Paradise Coast

Idyllic Florida vacations are easy on the Paradise Coast. The area is full of natural gems such as the Estero Bay Aquatic Preserve, the Great Calusa Blueway (which begins in Paradise Coast and extends into Lee Island Coast) and the labyrinthian Ten Thousand Islands. Venture into the heart of the Big Cypress Basin to walk in the endangered Florida panther’s habitat. Cultural and historical gems await as well, inside the Edison Ford Winter Estates, the Baker Museum (home to 15 galleries) and many others.

Everglades National Park is home to the Florida panther. ©National Park Service

Orlando magazine’s dedicated editorial team is taking the guesswork out of your next coastal trip! Check out these important facts:

☀ BOUNDED BY: Everglades National Park to Naples and encompassing the Ten Thousand Islands. 

⚑ COUNTIES: Collier.

⚐ MAJOR CITIES/AREAS: Naples, Marco Island, Everglades City, Immokalee and Ave Maria.

♜ HIGHLIGHTS: Everglades National Park, the Paradise Coast Blueway, cypress and mangrove forests.

☸ HIDDEN GEMS: Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary (showcases Naples’ diverse ecosystems), The Revs Institute (dedicated to the study and preservation of historically significant automobiles), Wonder Gardens (a refuge for rescued and non-releasable birds and reptiles).

☺ OVERALL VIBE: Green and lush.

The Everglades National Park is a World Heritage Site, an International Biosphere Reserve and a Wetland of International Importance. ©National Park Service

Everglades National Park

Everglades National Park is the largest subtropical wilderness in the United States. This biodiversity hotspot is more than 1,500,000 acres in size and is home to 35 endangered species, including the Florida panther, the American crocodile, the wood stork, snail kite and the West Indian manatee. Two species, the Cape Sable seaside sparrow and the Florida leafwing butterfly, are only found in the park and its adjacent lands.

In all, about 300 species of fish, 17 species of amphibians, 40 species of mammals, 50 species of reptiles and more than 360 species of birds call Everglades National Park home.

©National Park Service

The Everglades was established as a national park in 1934. It is also a World Heritage Site, an International Biosphere Reserve, a Wetland of International Importance and a specially protected area under the Cartagena Treaty.

To say its habitat is vast is a severe understatement—among the flora you’ll find here are freshwater sloughs, marl prairies, tropical hammocks, pinelands, cypress, mangrove, coastal lowlands, marine and estuarine. The park contains the largest intact stand of protected mangrove forest in the Northern Hemisphere, a vital habitat and nursery for wading birds and fish, as well as the endangered species.

There are two very different seasons that should inform your visit here: the wet season and the dry season. The wet season, which runs from May to November, is rainy with mosquitos, but fewer crowds. The dry season runs from December through April and attracts the largest variety of wading birds and their predators.

The park can be accessed via car through its three main entrances at the Gulf Coast Visitor Center in Everglades City, the Shark Valley area and the Ernest F. Coe Visitor Center in Homestead, its main entrance. Visitors can also enter via boat through a series of coastal waterways. 

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