly to register for camping out in the 10,000 Islands. I've never had a bad experience with the staff there. They are always willing to answer questions and even laugh at the jokes they've probably heard dozens of times. After Hurricane Irma in September of 2017 the visitor center was rendered uninhabitable. I haven't been out since April 2019 but the rebuild is going on. Still, the people/staff are so pleasant. Even though they were not charging camping fees we still put our $20 in to help with the reconstruction.

The two places are NOT the same. The visiting center is upstairs and its run by the NPS. The rangers were very friendly and helpful, and gave us all the best sites to visit while we were in the Everglades. They also recommended a boat tour, from a private company which is located downstairs. The boat tour was actually great! The lady at the counter is not a very nice person, but if you can get past that, the tour is amazing. It took about 1.5-2 hours, we went through the Everglades to the Gulf. We were able to see a lot of Dolphins, Birds (Bald Eagle, Pelicans, etc), and other wildlife. Great experience! Would recommend!

Make sure you get on a boat that has a Park Ranger, it becomes much more informative and educational!

From here you can take a tour of the Mangroves, or take a trip out to the GULF. you will see BIRD, Dolphins, and if your lucky maybe a SEA TURTLE.

Lots to see and do. Beaches are beautiful. People friendly. It was hot and humid...which I don't appreciate. Would try another time like December through February.

Good range of trips and advice as well as interesting information centre. Lovely staff.

Staying nearby at Marco Island, this was the nearest entrance to Everglades National Park, at the farthest northwest corner of the park, whose main headquarters/entrance is nearer Miami (as we were told, "where the people are"!). Not knowing what was there, or what to expect, we actually drove past the entrance sign and continued on to one of the little islands (Chokoloskee). Back at the Vistor Center, we found a small but interesting display of some sea life information; we heard a park ranger speak about the history of the area (Calusa Indians); and signed up for a 90-minute boat tour of the mangrove islands and out to the Gulf.........actually quite interesting to us. We saw a variety of birds and dolphins.........always fun to watch! Though this was not a fabulous outing, it was fine with us..........a short drive from Marco Island or Naples, and a Florida experience that did not include the beach or shopping! If you appreciate the chance to spend any time in one of our great National Parks it's worth a stop. Hope we can visit again via the main entrance and visitor areas. This ranks somewhere between average and very good depending on your preferences. The little towns of Everglade City and Chokoloskee give you a view of "old Florida".

This was exactly what we expected - and even more. We knew the Everglades NP was offshore, and the fact that they have available boat rides with area experts right from the visitor center is great. The day we showed up there were 3 expected trip of 90 minutes each. 10, Noon, 2. Captaincies. Booby was good guide, spotting stuff that most would not see. Went as far as Indian Key. We saw Manatee, Dolphin, Osprey, Huron, Egret etc.

If you are going to this side of the NP - read before you go and know what to expect. It's not the Disney side of the park - but may be the best part.

This center is best used for local information as supplied by the uniformed person on duty. There isn't much to see.

Definitely worth the time and price! Our guide, Captain Tom, was a delight and was informative and engaging. Our kids asked many questions and they were answered patiently and pleasantly. We saw a lot wildlife including dolphins. We heard stories of the people and history of the area. The evening was cold, windy but beautiful! I wish we would have really seen the sunset being that it was advertised as a sunset cruise. That was the only disappointment. Would recommend still. Nice end to a full day.

We thought this was an entrance into the National Park. I obviously did not do any research. The sign was hard to see, and we accidentally passed it. There is a trailer here, which we did not need to go in, because there was a canopy outside with maps, alligator skulls, and other info, and very nice park rangers eager to answer questions and give advice. We never actually made it into the Everglades National Park. When you drive down 41, you are actually in Big Cypress National Preserve for about 45 more miles. We enjoyed our stops at H.P. Williams Roadside Park, Kirby Storter Park, and the Oasis Visitor Center.

We stopped by to see what information they had for the area. Took the boat tour out to the gulf which was very interesting. Boat was operated by a private company but NPS employee was very good in explaining the area wildlife on the 1 1/2 tour where we saw a number of dolphins.

you can take boats out to explore the glades and 10,000 islands, or have them take you out. Lots of herons of all kinds, nesting osprey, royal terns, pelicans and more.

Lots of interesting information here. Great place to watch the sunset. Rangers are helpful and informative. We took the boat tour that goes out of this location which was a lot of fun. Saw lots of birds and dolphins.

We visited the Gulf Coast Visitor Center as we had made online reservations for the mangrove boat tour based out of the visitor center. On the web site, it said you need to make reservations by fax or online. Since for most people, it is a drive down to the Everglades National Park, making sure you have reservations are a good idea. Our tour was good with a good guide. The group size is limited to 6. You actually go into a mangrove in the boat and if you are lucky see birds and manatees. We saw some birds, but due to cold cloudy weather, did not see a lot.

The visitors center and the shop below it are small, but pack a lot of information inside. You can purchase tickets for the boat tours that are offered in the park in the shop. Ranger talks are also scheduled, the times posted outside. While at the center you can picnic, fish, bird watch, and walk the grounds.
We chose the ten thousand islands tour, which is 1.5 hours and around $38/pp. Definitely worth the money. Our tour (1130am) had maybe 15 people on it, small group, and we got to see 4 dolphins up close for nearly 10 minutes. Besides that you see a large number of birds, the mangroves, and out to the barrier islands.

The centre does boat trips out around the islands which we would highly recommend. Its lovely to get in amongst the islands in the small boat and we saw lots of birds and dolphins - the captain did brilliantly to entice them to come and play in our wake. But a ranger accompanies the trips and ours was new and inexperienced and young - wish she had let the captain speak more as when he did he was full of interesting information and often whispered things into her ear which she then told us! they recommend you book but we just walked up even in peak season and there were only about 8 people on our boat.

We stopped in the late afternoon and couldn't stay for the next boat tour which left at 4.
Not much else to see at the Visitor Center but did buy a couple of t-shirts at the gift shop.
I would recommend going to another section of the Everglades National Park to get the real flavor.

We found this strech of the everglades quite boring - the boat tour is lovley, but then there is not much else to do (ok, some fishing & cayaking, but nothing too exciting.. we cut our stay down from 3 to 1 night as we didn't even find a nice restaurant in the city which offered anything worth mentioing besides fried food.. -> good day trip, the boat trip was lovley, but nothing beyond..

This was the second time we visited Everglades City and took the boat ride from the Park. We highly recommend it as the rangers and boat drivers know the region well and give a lively fact-filled tour. We enjoyed seeing some birds, manatees, and dolphins which made it all so much fun. Thank you, Captain Bobby and Ranger Jeremiah for making our ride a destination.

Although we did not see any alligators, they told us where to drive down the road about 6 miles at HP William’s Picnic Area where we found many of them.

We also enjoyed a delightful lunch on a screened in porch jutting over the water at the Triad Seafood Cafe. Delicious fresh seafood just minutes down the road from the Park.

The ranger on duty when we went there (the afternoon of 1 November) was extremely helpful. He talked us through places we could visit and annotated a map as he went through the options, which we then took away with us. Thanks to his advice we went on some lovely walks along boardwalks and got to see massive alligators and loads of birds.

Planning on kayaking the Ten Thousand Islands you need to stop here. They a
have all the latest information to make your trip a success. They also have nice displays about the history of the area as well as the wildlife. Don't confuse this with the concession on the first floor which is for boat tours. This visitor center is on the second floor.

Building is closed due to a 9 ft surge after recent hurricane destroyed the building, so they are under renovation. They are in a trailer with just a map. Lots of rangers though and a list of recently sighted animals.

We chose to take a boat out to the 10,000 islands. It was a gorgeous day and there were just 2 other families on board so pleanty of room to move about and joke. Pleanty of great pictures especially of storms building and storming around us.

When a storm started coming our way, the captain did a beeline for the shore. It missed us but gave us an alternate route back. No time lost.

Bought s few items for the kids and headed off.

We took both tours, and while there was some overlap, we enjoyed both. The guides were friendly and very knowledgeable. We learned a great deal about the area. We chose these tours because they are both in the park and are quiet, unlike the more commercial tours

Saw some great birds, dolphins, and more on the hourly tour along the estuaries. Lots of kayak/canoe opportunities but I'll have to check those out later. A very cozy but packed visitors center and similar facilities. A great way to get a sense of Florida'a unique costal habitats without having to drive to the Atlantic coast.

Compared to other ranger stations the advice was a bit lacklustre. Boat trips downstairs are separate but beware, no refunds even if weather is awful and, as in our case, an official advisory for boats our size not to go out. Captain was downright rude - when asked if there would be others on the water he said "no some people have more sense". He berated us for booking online (we hadn't) and for not checking the weather - we didn't have internet and thought that maybe if there was an issue the office would have told us when we went in to book late the previous day....To add insult to injury when you get into the boat there is a large sign sying captains workmfor tips 15% is customary. Would not recommend, but maybe we were unlucky.

We took both boat tours, the one into the mangroves and the one on open water. WE loved them both. The guides were very knowledgeable and friendly and made it really interesting. The trips are not actually that different, but we were happy we did both. If I had to choose, I would take the one into the mangroves because it incorporated the open water, too. We saw dolphins on both trips. The cost was not bad, I think it was $30 - $40/each.

We went on both the "Mangrove Wilderness" tour and the "10,000 islands tour". The Mangrove tour took us deep into the swamp and mangrove canals in a small boat (6 passengers). The skilled and knowledgable driver/guide made it an experience of a lifetime pointing out wildlife and sights large and small.
The "10,000 islands" tour took us out towards the coast in a larger boat which was a less intimate experience than the mangrove tour. Got really close to a school of dolphins though, even had them jumping around the boat for 5 minutes. A spectacular experience in a spectacular scenery

We enjoyed wandering around the visitor center while waiting for our boat tour. They had interesting exhibits and my younger son completed the junior ranger badge program. The park ranger was very informative and very helpful! Glad we stopped by!

I'm a big fan of national parks and I learn so much from my visits. We did the junior ranger badge program- watched a film, explored the exhibit and spoke with a park ranger. I agree with previous reviewers about the store downstairs, they were a bit pushy and tried to make me feel remorse about not taking the 10,000 islands tour. The Everglades are a national treasure.

We enjoyed talking to the park ranger volunteers. They were very informative and answered all of our questions. Never felt rushed. There were some interesting displays.

Don't bother visiting with young children unless they are old enough to boat. There isn't anything to do here on land. This is a park on the water, literally. Pretty views from the desk of the visitor center and a small but interesting hands-on exhibit for children.

The visitor's center was on the small side, but definitely did not lack on the information and educational displays. We enjoyed our visit here, and the staff was very helpful in answering our questions and providing tips to help us plan our day! From here, we also took a fun boat ride through the mangroves, from Everglades National Park Boat Tours, which I reviewed separately.

Great place to spend an hour or two and get immersed in the area's original state as well as the status today.

As others have stated, this is a temporary visitor center while the other gets repaired. They’ve made the best of the situation. There are bathrooms, picnic tables, great views of the bay, and a welcoming energetic staff. I can’t remember the ranger’s name, but he was there today (06-29) and walked us through a map, outlining where all the cancellation stamps are, pointing out the best places to see wildlife, and how to beat approach our journey to the other side. Five stars for service.

This place allows you to see some of the Gulfs natural animals and plants from a different perspective, no attractions no sales to be made, just people who care about what they do and love to share their knowledge. We saw the most spectacular show from wild Dolphins, these guys followed the boat and just had fun right in front of us, we could almost touch them.

We went on the boat ride and saw lots of birds as well as several Dolphins. No manatees. It was a bit hard to hear the commentary over the noise of the boat, but we had a ranger on board to answer questions. She also helped me get info on other things to do with the grandkids.

After visiting 3 Everglades National Park visitor centers, hands down the nicest center and friendliest staff were at Flamingo. Gulf Coast Visitor Center is very small, but does have some decent exhibits and a nice introductory movie (with about 3 seats to sit on!). they have a very limited amount of souvenirs for sale, but a nice array of books. Two rangers were working and one was very friendly. The other ranger never welcomed me to the center, nor thanked me for my purchases.

The 1:45 Mangrove boat tour is excellent. We were very happy we chose this tour. A 6
person boat, so very personable service! Our captain/host was Ted, a young man from WI. Ted has worked a variety of interesting seasonal jobs all over, from WI, TX, FL, and Alaska, plus Africa! So, he was fun and informative, both personally and professionally. We several birds, some crabs, couple dolphins, fish. The mangroves were the highlight, and going through the tunnel of trees (mangroves) was very exciting! Just being out on the water on a warm, sunny day was wonderful! $42 adult fare.

We also attended a 20 minute ranger talk on the FL panther and the snake population/problems. Very nice program.

There is a handicapped lift to take people to the 2nd floor visitor center. But walking around with a wheelchair, even a walker would be difficult. Too small an area. Small store. Gravel parking lot. Bathrooms were not in working order, but they did have chemical toilets, which were not too pleasant! No charge to enter this visitor center area, but there is a $10 entry fee at Flamingo or Shark Valley, which is good for 7 days.

Bathrooms were very clean and with flush toilets and running water. Easy launch area for kayaks, with little power boat traffic in the area.

Visitors center is small, mostly serving to facilitate boat tours (available for purchase) as well as opportunities for canoeing or kayaking. Visitors center itself is not in the park, but boat tours go into the park. Boat tours are very interesting, however, there is not much else of interest.

We stopped by the Gulf Coast Visitor Center and they were closed. It was 1:45 and a big sign on the door indicated they were closed. The parking lot was full and the hours indicated they should have been open but not so.

We went on two - early in the morning we took the mangrove trip, then later on, since the larger boat offered shade, the 10,000 island trip. The guide on the first was wonderful to listen to. We saw wildlife on both - on the first, an alligator, on the second dolphins and a frigate bird, among other birds. Ospreys are plentiful - a delight to UK birdwatchers!

Stop by here to get the lo-down on what to see and do - the staff is great and full of great tips if you let them know your travel "style"

The centre is worth a visit to get your knowledge up to-date of the area and its ecology. The boat trip from the centre is worth it to see the islands and their life. You will also usually see dolphins. We hires an open canoe from the centre the next day and had a very enjoyable trip along the coast, across the bay and into the mangroves. Take your insect spray!! Also the river through the mangroves can get very tight as you make your way up it so be prepared.

The centre is quite small so one has a few exhibits, but these are very interesting, excellent and informative. The staff are very helpful and gave us excellent advice on places to visit, also free!

We went there after another boat tour but it's worth going there for first; there is a lot of information too.

We have taken two separate boat trips for the last two visits. The Ten Thousand Island large boat trip heads out into the Bay; three playful dolphins danced alongside. The smaller six boat trip was super. Our friendly guide pointed out wading birds along the mangroves. The highlight was the mangrove tunnel, as our small boat moved slowly through the narrow channel through the thick mangroves, rousting white graceful egrets and ibis in front of us. Wow. Beautiful.

Stop by and sign up for a boat trip - it is a great way to see Ten Thousand Islands. Wildlife was everywhere, from many pairs of dolphins, turtles, birds, etc.

Ranger station, gift shop, bathrooms were damaged by Irma. So main building is closed. Plenty of parking. Temp trailer in place for the time being. Plenty of portajohns.

We took a day trip here from Sanibel Island, about 2 hrs ride and booked a a boat ride out to the Gulf . It was a pleasant ride that was 1 1/2 hrs long, which was run by a private boat company for the visitor center. We saw lots of bird life and as we got closer to the gulf , through the park , we were treated to dolphin siteings. It was worth the $30 a ticket, very informative. The tours go out several times throughout the days.

On weekends the NPS offers a free canoe trip across the bay to Sand Fly Island. We took the trip with Andres and Richard on March 11. First you paddle about a mile across the bay into a channel through the islands. Along the way we saw dolphins and ospreys. When we got to the island, Andres led a walk around the island, pointing out various natural and man made sights on the island. After a break for lunch, we headed through some different channels through the islands before paddling back across the bay to the Visitor Center. The total trip was 4.5 hours and it was obvious the Andres and Richard really enjoyed giving this tour. The trip was moderately strenuous and I would recommend this trip for teens and older.

We live in St. Pete. Staying in Naples for a week as a first post Covid car trip. We have a lifetime national parks pass so decided to make the hour drive down to here.

We have entered the Park via the Homestead, FL access many years ago. I researched on the Park's website and even though it said the Visitor Center was closed due to Covid, we assumed we could still drive into the park at that location as I read about there being a West Coast entrance.

When we got there, we found a small parking lot and a boat ramp into whatever body of water it is. No roads into the Park. We assume that this location must require a boat to access the national park area.

We would have liked to have taken a boat tour but it was 95 degrees so felt like 110 and were not sure how Covid safe it would be on a boat with others so we didn't do it.

I started my Everglades adventure here with a boat tour and it was awesome (Ten Thousand Islands tour). The visitor's center has some informative displays about the area that are worth a look and the ranger gave me a map and drive times to other areas I was heading to. There is a small shop below where you make the tour reservations and they were very nice there since I was late and reserved an earlier tour. They kindly moved me to the next available without any fuss. It was the week before Christmas mid-week, so they were not crowded at all. It was a nice little building with friendly people and I bought some snacks for my boat tour since I was hungry after driving for a long time.

We were very happy we took 105 minute boat ride here (vs one hour airboat rides that cannot go into the national park). The concessionaire has 6-seat boats with swivel seats so it's great for viewing wildlife. They are small and relatively quiet so you can get into the mangrove tunnels, and you don't have the noise of the airboats. Much to see--several dolphins swam near the boat, many osprey and chicks, terns, several types of mangroves, ibis, cormorants. Manatees and gators had left for less salty water but apparently are often seen at other times of year. We came to go to the visitor center and were surprised to see the boat concessions. Can also rent kayaks/canoes or take a larger boat through the 10000 Islands area.

a few nice displays; folders; helpful staff...souvenirs also at decent prices mostly...we were advised to come here back at the last visitor's center in Big Cypress...we were not all that impressed at all...but at least it wasn't too far more to come...

The park rangers were incredibly helpful and willing to take whatever time you needed to plan your trip. Their ranger guided trips are Excellent. The boating concessionaire there is also nice - you can take a seated trip on a pontoon boat or rent your own for self guided exploration. fabulous. For all, just make sure you understand where you are going so you book a variety and cover both the Ten Thousand Islands and the Mangroves.

This Visitors Center is at the Ranger Station of the Everglades National Park in Everglades City. Downstairs there is a gift store and is where you sign up for one of two boat trips - one that goes out to the 10,000 islands and one that goes upriver. Both seem to be about the same environment. Mangrove islands with many types of birds to see. The 10,000 island trip is more open water and you are more likely to see Dolphins. The upriver one may give you more chance to see manatees. Upriver trips carry 6 passengers and departs every 2 hours, and the island trip 26 and leaves once an hour on the half hour.

Our upriver trip had no bimini, so be warned to wear sunscreen and a hat. Mid-day trips can be very hot. The island trip was shaded. Both trips are $35 upriver -$26.50 per person island.

Upstairs at the visitors center is a great interactive room-sized museum. Plenty for people of all ages to enjoy. The park ranger was very knowledgeable and friendly. We spent over 45 minutes just scanning the room and the kids never got bored.

Even if you don't take a boat trip, check out the center for some interesting info about the animals around the park.

We just drove by and stopped in and the clerks would hardly take no for an answer re the Everglades boat tours. Some souvenirs, clean restrooms. We didn't stay there long. There were displays and maps to look at. We liked Big Cypress Visitor Center better.

We made a reservation at the Everglades Gulf Coast Visitor Center, following the instructions on their web site, and they lost our reservation. Despite a confirmed reservation number and a print out showing that we were charged for the tickets, we were unable to take the tour we signed up for. There was only one person at the desk with several other customers trying to buy gift items and arrange for other tours - miserable customer service. Disappointing.

Great walking and boat tours. They are ranger leads, so a lot of information about the area is shared. Pricing is very reasonable.

We did a wonderful ranger led canoe trip with Helen as our guide through the 10,000 Island NP. This trip is not for beginners and we were lucky to have a perfectly lovely day with wind at our back. It is a 3 - 4 hr trip and they do warn you that the weather conditions can make for a difficult canoe ride. But we lucked out and had a great time. We saw a manatee, many birds, and stopped at Sandfly Island. Everyone on the tour was fabulous! Highly recommend!

The staff on duty were very knowledgeable and passionate about what they are doing to educate visitors. They are the best part of this visitor center.

We stopped here to get some info on the boat tours. We were unfortunately rained out. The tropical storm was on the horizon and ruined our time. The ranger on duty was very helpful and friendly.

Not open because of Irma, but a temp trailer is in place. The staff in the trailer were very friendly and helpful.

We had a blast at the Gulf coast center! We got to do two different type of rides, one was the manatee watch, which was extremely nice! We saw so many dolphins and a couple of manatees. It was a nice view and our captains were hilarious. The second ride, wasn't as fun for me because there were A LOT of mosquitoes and the repellent didn't really work. We still learned a lot and had a lot of fun but when we went deep into the swamps or "Mosquito Land" as the captain called it we were covered in them! Overall for a good price we really had a lot fun and got to see so many cool views!

We went on the 1 hr 30 minute pontoon boat tour ($ 75 for two adults, two children) because the inland tour was booked. Definitely make reservations in advance if you are able to. The upstairs museum was cute and the staff was very informative. I wish the woman on the main floor (where you go to book tours) would have been more helpful in explaining the tours, where to go, etc. The ranger who guided the tour was awesome. His name was Kris and he was really knowledgeable and very friendly. He even put up with my kids asking him a million questions. The boat staff was great too. I wish we would have done the inland tour so we could see more wildlife. This particular tour was a bit boring for kids.

Well thought out place, good staff, very informative, answered all questions.

We went on the Ten Thousand Islands Sunset cruise and had a great time. Wonderful scenery and informative commentary plus lots of wildlife. We encountered a pod of dolphins who were having a great time surfing in the wake of the boat. The captain turned the boat round so we (and they) could have a repeat experience. The tour was advertised at 90 minutes but, although the boat was far from full, there was no rush to get back to the dock. We ended up with a trip just short of two hours. One of the highlights of our trip to the Everglades and highly recommended. We would have booked for the Mangrove tour too but had to get to our next destination.

The center itself doesn't have that much, but they have contracted a for-profit company to run boat tours from the visitor center. The boat tours, which are a little pricey in our opinion, are really the only way to get a feel for the area since there are no boardwalks, etc in the area that we saw. We took the 10,000 Islands Tour, which allowed us to get out and see what some of the 10,000 Islands look like, and we'd probably have done another of the tours if we had enough time.

We did not realize until we got there that the Everglades national park is only accessible by water in that area. So we took the smaller boat tour. It was 1:45 minutes of beautiful nature. We thoroughly enjoyed our trip and were only disappointed that we did not have time for the larger boat tour. We'll definitely return and do that one next.

We enjoyed the boat tour provided by the Park Service. The tour guide was very knowledgeable and informative. The highlight was the dolphins that he spent a lot of time driving near so we could get good photos of. Everglades city is a cute little town. We enjoyed eating at Camillas Street Grill for some excellent fresh seafood.

we had a great time. Brought my family to see one of the places I visited when I was a kids. such fun.

We had a great boat trip and it was super to see a Dolphin jumping over the wake of the boat. Very friendly and helpful crew. It was very kind of them to give their jackets to the small girls whose thoughtless parents hadn't brought any even though it was a cold day. A very nice trip. Thanks guys.

Helpful staff with smiling faces. I got plenty of info about the area and also went for a half-day free canoe trip led by National Park staff across into the mangrove waterways, to see the wildlife. Thanks to Andy and Michelle.

This was really just a modular trailer set up; we were told the original building was damaged by Hurricane Erma. However, they provide all the information inside that you'll need for this part of the Everglades and you can also purchase tour tickets there. Nothing much in the way of bookstore items you'd normally find at a NPS visitor center

Technically, this visitor center is outside the boundary of the Everglades National Park, which is why it's listed in TripAdvisor under Everglade City and not the park. If you take a boat tour from here, you will be taken into the part of the gulf where the park boundary starts. And it's certainly worth taking a boat ride into the park. For one thing, you get a break from the mosquitos that swarm you on land. You also get a chance to see dolphins, white pelicans and other wildlife you can't see elsewhere in the park.

Everglade City has a number of restaurants near the visitor center. It's a nice way to grab a meal after a boat tour.

They gave me good ideas for other day trips to the Naples area.. They gave me information on Naples hotels and things to do like the Naples Zoo, Botanical gardens and Tin City..

Hurricane Irma hit the Visitor Center which is closed while they renovate it. The Current Center is in a small trailer. There's not much there except a few exhibits and an information desk. But worth the stop if only to get the lay of the land. We talked with a very nice Park representative who gave us some very good tips on what to see.

Don't go for the Visitor Center experience. But do go if you need some info.

The original visitor center building was severely damaged by Hurricane Irma and will soon be knocked down. There are plans to rebuild a permanent visitor center, but for the time being, the visitor center is housed in one small portable building. Soon, they will transition into a couple of larger portable buildings. Despite these setbacks, the staff was friendly and helpful. A family with small children came by 5 minutes before closing time, and the ranger went out of his way to invite them in, get junior ranger stuff for the kiddos, and show them different marine animal bones and skeletons. The exhibit area may have only been a small table, but I got to feel the weight of manatee rib and see firsthand the differences between crocodile and alligator skulls. Plus, I still got my all-important cancelation stamp for my national park passport!

Knowing that the the other visitor center was not operable we stopped here. Any questions you asked the ranger he answered and even looked something up on Google when he wasn’t sure. There is a chart on the wall that lets you know what wildlife has recently been spotted. If you have a quest about the area it is a good place to stop.

OK, so our sunset cruise wasn't their finest hour! The boat broke down a third of the way out, limped back and we were transferred to another boat. They handled the transfer well, but an hour-and-a half trip was half-lost with no talk of a refund. The captain's knowledge of the local wildlife was cringe-makingly bad (his more knowledgeable mate was embarrassed by this and did his best to correct him, but as the captain had the microphone it was all a bit of a laugh). We didn't have time out there to see any dolphins, and saw very little other wildlife, but the sunset was nice. If you are seriously into wildlife, try and go with another company, even though this one is marketed by the National Park itself (they have a few issues to address in this regard!). Otherwise, better luck than we had.

Good stop all the info you need for your trip. Restroom and I mean one room. Very friendly person working there with a young boy learning & getting credit.

This was a nice little visitors center. There are lots of things to do here, kayaking, canoeing, boat tours and hiking. The staff were very helpful and had lots of knowledge and information about the park.

Arrived too late in the day and everything was starting to shut down. It was our own fault but we'll just have to go back and check it out another time. The temporary facility is small but we at least got to read all the outdoor panels and check out the docks. Even the wildlife had already retired. Pretty drive down there though and will time it better in future.

Talked to the Ranger and he seemed uninterested in talking to us. Just seemed he was unhappy about his job. Said he had been a Ranger for 7 years. Think they would be more friendly. This Guy wasn;t. Maybe he was just having a bad Ranger Day.

If you can only stop in one everglade visitor center and entrance, do the one near Homestead with the Anguilla trail. While we enjoyed the activities here also, we preferred those at the eastern entrance

Excellent crews, very well informed and well worth the money and time. Really gives a great understanding of the Everglades in this area of Florida.

The Gulf Coast VC was destroyed by Hurricane Irma. The replacement trailer with port-a-potties is certainly adequate to getting the visitors' needs met, and even has a couple of small, hands-on interactive related to wildlife. Jessica, the ranger on duty, was very gracious and walked us through planning our visit to all of the Everglades NP, not just the Gulf Coast entrance. Best of luck to them as they rebuild!

This was a really delightful trip on a large party boat and the highlights were many: perfect weather, lovely scenery, and a party of 12 dolphins who followed our boat and made the entire experience very memorable.

A great place to start your everglades exploration. The staff are all knowledgeable about the area and although they will not recomend a particular company they will tell you in what area you will see more wildlife. They know their parks inside & out. We took a boat ride from here and were pleased.

We took the sunset boat tour to explore the mangrove island. We saw many birds at a distance and we saw a big group of dolphins! They swam very close to the boat and that really make my day!

To be honest its nothing special but the employees are able to give some information if you are visiting the everglades for the first time. They sell maps which can be useful. A restroom can be welcome as well but please protect yourself against the hungry mosquitos!

Small, but nice. Helpful staff. cool after the hot, humid, out doors. Enjoy the visit. easy to find.

We decided to kayak and canoe the Sandfly Island loop. When we got there, we realized that there were ranger guided tours, but we missed it. In any case, we decided to venture out on our own. We thought we were paddling in the right direction until I realize that we were off course significantly. I guess it wasn't as easy going straight as we thought. It was a good experience nonetheless. We ended up not doing the whole loop, since we were tired from paddling the wrong way! We did find the dock for Sandfly Island. We ended up seeing the tour group and by then, they had already completed the loop. We walked the trail on Sandfly Island, took about 25 minutes with taking a few pictures on the way. The mangroves and the different vegetation was interesting. Bring insect repellent and definitely try to get a ranger-guided tour.

I agree with other reviewers that the concession on the lower level were quite pushy; however, if you knew what you wanted when you got there, they got you what you needed.

The rangers are located upstairs in the actual visitor's centre. They were very nice and actually, when we went back at the end of the paddling to get a new map (because ours got all wet), the ranger said that she asked her colleague whether he saw us and if we were alright. It was nice to see that they were concerned about us since we ventured out on our own. Overall good experience.

Glad we took the time to to go on the boat ride through the mangroves. Captain Nick gave us our money's worth with a fun ride and lots of info on the ecology and aquatic and bird life of the mangroves. And we even got to see an alligator!

I am a writer and photographer for National Park Planner (npplan.com) and I visited the Everglades in February 2016. The Gulf Coast Area is located on the west coast of Florida near Naples, and while it is part of Everglades National Park, it is not what most people think of as the “Everglades.” This is not a swamp. This is not a river of grass. There are no airboats here. This is Chokoloskee Bay and the 10,000 Islands. This is sportsmen country. If you don’t have a boat, kayak, or canoe, there’s not much to do here.

Everything in the Gulf Coast Area revolves around water—boating, fishing, sailing, kayaking, canoeing. There are no hiking trails in the area, other than one on Sandfly Island. When you enter the Gulf Coast Visitor Center, you will find that most people are getting backcountry camping permits for a multi-day paddling trip, perhaps on the 99-mile Wilderness Waterway. There are beaches, but you must paddle across the bay to the farthest islands to reach them.

For those who do want to get out on the water, but who don’t have a canoe, park Rangers lead free paddling trips to various locations in the area. Other than that, about the only thing Gulf Coast has to offer the typical car-tourist is a cruise of the bay, where you can spot birds and dolphins, and a cruise of the mangrove-lined shores of the very narrow Halfway Creek.

The Gulf Coast Area has pleasant weather in the winter with minimal mosquitoes and other bugs. While there are no campgrounds in the park, there are plenty of places to stay—campgrounds and hotels—in the nearby towns of Everglades City and Chokoloskee. This is a very popular area for retired people who like to fish and boat all winter long, and many of the campgrounds host a large population of winter residents.

For complete information on visiting the Everglades, check out National Park Planner web site.

We stopped in and found a great little collection of area wildlife and ocean related information. Ended up taking a boat tour, out into the Gulf- very informative

While the displays offered are informative and the rangers knowledgeable, it is very small and limited possibly due to the area it is in. Understand there are no walking/hiking trails to,speak of out of this location, but canoes and a launch ramp are available for those interested in being on the water. The partnership with a tourboat company on the ground floor makes the visit worthwhile.

While boat tours are run by a private concession, not the Park Rangers, they still provide excellent insight and information. We did both tours in one afternoon, first the Mangroves (WOW), then Ten thousand Islands. No alligators (Captain Bill said they had moved upstream for ned of freshwater and told us to find them at H.P.Williams boardwalk) but a Very close impression of estuary waters including, unavoidably, a few stings/bites from several of the 150 resident kinds of blood-loving insects.
On the second tour we had close encounters with dolphins swimming in the wake of our boat and managed to spot several island raccoons (thin creatures - no trashbins out there).
Highly recommended.

Lots of changes here. The Visitor Center blew away during hurricane, and the previous boat tour operator left the National Park under a cloud. There are great new operators giving wonderful tours now - Can't wait to see how the new Visitor Center looks when they build it - Now the VC is just a few trailers, but the vision is there! Love those National Parks!!

This is a good place to gain information about what to do, and in which order to do things in the Everglades.

You may well decide to stick around to do a boat tour from the facility.

We were inquiring at the desk about the boat tours. After giving us a shpeal, we talked it over and decided to buy a few post cards. When we returned to pay for our post cards, the lady asked, "so, are you ready to book??" we replied no, deciding to come back the next day. She rudely replied, "oh I guess you don't want to see the Everglades then.". As if her boat tours were the only way to see them. As if our kayak tour earlier hadn't been the Everglades. Here is my advice THIS IS NOT A PARt OF THE NATIONAL PARK SERVICE. Find other tours that care less about the bottom dollar.

Some nice nature displays, interactive things for kids, hurricane tracking - pretty much what one expects from a National Park Center. Nice that you can book boat tours right there as well.

We took the big boat ride for a 90 minute tour around the islands. We saw a dolphin and different birds. We wanted to see alligators and got our wish just looking by the canal as we drove along the road back toward Naples. No need to pay at some park to see big gators.

The visitor center is small but the park itself has picnic benches and a large grass area, it was a nice day when we were there and it was perfect for a picnic and a couple photos before the airboat tour.

As we wanted to see different parts of the Everglades we drove the long ride to the Gulf Coast Visitor Center, for another hour. You'll drive through the Big Cypress National Preserve, but that's actually a pretty boring road.
We wanted to go there especially since you can make a reservation for a boat trip, which we really we wanted to do in the Everglades. We preferred not to go with an airboat, though that seems to be nice. But making an incredible noise for us is not at all the intention of a hike in nature. Moreover, with an airboat you do not come in the Everglades themselves, who are not allowed precisely because of the noise.
We had the choice between two boat trips: along the Ten Thousand Islands, with a chance of seeing dolphins, manatees and some birds. The other trip was the Mangrove Wilderness Tour, in which you visit, as the name suggests, the mangrove canal, or at least a part of it. We chose the latter ($ 42.40 pp), a journey of 1h45 on a motorboat (less noise than an airboat) for max. 6 people. Our captain gave good explanations about nature. We saw manatees, and even two dolphins! It's a long ride for being just a little bit of time in the mangrove, but it was definitely worth it! The same you can also do with the canoe or kayak, but then you have to make sure to have enough time.

We visited this visitor center/ ranger station on a deserted Sunday afternoon. When we arrived, we were the only car in the parking lot. The young ranger inside was very friendly and helpful. He provided some interesting area information such as the local restaurants where we could have lunch, and other relatively close-by sites where we could hike or see alligators. The Park Service should be very glad to have this outgoing fine young man.

Park rangers man the small station on the edge of the water. Try to get there when they are giving the scheduled presentations --good way to learn about the area, environment, history. If yo have a National Park passport, you can get it stamped at this ranger station!

Rented Kayaks here through Florida Adventures at the State Park. The ranger was very friendly. We kayaked across the bay. It was a little tougher than we anticipated crossing the bay. But still a fun 4 hour adventure.

Staff was very helpful and had maps and ideas for us. We took the sunset boat tour of the 10,000 islands. It was absolutely beautiful. We had dolphins jumping alongside the boat and following behind the boat as we left. A lot of fun!

We end up not renting anything.
After we made reservations online (and we paid for Kayaks) we were told that they were not available when we got there. We rescheduled for the next day and guess what... the next day where also not available. They refused to give us refunds saying that "we made them lose a lot time".

I would suggest you to avoid this place. If you can't really avoid it, never trust their website, what you can rent there doesn't match their availability.
Always call them on their private number (the one advertised is an answering machine): 239 695 0077

We'd been on an airboat ride earlier in the day, and although liked the fun, we barely saw any wildlife due to the time of year. This boat tour was recommended afterwards and we were lucky enough to catch the last boat of the day. We chose the Inland tour which we'd been told was the best. Our captain was Zach and we were fortunate to have the boat to ourselves. Zach was great, pointing out lots of birds, dolphins and plants. We didn't feel rushed and Zach was happy to wait around for some dolphins to re-appear. I've done airboat rides a few times now, but this boat ride was much better. No loud noise, more time to spot nature, ask questions, and chat with your companions, plus we still got to be on a boat that got up to some speed! Good fun and well worth the $40 or so each.

The Center sits right outside the park. The rangers are very helpful. This is a great starting point for day trips into the Everglades via the boat concession at the center which appears to be a private outfit affiliated with the park. We went on a fun mangrove tour with a terrific captain and just seven of us on the boat. There are also canoes and kayaks available.

OK I understand this visitor center is one of three for the Everglades but I was surprised at how small it was. The official National Park center is located on the 2nd floor and what appears to be a store not run by the park (?) is on the first. When you enter on the 1st floor, very helpful women offer to book you on the boat trips. They explain times and the difference between the two available. We took the mangrove tour and were satisfied with our guide and overall experience. if you do not go out on the water there is no real reason to visit this Everglades entrance. I will say I was a little disappointed because I collect magnets from the National Parks and they were not available for sale at this center. I did purchase one at the store below but it wasn't an official one like I always attempt to collect.

Great visitor centre; lots of useful information including maps handed out by the very friendly helpful staff; Boardwalk is brilliant with lots of wildlife to see; get place to stop and look around.

This is a small visitor center compared to the ones in Homestead. However, you can obtain all the information you need about Everglades NP from the rangers at service here. They run a small gift shop too.

This entrance of Everglades NP does not charge you. But if you enter the park here, you cannot do anything unless you have a boat or a kayak. No trails, no boardwalks. Most of the visitors come here to take the boat trips launched from the adjacent marina. The boat tours are conducted by a private party contracted by National Park Service and they are the only party allowed to provide this service. These boat torus are not air boat rides. Air boat rides are not allowed within the park boundaries. The reservation office for boat tours is located on the first floor of the same building. They also run a gift shop ( they sell water and snacks too).

Operating out of a temporary trailer because of storm damage to the visitor's center structure, you'll still do well to stop here. The rangers staffing the site afford you a wealth of knowledge in regard to National Park attractions in the area. Having limited time for our visit their information was invaluable to us getting the most out of our visit. Though the temporary visitor center imposes limitations, the best attraction has not been affected. I'm referencing the boat tour out to the 10,000 Islands area and to the edge of The Gulf. An extremely knowledgeable ranger narrated our tour and detailed both flora and fauna for us. We saw various birds as well as dolphins, some of whom played in the wake of the boat and also an unexpected sighting of a manatee, a special treat. Just getting out on the water and viewing the islands up close as well as looking back towards shore gave us a new perspective of the area. I would highly recommend considering this tour as the child, teen and we adults all enjoyed the experience.

We stopped in on a Thursday afternoon to check out the tours. A concession staffer gave us the flyer with the available times for each tour. Going back on Friday for the 4:30p afternoon mangrove tour, we were informed that the last boat had already left and we needed reservations to be assured a seat (something not shared with us on Thursday).
Although the concession does not close until 4:30p, at 3:45 the gentleman in front of us was told he could not use his credit card for his purchase, as the clerk had already closed out the machine. Luckily we all had enough cash for our shirts and hats. We have no plans to stop there on our next trip.

We took two boat tours through the National Park Visitor's Center--10,000 islands and Mangrove Wildnerness. The Mangrove Wilderness tour was particularly wonderful with a fantastic tour guide Ted who took six of us on a safari boat tour of the mangrove forest. We spotted over 50 birds and alligators and learned about the Everglades original inhabitants.

Thought the partnership betw vendor & Park Service was great.

Upstairs is the NPService. Interesting selection of books & knowledge of the water area. I am a fan of the NPS brochures. (If your over 65, they sell a 'free admission' card to all NPs.

Downstairs in the gift shop, you can get boat tours info & times for the different seasons.

Gulf Coast is just another part of the informative centers that the area has and promotes.
Here you by the water (ten thousand Islands); that's the emphasis.

Not barren or inhospitable but the whole area is interesting and welcoming.

We took our boys here yesterday and were not disappointed. This is a small space on the 2nd floor but don't underestimate it. There's a ton of stuff to learn if you're willing to interact with the exhibits. There's info on the endangered Saw Fish. There are skulls from an alligator, a crocodile, a panther, a dolphin, a panther and a Loggerhead Sea Turtle. The park ranger picked them up to show my 7 year old the brain cavity of each so that he could understand the difference in the size of each animal's brain. There was a tiny telescope and my 4.5 year old looked at slides and was fascinated. The maps were cool and the ranger shared tons of great information about paddling in the park. We really enjoyed it.

The original visitor center building is permanently closed due to severe hurricane damage and the current center is in a temporary building. Let’s hope the new VC is finished quickly as the temp. one is rather flimsy! There's not much to see there at present other than a few small table top exhibits and an information desk, so don't expect a full on Visitor Center experience. Do though go if you need some information from the rangers and you want a cancellation stamp in your National Parks Passport!

I was recently visiting another local national park and my $30 pass gave me 7-day access to other local national parks so the family and I took a day trip over to this Golf Coast center and boy what a disappointment! It’s in the middle of what appears to be an abandoned city (it’s not abandoned but looks like it is) and there’s nothing to do or see. There are plenty of signs of air boat rides but they must be old as we didn’t see any anywhere. We drove through the area and it all appeared empty. Definitely not worth the drive, avoid this place.

This was fun! Our tour guide was great - she was very knowledgeable and happy to stop to help us view numerous alligators, grabbed a crab off a tree for us to examine (!!!!) and more.

I'd definitely recommend the 2 hour tour. Lots of great stuff to photograph, just enough time to get in and look around and get out. The boat ride was pretty smooth even in windy, choppy waters.

I learned a lot from the visitor's center - nice exhibits there. Well done!!!

This small, but interesting visitor center is an important place to stop if you are considering kayaking, canoeing, or boating the West Coast of Everglades National Park. The staff is a wealth of knowledge and good advice.

the 10,000 islands boat tour that you book from this center was worth the $40. saw some dolphins, captain was very informative.

The visitor center isn't much to see, probably the saddest one I've visited. the Rangers are so knowledgable about the region so use the time to ask questions. We stayed after the boat tour for a ranger talk. He grew up local and really personalized the talk about predators. This part of the park is all about boating tous. Don't expect hiking or anything like that.

Visiting the center gives you a great understanding of how the Everglades have evolved throughout the many centuries. It's the third largest national park in the lower 48 states.
Development in the past has affected the Everglades and its future existence. Due to Congress' intervention, money has been put aside to let waters from the north flow back into the Everglades.
Wild life abounds here and it must be protected for our future generations.

Good visitor centre with interesting displays. Boat trips offered - a larger boat or a 6 seater through the mangroves. We did the second which was a fun experience and great way to experience the mangroves if you're a beginner. The tour takes you right into the mangroves where you get up close with birds and alligators if you're lucky you may see dolphins and manatees. The tour guide was extremely knowledgeable and friendly making the experience great. We hadn't pre-booked but got on a tour within an hour of arrival - I don't know if this is usual so may be best to check before you visit.

The visitor center is quite small but affords good information about the area and some exhibits. There are also restrooms nearby.

I enjoyed this site for its unique viewpoint on the Everglades. At the border of the salt water - fresh water interface there is a bountiful collection of animal life available for observation, Bird species are especially plentiful.

We booked an afternoon slot for the small boat trip (6 people) through the mangroves. Trips were clearly explained on board outside the centre and reiterated by staff inside. We had an excellent guide on our boat, Captain Bill, who was knowledgeable and entertaining. Very good introduction to the Everglades.

The website advertises 2 boat tours--the 10,000 Island tour which is cheaper and on a larger boat, or the Mangrove Wilderness tour which costs more and is on a smaller boat. We reserved the smaller tour and paid online. Drove many miles to be there at the reserved time only to be told that they had overbooked and decided to schedule us for another day! Or....we could take the other tour on the bigger boat. I think they just want to fill up that bigger boat and knew exactly what they were doing. Also, they tried to say that they could not refund our money! Well, any credit card user should know 3 little words--dispute a claim. Magically, they chose to refund our money a few days later but we were really disappointed that the Park chooses to do business with these swindlers. Ended up going for an airboat ride somewhere else and had lots of fun anyway.

We went off the beaten path on our way from Fort Myers beach to the Keys. As we got down there and we went to the visitors center, we didn't know about the boat ride until we got there. They charged about 1/2 the price of the air boat tours so we went ahead. Since you never know what the animals will do in the wild, we were very happy to see all the wildlife that we did. We went out and the captain was very helpful to us in telling us a lot about the area. We got to see all types of birds and heard another airboat go by - making our decision to do this tour feel much better since they were so loud. The dolphins weren't out playing, but they were eating so we were able to see 3 different ones. We saw a bald eagle, but there was a storm coming in so the waters were too rough for the manatee. (BOO!!!) On our way back, it was pouring down rain so we were very glad to be on a covered boat having minimal rain come in! Overall, great trip!

Steve was awesome - his love of the land really came through. He was very knowledgeable about the flora and fauna we saw along the excellent boat tour of the Mangrove swamp, and while we didn't get to see an alligator on the tour, he pointed out a nearby spot we drove to and sure enough, success! The boat ride was just under 2 hours, and we had a fantastic time.

You can rent canoes and kayaks there or make a boat tour (ca. 90 minutes). There are two routes for canoes which lasts about 4 to 5 hours. We decided to rent a kayak (beginner level) but there was no introduction at all. The tide was not good for going out to the water, it started to get windy and there were rough waves but no word about the bad conditions from the woman at the front desk. Because we haven't seen the bad conditions before booking, we did it and had a really tough trip all by our own. You have to be in very good health condition to do that trip otherwise you will not make it. On the way through the mangrove tunnel there were trees and big branches lying across the water so that we had to carry our canoe over it. No word about that as well. The woman just told us were the boats are and charged us 35 dollars more because we arrived a bit too late. Good thing about that place: you can buy sun hats at a reasonable price (10 dollars).

The Visitor center is a very compact place with many exhibits and posters. One can request for the 20 minute video about the National Park which is a Discovery channel production. The two park rangers manning the center were very friendly and provided a lot of relevant information.

The Boat tours operated near it are not run by the Park, but by a third party operator authorized by the park.

This place was harder to find than expected - expecting better signage after reaching Everglades City. We only took the Mangrove tour but it was well worth the trip. We weren't expecting to see alligators (go to Shark Valley for that) but we did see dolphins. The main attraction for us was the mangroves - being from Louisiana we have see lots of swamps but mangroves are more limited. Wish they were a little more tolerant of cold it would help us out a lot with erosion. Our guide was also first rate - except he didn't have a cajun accent.

This is the very first time I write a review on TripAdvisor and the reason for this is that the way we were treated was so bad that I feel to need to add my testimony for futur visitors.

My two girlfriends and I booked and paid online the Mangrove Wildlife Tour Thursday last week for the next day, Friday. Note that we picked that company over all the other ones as it is the only one recommended on the National Park Service website. We were driving from the Keys and despite having left 4 and a half hours before the time of the tour, we soon realised (thanks to our GPS) that we were running late due to traffic and other circumstances. We first tried to call the company from our car and we were told that they do not pick up the phone and that we should contact them via email. I then emailed them (note that I had to turn on my roaming data which is expensive when you do not live in the United States) and asked them two questions :

1 - Can they take us on the following tour ?
2 - if not, would the boat wait for us 10 minutes?

The reply I got was the following :
" I CHECKED WITH THE OWNER AND SHE CONFIRMED THAT THE TOUR IS COMPLETELY BOOKED TODAY AND HER REPLY TO YOU IS "NO IT IS BOOKED"

Writing in capital letters is never a very friendly way of expressing oneself but be it. I replied a polite answer and asked again whether they would wait for us. We never got any reply and decided to drive there anyway. We arrived 30 minutes late, having stopped to get petrol for the car, thinking that given the lack of reply it meant they would not wait anyway (which we understood completely as we should have been on time). It turned out that he owner told us the boat had waited 10 minutes but since we did not show up it went. We replied that our email had gone over 2 and half hour ago and that noone had replied so we assumed it was a no. Of course, had we known the boat was ready to wait we would have made it in time.

At this stage, all we wanted was to be able to book another tour and enjoy an afternoon in the mangrove. I therefore asked the lady (the owner) whether another tour was available and in a very calm and polite I was going to ask her whether she could give us a reduced price given the circumstances.

Her answer was pretty violent, she said : "I do not want to discuss with you, you either pay of you leave" and then without letting us the opportunity to speak she said "I am going to call the rangers to get you out of here". Because there was a queue of customers and she obviously wanted to take care of them, we started the queue again and waited for our turn to be able to speak to her (and possibly book the tour at the full price!!!!). Again, she did not let us speak and ask us to LEAVE otherwise she would call the rangers. My last sentence to her was "you know, it is disappointing as we came from acroos the world to see this and this is the way we are being treated" to which she replied "I don't care about the rest of the world".

We left her shop and drove away to another boat company (the one on the water to the right of the sea shell restaurant) where the people we spoke to were very kind. Because I was still a bit shaken by the whole story, I told them what happened, gave them the name of the lady and found out she was the major's wife.

This made very clear why http://evergladesnationalparkboattoursgulfcoast.com/ is the only website recommended on http://www.nps.gov/ever/planyourvisit/guidedtours.htm aka the governmental website on the National Park of the Everglades.

Of course, the major's wife business will be the ONLY company recommended..... of course !

Good for a quick stop or boat ride. There is a gift shop and US National Park entrance. This is outside the park so there is no charge.

Upstairs in the visitor centre was one a very friendly, knowledgeable ranger. He explained all the options for things to do in the NP. Downstairs in the concession I booked 2 boat trips and again the staff down here were very friendly. In the morning I took the boat trip around Ten Thousand Islands with Captain Brett and First Mate Josh. This was a very peaceful, calm 90 min boat ride on a larger boat. The Captain gave a good commentary of the history and wildlife and we experience a lot of birdlife viewings and also a dolphin pod. In the afternoon I took the Mangrove boat trip with Captain Steve. This was a 1 hour 45 min trip on a small boat with just 6 seats. Again we saw a lot of birdlife and also a couple of alligators. Both trips were very worthwhile and enjoyable but if you can only do one, I would recommend the mangrove trip. A very enjoyable day in the Everglades National Park.

Fully functional but still recovering from Hurricane Irma. 1.5 hour boat ride out to the Gulf was pleasant. Saw many dolphins. Captain Mike was very pleasant and shared a lot of interesting information. National Park Rangers were very helpful and friendly and were also a wealth of information. Good food can be found a Camellia St Grill and down the road at Havana Cafe in Chokoloskee.

I love the National Park System and always find their Visitor Centers inviting, educational, and almost lavish oasis. This Visitor Center was certainly not up to the standards I have come to expect; this felt like an outpost in the wilderness, like it was temporary; just the upstairs level of a marina. Not much to it. The one thing it did have though, was knowledgeable rangers, you can always count on that in the NP system.

If this review is to be for the upstairs National Park Visitor Center for the Everglades, this fell short. We are used to visiting National Park Visitor Centers that have a wide variety of activities and displays. This was a small room with not a whole lot to offer. I got my National Park Stamp, but then was gone after just a few minutes of browsing at the displays.

Went by to find trails we could walk and/or drive. The rangers were very helpful. They told us some nice walks and which would be too muddy this time of the year. Had a nice time in the park and visited Clyde Bucher's gallery, well worth the stop.

We were thrilled by the good promotion of wildlife in the 10 thousand islands park, were just in time for the boat to leave and so we enjoyed a 1.5 hr sea trip with dolphins, sea elefants, many fish and birds. Great tour

Nice bathrooms, small gift shop with drinks and snacks and a Park Service Office upstairs. But we were here for the mangrove boat tours. The person at the visitors center at the intersection of Rt. 29 and Tamiami Trail said it's worth it, so we went for it. Expensive but worth 2 1/2 hours of mangrove islands, dolphins, eagles, ospreys, too many birds to count and lots of information on the everglades and 10,000 islands.

We booked a mangrove tour and were fortunate to a) be the only two on the boat (so we had our own private tour) and b) have Captain DeWayne as our guide. We passed Osprey nests with fledglings eating fish that their parents had just brought them; we saw those very same Osprey parents fishing (and catching!) food for their kids; all manner of birds -- herons, egrets, cormorants... We followed a dolphin for awhile who was in shallow water looking for his lunch. The mangrove tunnel -- the cathedral it's called -- was magnificent. So beautiful, peaceful and yet a little creepy too (in a good way). I found it breathtaking, and Captain DeWayne's thorough yet unintrusive narration was fascinating, including why mosquitoes are more attracted to some rather than others (women, you'd be advised to talk a little less!).

To bring on this trip: bug repellent with the highest concentration of DEET you can stand. The "natural" repellents won't work and you will be eaten alive.

A sun hat and sun screen are musts.

If you are fair-skinned like I am, you may want to consider wearing pants instead of shorts, and long sleeves. With the reflection off the water, you will get burned, even with SPF 50 and only 2 hours out.

Cash. These guys work off tips so share your love at the end.

A totally worthwhile event -- we would do it again in a heartbeat.

We took the 9:30 a.m. Friday birding trip on the boat (it only goes out once a week) and were accompanied by two park rangers who helped us spot and identify birds. On our trip, we say a pod of about 5 or 6 dolphins as well as a group of about 8 ospreys dive bombing for fish.

An excellent educational display of the everglades and the plants and wildlife that inhabit it. The Rangers are happy to answer any questions one might have.

Free admission; free restrooms; lots of parking. Lots of people here seeming to be waiting to go on boat rides. Honestly, if you are in the Everglades for more than a day, take an airboat ride from one of the highly rated firms on the EAST end of the Tamiami Trail (50 miles east). They get you into the real glades faster and better and funner than these prop motor boats. Not much else here.... souvenir shop, small ranger/interpretative office, big parking lot.

We've lived in the area 20 years, and wanted to give visiting family a real Gulf Coast experience. At this time of year, mangrove tours can be hot & buggy. Airboat rides are noisy & you don't always see a lot of wildlife. But as the saying goes, "any day on the water is a good day", and the 10,000 Islands tour (run by a private concession from the Visitor Center) was really fun! We saw several small dolphin pods and a fair number of birds. But the highlight of the trip was seeing manatees! The Captain made a special effort to locate some; I was fortunate enough to see a mother & her calf, which I've never seen before. Of all the tours we've done over the years, this one was the best. We will do it again, and I look forward to doing the mangrove tour at another time of year.

We got maps here and hints on hikes and kayak routes, in addition to some info on the ecology of the area, all very helpful.

Enjoyed a couple of ranger talks - one on plants and one on Florida panthers. Helpful staff.

Not a lot to see in the visitors center, but the rangers are very informative with information about park activities. You can book boat tours or rent canoes and kayaks downstairs, and the rangers also offer regular programs during the winter season.

Nice air-conditioned break with lots of local biology info. The boat-trip was really good especially for birds (although many can be seen around the car-park area as well).
The highlight of the boat ride were the dolphins, let me share some of the trill of watching dolphins surf the boat's wake!
I hope this has inspired you.

They didn't give us any information about the park, the areas and the trails. They just tried to sell us the boat ride, saying that in the other areas was full of mosquitoes. Little gift shop and nothing else.

Nice place to stop right before Everglades City. Lots and lots of information for the local area. They also have public restrooms.

Dropped in and got information on a variety of places to check out on our day trip to Everglades City.

We took the trip to Everglade City to go on the boat tours and we were NOT disappointed. We visited the Visitor Center: small, but informative. The rangers were very friendly and helpful. We went on the mangrove tour in the morning and the ten thousand island tour in the afternoon. We recommend both . . . you see very different parts of the park. The mangrove tour provides you insight into the ecology of the ever changing Everglades land mass and swamps. We saw mangrove crabs, a snake, several types of birds and learned a LOT from our knowledgeable guide. We had a small boat that went right into the swamp, including travel up narrow, tree-limb covered channels. Really interesting. The Ten Thousand Island tour was more open water ... . here we saw Atlantic Bottle-nosed dolphins (they surfed in our wake), many more birds (including large groups on the little islands that pop up everywhere), and manatees (including a mother and pup!). We learned enough about how to spot the manatee that we found them in other areas of the Everglades on our own. The guides on both boats were very friendly and helpful and took their time in making sure every guest was able to get a good look at the wildlife. Well worth the time!!!

You have a choice of "bigger" boats or a smaller 6 seater version. They do different types of trips but the smaller boats can get in where others can't so I took this version and was the only one on board so it really was a "private" tour. While we spotted no alligators (is it a myth that they exist??), the tour was informative. Bring your mosquito repellent!!

The exterior of this building is nothing to write home about-- its actually kind of dumpy. The visitor's center upstairs is very small, but it has some really cool exhibits, especially the magnifying camera and some of the other hands-on displays.

The best part of the experience was an unexpected, entertaining and very informative presentation by one of the young rangers on early native life in the Everglades. He did a great job of explaining how the natural features affected the native populations, and talked about how they lived and worked. Before he started, he look the time to teach my kids how to use a atlatl and spear.

I went to the store downstairs first. Unless you want to hear lies about the area don't go....they are just pushing boat rides. I asked about a hiking trail and the girl told me they had no trails around just water things. I went upstairs and talked to the guys there and they gave me a map with hiking trails, great photo places etc. Unless you want to scammed into a boat ride go upstairs.

We wanted to paddle a canoe into the Everglades. The rangers were exceptionally helpful with information regarding tides, weather, maps, landmarks to watch for and made sure we checked in before and after our trip so they would know if we were safe due to storms in the area. We also took a motor boat trip out to 10,000 islands using the concessioner. The boat captain and his mate were quite the experts in spotting wildlife.

We had an unusually hard time finding this place, as the sign sits back from the road a bit & it doesn't look like what we expected! This part of the Park is very different from our preconceived idea of the Everglades! We understand that the Center building(s) are temporary, so the restrooms are a porta-potty trailer & there's no "gift shop" to speak of, but the staff was super-friendly & thee was a nice variety of Ranger-led talks. The boat ride is the main draw here, & while it not what we expected, we enjoyed ourselves immensely & learned so very much!

We stopped in this visitor center just as it was closing. We had seen the grasslands and the Big Cypress swamp but wanted to make sure we didn’t miss any Everglades experiences before leaving. Housed in a trailer, we weren’t expecting much but Jacob did not disappoint. He made recommendations that provided a perfect finale to our time in the Everglades. He suggested driving Jane’s Scenic Drive, encourages us to look past the tourist trap facade of Skunkape to take the canoe trip through the mangroves and to head to Marsh Trail to try to catch flocks of birds from the observation tower. He marked each on the map with notes and his enthusiasm inspired us to extend our day and hit Jane’s Scenic Drive before heading back to our cottage for the day. Along the road, we saw egrets in the grasslands, a gator sunning himself along the road and numerous wild royal palm trees. The next day, we hit Skunkape and went against the staff’s recommendation to head towards the lake on our canoe and took the mangrove route. Instead of being intimidated by the low clearance tunnels of the mangroves, we remembered the excitement of Jacob telling us how to “Tarzan” yourself from limb to limb through the canopies. We continued on when others had turned around. We saw 4 gators on this short 90 minute unguided canoe ride. It was truly amazing. Tonight we plan to head to Marsh Trail to hopefully view large numbers of birds. All because Jacob went above and beyond.

I had a great experience. National park employees and volunteers were funny and very knowledgeable as well. The boat trip was amazing and we were lucky enough to see some dolphins, manatees and plenty birds.

We went to the Gulf Coast Visitor center after reserving online for both of their boat tours.
We arrived early, so we went upstairs to the visitor center and the shop downstairs. Upstairs we found information on the fauna and flora of the area, as well as videos and books. The park rangers there were also very willing to answer questions and were very friendly.
Our first tour (10,000 islands), was very pleasant and we were able to spot quite a few dolphins as well as bald eagles and even a raccoon. We were about 25 people on a big boat, with enough space for everyone. The captain, plus another ranger were very knowledgeable and made the trip a lot of fun.
In the afternoon we took the Mangrove wilderness tour on a boat for only 6 people with another park ranger. If the morning tour had been good, this was amazing. The ranger was nice, funny, he knew exactly where to go to find the animals... We managed to spot manatees, which he hadn't seen during the morning, which was an awesome experience. He took us through some narrow channels amongst the mangroves, which was very peaceful but felt like an adventure at the same time. We were not able to spot any alligators, as apparently there were none around the area, but he told us exactly where to go to find some when we got off the boat. As he said, we followed his directions and found several alligators chilling in their natural habitat (this was at the HP Williams Picnic area on Turner River Road, just off 41). It was an absolute highlight of our holidays!

Small little information center on the second floor, and staffed by a park ranger. The sawfish exhibit was interesting, especially if you are taking a boat tour. The ranger helped us find out where to go find gators in the wild on our own.

We arrived just in time for the next boat ride, so that’s what we did. It was a beautiful day for a boat ride, the dolphins were playful, the birds were on the island, the ranger on the boat was very informative and you could tell he really loved what he did! It was a great day to spend with our visiting granddaughters.

Took the 1 1/2 he boat trip...it's a pleasant way to spend some time...the captain gave us usefull info and it was really nice to see so many dolphins up close...my wife got some great pics so she is well happy...can't really see how you would be able to find issues with what is on offer...

This entrance to the Everglades isn't as clear as other entrances (i.e., Shark Valley), but the NPS concession boat tour on the 1st floor is wonderful. We saw white pelicans, wild dolphins, and got an informative tour on the vegetation and fauna of this part of the everglades.

We were very impressed with the attitude and helpfulness of the Park Rangers. Made our time there very enjoyable.

We're a full-time traveling family (ie, we live out of an Airstream and move around every couple of weeks or so), and we homeschool our kids. This means we do a LOT of junior ranger programs with the National Parks.

Basically, the kids get a booklet to complete by hiking, going to ranger programs, and studying the park. Then they come back, and depending on the ranger they just get a pat on the back and a badge, or some rangers are really into it and talk to the kids and make the whole experience fun and entertaining.

The female ranger who inspected our kids book here at the Gulf Coast Visitor Center was easily one of the best in the entire country. She spent at least twenty minutes with each kid--and I'm sure she had other / better things to do--but I really appreciate it as we don't just blast through our books and call it a day, I strive to actually teach my kids about the ecosystems we're visiting and studying.

I really can't say enough how amazing she was, and wish I would have caught her name so I could praise her more fully here.

It's also one of the better visitor centers in Everglades / Big Cypress, though small, there's a bunch of fun interactive stuff to do.

We took the Mangrove Tour with the NP Tour group at 11 a.m 7/1. Steve was our tour guide. We liked the idea that the boat was just for 6 keeping it more intimate and personalized to our questions. It was a little hot but with a small bag of cooled waters, and snacks we brought along for this 1 hr 45 min tour we did just fine. Got some good shots of the south western gulf area of the park. Steve did his best to locate some manatee's and we found one but it did not surface to say hello. The mangrove areas we saw were fantastic to see and the water was just glass smooth making the trip very enjoyable. Great shots with the clouds being mirrored on the ponds surface. Would have liked to have seen the observation tower open but it was not. Overall we learned a few things and got to see this area before we head for Shark Valley and the Anhinga Trail boardwalk areas to the North and East.

Poe / Royal Palms and Shark Valley are the two main entrances to Everglades NP, but this one is right there with it's hand up trying to be recognized. I think people who don't want a boat tour shy away from here and, truthfully, other than boat tours, there isn't much reason to be here. But the mangrove boat tour is a very good ride.