You will not see much on a map that tells you where you are, because the Everglades are a river wider than most counties and only a few inches deep. Marjory Stoneman Douglas called it the River of Grass in 1947, the year the park was dedicated, and the description holds: water flows slowly south from Lake Okeechobee across a sea of sawgrass toward Florida Bay, with islands of hardwood and pine rising a few feet above the flood.
The main road in, from Homestead and Florida City, runs about thirty-eight miles to Flamingo on the southern coast. It is flat, straight and quiet, and what makes it special is what you see beside it: alligators sunning on the banks of canals, anhingas drying their wings on branches, wood storks, ibises, and in the right season, spoonbills in pink flocks. The boardwalks at Anhinga Trail and Pa-hay-okee are short and easy, and the light at dawn is gorgeous. Alligators hold the road verges in the dry season, and they are best watched from a safe distance.
Timing matters. The wet season, from May to October, brings heat, afternoon storms and billions of mosquitoes, so riding in a hot jacket is a trial. From December to April it is dry and mild, the animals gather at the remaining water, and this is the time to go. Hurricanes come in late summer and autumn and can close the park.
Fuel is a plain matter: there is none on the road in, so fill up in Florida City or Homestead, which have plenty of stations and cheap motels. Services at Flamingo are limited. Take water, sun protection and insect repellent, because the park is a long way from anywhere. An entrance fee covers a week. The park is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and a wetland of international importance, and the sense of space, with sky and grass meeting at the horizon, is unlike anything else in the country.