The Best Everglades Water Sports and Boating

From land, the Everglades may look like a vast, open swamp, where big cypress, palmetto and sawgrass fill the landscape. But from above, you’ll see why they call it “The River of Grass,” because most of the Everglades is magnificent slow-flowing fresh water.

Though it’s one of the most unique ecosystems in the world, the Florida Everglades is notoriously difficult to explore on foot. And while there is some epic hiking in Everglades National Park, Big Cypress National Preserve and beyond, the best way to delve into the Everglades is by boat.

Everglades boats are easy to come by, but you’ll likely want someone who knows the mangrove channels and watery byways to help guide you. Sometimes, that means taking airboat rides in the Everglades, and sometimes that means a fishing trip through the Everglades. Often, it’s enjoying the serenity of nature through the meditative paddling of a kayak. Here all the best ways you can enjoy the Everglades on the water.

Top Water Sports Activities

Airboating

One of the most popular and time-honored ways of exploring the River of Grass is aboard an airboat tour of the Everglades. These flat-bottomed vessels are powered by a giant fan in the back, careening over blackwater byways as you pass birds, alligators and even some wild hogs.

Captains are all true Florida characters, like people out of a Carl Hiaasen novel come to life. Each has his or her own unique story, and intriguing tales of the Everglades to keep you entertained.

Airboat rides through the Everglades can be found all down US-41, but 2 of the best operators are the Miccosukee Indian Village and Coopertown Everglades Airboat Tours.

Kayaking

For something a little quieter and more serene than an airboat, rent a kayak and paddle around the islands on your own. Kayaks afford you the opportunity to travel through low-bridge mangrove tunnels larger boats can’t reach, where you can pull up onshore and relax with an afternoon picnic on a remote beach.

Trips can be for just an afternoon, or a multi-day adventure if, you’re up for some waterside camping. Get a free backcountry permit by visiting the Guy Bradley Visitor Center (Flamingo).

Some of the best places to kayak in the Everglades include the Ten Thousand Islands, which spread from the park out into the Gulf of Mexico. You can also explore the canoe trails near Flamingo at Hell’s Bay and Nine Mile Pond.

If you’re inexperienced in the area, a guided tour with Flamingo Adventures ensures you see all the best spots, and never get lost.

Canoeing

Years before Europeans settled in Florida, indigenous tribes navigated the Everglades in canoes. Most of the areas mentioned above are also ideal for canoes, though if you’d like a guided canoe tour, the Everglades National Park Institute runs a 3-hour trip through Nine Mile Pond. They also provide a beginner friendly option that serves as a short, guided introduction to paddling in calm, open water. It’s well suited for first timers and families, allows children ages 4 to 11 to sit in the center of the canoe, and focuses on the easier, more open parts of the pond rather than the full trail route.

Paddleboarding

Stand-up paddleboarding in the Everglades offers some unique challenges. Water is generally calm and still along the River of Grass, so you won’t often have to manage currents and boat wake. However the deeper you go, the thicker the vegetation can become, and standing up can be tricky.

Still, in open spaces and wide grasslands, paddleboarding is one of the most mesmerizing ways to experience the Everglades. Everglades Adventure Tours offers a 2-hour SUP tour, which includes a short lesson for beginners.

Fishing

Fishing in the Everglades offers the unusual opportunity to fish both freshwater and saltwater on the same trip. Begin in the freshwater of Everglades National Park, then venture to the park’s fringes to find saltwater fish before moving on to the open seas of Florida Bay.

Expect to catch bass, snapper, sea trout, redfish and bluegill, with tarpon and snook closer to the coast. Some of the better Everglades fishing charter operators include the following:

• Captain Rapps Fishing Charters
• Chokoloskee Island Charters
• Everglades Fishing Charters

Everglades Boating Adventures

Private Boat Tours

If you and your group want a special experience, book a private boat tour of the Everglades. While the area has no shortage of tours, having an entire airboat for you and your family, with an itinerary designed to your interests is far more intimate.

Miami Everglades Connection has private tours ranging from 1 to 2 hours in duration. Everglades Safari Park also has 40- and 60-minute private eco-adventures. Everglades Swamp Tours runs private trips, as well as night tours for optimal stargazing.

Guided Wildlife Tours

Even more than the landscape itself, people come to the Everglades to see the wildlife. Alligators, crocodiles, herons, boars and even manatees call the Everglades home, and often they lurk on the shores of the park’s waterways.

The Everglades National Park Institute runs one of the best eco-adventures from the Guy Bradley Visitor Center, where you’ll take a powerboat along Florida Bay before paddling into mangrove forests, stopping to watch the wildlife from far-flung Sable Beach.

Sunset Cruises

Sunsets in the Everglades can be spectacular when the weather is clear, with no light pollution or buildings separating you from the purple horizon. Seeing the sunset from the water is the best way to experience the views, and Everglades Boat Tours offers a 1.5-hour trip that’s limited to 6 people, with a champagne toast as the sun goes down.

Smallwood Store Boat Tours is the best option for birders, with a sunset tour that takes guests out onto Chokoloskee Bay where birds congregate at sunset. Everglades Expeditions offers a sunset experience on an airboat. And yes, they cut the engines so you can enjoy the sunset in peace.

Family Friendly Options

Sometimes, with small children or older relatives, the noise of an airboat may not be ideal. For larger families, calmer, catamaran-style boat tours provide a quieter, scenic way to see the Everglades.

The Backcountry Boat Tour at Flamingo Marina runs seasonal trips through Florida Bay, with 5 daily departures. Everglades Cruise offers a calm glide through the Everglades, focusing on wildlife and eco-education. In addition to its famous airboats, Captain Jack's also has regular boat tours through mangroves and Ten Thousand Islands that are chilled-out alternatives.