Destination: Florida Everglades

Explore Florida's Wild Estuaries

At the southern tip of Florida, a shallow freshwater river 50 miles wide creeps seaward, filled with a blend of tropical life from the Caribbean islands and temperate species of the mainland. Near the western shore of the Everglades, the freshwater river comes together with saltwater in a brackish mixture that sustains and encourages a wonderful variety of flora and fauna. Mangrove-lined creeks and shallow, mud-bottomed bays are populated with wood storks, ibis, roseate spoonbills, alligators, manatee, raccoons and a host of fresh and saltwater fish.

The Everglades spills into the Gulf of Mexico forming the Ten Thousand Island area, which was home to the fierce Caloosa Indians, who constructed vast shell mounds, and in more recent times the Seminoles. Europeans moved onto the islands either to escape their pasts or to live a free and solitary life. Their history is rich with heroes and hermits, dreamers and doers.

Sea kayaking the Everglades allows us to glide quietly into the mysterious and fragile environment of a shallow freshwater river filled with a blend of tropical life from the Caribbean islands and temperate species of the mainland. We'll slow our paddling pace to match the rhythm of the tides, winds and sunsets in this breathtaking environment, right in our own backyard.