Everglades, etc. , help
 

My son and I are leaving for a short visit to the Everglades next Friday. We plan to spend Friday night near Ft Myers so we can get to the Corkscrew Swamp when it opens Saturday morning. The only other firm plans we have are to spend Saturday night in Everglades City and take the 10am Sunday tram ride at Shark Valley. After reading posts and guidebooks, I know we want to see Fakahatchee - Big Cypress Boardwalk and a couple of miles on East Main Trail - we'll play it by ear. Mapquest thinks it's about 3 1/2 hours back up to Bradenton from Shark Valley, so I guess we would want to leave by about 3. What else should we do? Drive part/all of loop road scenic drive? We will be in my son's Corolla - is it possible to do the whole thing in a Corolla - some books mention needing 4-wheel drive? If we did, how much time would it take? What about Big Cypress? Would it be worth it to hike a short way on either the northern or southern Fl. National Scenic Trail - or drive the Turner River Road? It all sounds wonderful, but with limited time I want to see varied things - and plan another trip to cover what we have to miss because of time constraints. Another question - would we be better off in my mini-van so that we would be higher up and have better views?

You don't need a four wheel drive unless it is pouring rain or has been for days on end.

About the only thing you are seriously missing -- congratulations on staying in Everglades City, by the way -- is the slightly further drive on out to Chokoluskee. It is the end of the world; Everglades City only feels that way :-)
Visit the old store museum at the end of the road and the National Park Visitors Center. The Thousand Island tours from their are good but take more time than you have.

The little museum in Everglades City explains a lot about the history of the area and only takes about half an hour.

You should see all the alligators you ever want to see, not just at the viewing spots but all along US41, though Turner River Road is certainly a good place for looking.

The wild life loop road (county road 94) that runs that runs from the Indian Village thru Pinecrest to Monroe Station can get tricky. It is not maintained past Pinecrest going west and a high centered vehicle is a must. Its your choice to chance it in a Corolla or a mini van. If memory serves me it is about 17 miles total and will take about 1½-2 hours.... On the good side it is an excellent place to see Otters and on one occasion we got to see a rare Florida Panther while driving the loop road...

Thanks for the tip about Chokoluskee, Ackislander. RedRock - you said that county road 94 isn't well maintained past Pinecrest. I wondered if it would be worth it to drive that far and then backtrack - or would we be seeing the same sort of landscape/chance of animals if we went to Big Cypress and walked on part of the Fl. National Scenic Trail or drove the Turner River Road? Since we have such a limited amount of time, If two areas are very similar I would rather concentrate on one.

We went to the Everglades the last week in January and tried to get into Shark Valley on Sunday morning but the parking lot was full and they weren't letting anyone else in until someone left. We got there around 10:30-11am because we got a late start that morning. We ended up going to Big Cypress for a bit and then tried back but still no luck. The next day we were heading down to the Anhinga Trail so we never did get to Shark Valley. Not sure if it is always like this - we thought maybe because it was a weekend - but I just thought I'd mention it.

Ah - I might change to the earlier tram ride just to make sure. Thanks for the advice.

The roadway is paved to Pinecrest, from that point on it is not maintained. That is where the wild part starts... There is/was a small visitors center in Pinecrest, it may or may not be open. They depend on volunteers to operate and that is the problem. Its been a year or so sense we were on co rd 94 past Pinecrest but I doubt it has changed any at all. All the times we have driven the road it was in a full size Ford truck. You could take the drive and see for your self what condition the road is in further west. If no rain it may be passable for a regular car....

Thanks. Maybe we will drive a little ways in and, if it looks interesting, go as far as Pinecrest - but neither of our cars are exactly "forge on" vehicles.