Photography Guide to the Everglades National Park

As a disclaimer I am not a Florida local, I do not have the ability to rush out to the Everglades to take photos when I want to as a result. I put together this article as a collection of research I did prior and what I experienced exploring the park as a photographer. This is the information that I think is important to know before going and tips other photographers would want to know before exploring the Everglades.

I was also on foot for this adventure, you can see most of the park on foot but a large portion of the park is only accessible by kayak or canoe, if you have the ability to bring one with you it may bring you to some interesting spots.

Everglades National Park Photography at a Glance

When I pictured the Everglades the first thing I imagine is the opening scene to CSI Miami with the airboat coasting through the water. Most people think of the Everglades as swamps and wetlands, which is what the park is mostly made of, yet there are still plenty of grasslands and prairie areas, so there are plenty of places to take photos while the sun is high in the sky.

What Camera Gear Should I Bring?

When it comes to talking about gear (not equipment or camera add ons) the gear I had with me were two bodies, Canon EOS R and Mark 3. The lenses I had were a 24-70mm and 70-200mm. These two lenses will be able to get 95% of the images that you may want to take, if you had to take only one, I would prefer the 24-70mm. Most of the birds you can snag a photo with the 70-200mm, the birds that fly too high are the vultures and osprey, unless you are lucky enough for one to fly right in front of you. This happened a total of about 5 times for me and I was only camera ready once. If you are going for primarily landscape photos you know to bring a tripod, I did not experience any conditions in any part that would require a heavy duty tripod. Something similar to the peak design travel tripod works perfectly.

NO DRONES ARE ALLOWED IN THE NATIONAL PARK. Besides the threat of a fine, there are way too many birds flying around where the drone itself could be in danger of being attacked.

What Photography Gear Should I Bring to the Everglades?

BRING A LENS CLEANING KIT. I can’t stress this enough, if you are in an environment where you will be layered in bug spray, sunscreen, and sweating that will create three layers of grease that you may end up getting on your lens creating a smudge that ends up on the image. Two other pieces of equipment that are good to have are a polarizer to help with the reflections from the sun and to boost some of the natural color of the plants. Another good piece of glass to have is an ND filter for creating long exposure by water or blurring clouds. You could bring a remote timer or shutter release cable for astrophotography, but with how humid it is in the Everglades it will be difficult to find a night with no clouds (clouds block stars).

Are there specific clothes I should bring?

Bring a hat, sunglasses and a good pair of walking shoes or boots. Depending on the weather some of the trails may be a bit wet or you may want to venture a few feet off trail to get a photo. In that case you may want some boots or even waders if you plan on getting wet. That being said unless you want to stand knee deep in a swamp or water, a good pair of boots is best. The Everglades is in Florida, which means a hot sun and pesky bugs. Here are some links to purchase what I brought with me to protect myself.

Bug Spray - https://amzn.to/2PkeYVs

Sunscreen - https://amzn.to/39xPv1F

How do I get to the Everglades?

The Everglades is a very large park when looking on a map. The public entrance is located on the southeast side. It is an hour drive south of Miami on US Rte 1. I recommend flying into Miami and renting a car if you are not within driving distance of the park. Any rental car will do just fine on the main road. You’ll only need to worry about 4 wheeling or off roading if there has been heavy rainfall that filled the holes in the paths to sisal and ficus pond. But these are short walks that you can venture to from the main road.

Where should I stay to see the Everglades?

Homestead or Florida City. You could stay in Miami but if you are a landscape photographer and want those juicy sunrise photos you want to be as close as possible if you are not camping inside the park. Homestead and Florida City are about 15 minutes from the entrance to the park, and the best places for sunrise are an additional 15-20 minute drive into the park.

Photography Locations in the Everglades

These are locations within the park that I researched, visited, or found interesting while I spent 4 days wandering around the park.

Flamingo & The Coastal Prairie Trail

Flamingo is the last stop along the road all the way down at the bottom of the coast. Most people view this place as a finishing point for their Everglades adventure, yet I found it to be one of my favorites to take photos. Find the Coastal Prairie Trail at the end of the campground area. It is at the end of the lot C bend and the sign is parallel with the road (it won’t be sticking out so it is easy to drive by). To find the entrance look for a large tree flanked by two long parking spots that used to be campsites, it is also okay to just park on the grass if the spots are taken. When you first enter the trail you’ll walk by a few large trees with long bunches of moss hanging from the branches. A few minutes into the trail you will walk into the open prairie grounds, you’ll feel like you were transported to the Midwest. It is a 180 from the typical Everglades terrain so it will be pleasing to see. The two things to find in this area to photograph are the dead trees that are scattered throughout the plains and the mangroves along the smaller coastal loop. If you are lucky and the weather cooperates you can find sections of large mud cracks to use as foreground for sunset.

Z Tree

When the native Americans roamed the Everglades they used to bend trees to help navigate the swamps. There is one along the main road about 20 minutes into the park, but it is very hard to spot if you are cruising at the speed limit and don’t know where to look. There is no sign and it is not marked on the map as to hide it from crowds. The location of the tree is 2.4 miles south of the Pa-hay-okee turnoff, about half a mile after you pass the Dwarf Cypress Forest sign. The way to spot it is to look for one of those thick small pine tree clusters on the left (if you are heading south) and a patch where it looks like grass has been stomped down. There are also white rocks scattered on the ground on the side of the road to confirm you are in the right spot. The Z Tree should be 10 yards into the swamp area, depending on the time of year and season there may or may not be water surrounding the tree. I was there when it was about 20 inches deep and I didn’t want to wade into water I couldn’t see through with only flip flops. The best time to photograph the tree is at sunrise if you can wake up for it.

Apple Maps GPS Link - https://maps.apple.com/place?ll=25.401595,-80.791774&q=Z%20Tree&_ext=EiQprLpj6c5mOUAxIBcEbKwyVMA5rLpj6c5mOUBBIBcEbKwyVMA%3D&t=m

Pa-hay-okee Overlook

This overlook provides a view of the wetlands. The boardwalk that leads to the overlook can be used as foreground for an image or the several trees that are a few yards away. I found the best time to photograph around the boardwalk is at sunrise, as you can capture the sun rising upon the wetlands. Yet the glare from the sun will make it difficult to photograph this spot an hour after sunrise due to the sun reflecting straight off the water.

Mahogany Hammock

The boardwalk cuts through a group of trees (the hammock) and is practically covered in plants. The attraction of this area are the barred owls that nest here. If you find an owl consider yourself lucky, your best chances to see one are right around sunset. I was not able to find one but I could hear them.

Royal Palm & Anhinga Trail

Royal Palm itself is just a rest stop, the main attraction is the Anhinga Trail. This is another boardwalk that can be walked around in 20 minutes. For photographers the main things to be looking for are alligators, turtles and birds that call this area home. The pond at the end is covered in lily pads, keep your tripod low and try to pick a time to go that doesn’t have the sun reflecting harshly off the water.

Nike Missile Site

On the road to Royal Palm is a turnoff to the old Nike missile site. If you have some time to kill you can cruise down to the site and snag a few photos of the missile and some of the historical items they have at the base. It is open until 2pm. Along the road to the missile site is a stretch of land that has a coastal feel with an open pond and cattails blowing in the wind. It’s worth a small stop for photographers.

Long Pine Key & Pinelands

The Pinelands is just a small loop around a section with a lot of tall pine trees. They are great for a few photos but not a place to spend hours in.

Long Pine Key is a campsite just before the Pinelands turnoff, there is a small lake by the campground that people like to take photos of but I brushed it off when I was trying to pick a spot for sunset, I may regret not taking a photo of it eventually though. There is a 6.5 mile hike (one way) that leads to Pine Glades lake, but if you want to skip the hike and walk 0.5 miles to the lake there is a dirt road a few miles down the road from the Long Pine Key entrance that is blocked off, but you can park along the side and walk by the barricade to see the lake.

West Lake

This was a place a few pages recommended but it was closed due to flooding when I was there.

Dirt Roads

Many of the locations can be closed due to flooding as I mentioned about West Lake. Yet you can still park along the roadside and walk into some of the ponds (ficus and sisal). Portions of the road may be flooded with large pools of water which create interesting photos of off the grid places.

A dirt road leading to an unknown location

Shark Valley

Shark Valley is in the Everglades but not part of the main road. Shark Valley is along the northern border of the park along highway US 41. It is a 15 mile loop and a 7 mile trek to the observation tower. You can rent a bike but it has to be returned by 5pm. The bike ride to the tower takes an average rider around an hour on the rental bike. Photo wise this section of the Everglades has large flatland areas to make the minimalist photography thrilled and a ton of birds to please the action photographers. I also saw the most gators here as well, they like to swim in the channel next to the path, so be on the lookout for them.

Bonus spots - Big Cypress National Preservation Photography Spots

If you venture out to Shark Valley and need a few more spots to check out there are three spots I recommend along the Cypress Preservation.

The Bend Boardwalk

Coming from the east side this will be a bit of a drive, or the first stop if you are coming from Naples. This is a half mile boardwalk that provides a small taste of the Florida wetlands. At the end of the boardwalk is a flag pond where you may find an alligator resting or some birds nesting.

Kirby Storter

This boardwalk is a way to get a sense of the swamps in the preserve. This trail wraps through some cypress trees and ends with another pond. If you look closely you can spot turtles swimming in the lily pads. The parking lot has a small unmarked trail that leads into one of the fields.

Gator Hook Trail

BRING BOOTS, this trail is almost pure mud. I raced here to see what I could find for sunset near the entrance. In hindsight I wish I took a few more photos of the road, it has a nice leading lines effect for it continues on straight for a long distance.

Bird Photography

The Everglades is a dream destination for bird photographers. Herons, Ibis, vultures, osprey and a ton of other species call this place home. You can take photos of most of the stationary birds with a 70-200mm but you will want to have a 150-600mm if you are serious about bird photography. The birds can be found anywhere, but the most common places are the Anhinga Trail, Shark Valley, along the side of the road in trees, or any flatlands. You’ll notice a large amount of vultures flying around up high, they sweep the whole park but I grabbed a few shots in Flamingo. There is also an osprey nest about 1-2 stories tall next to the rest stop in Flamingo, making it easy to capture an image of this impressive bird if one is resting there.