Things to Do
The 20 Best Things to Do in Naples, Florida
Twenty things worth your day, ranked by how often we send visiting friends to each one.
12 min read
Things to Do
Everglades Day Trip from Naples: Big Cypress and Everglades City
Drive forty minutes east and the twenty-first century simply stops.
Naples sits on the western edge of the largest subtropical wilderness in the United States, and almost nobody staying on Fifth Avenue realises how close it is. Head east on the Tamiami Trail and inside forty minutes the development ends absolutely — no transition, no sprawl, just sawgrass to the horizon and cypress domes standing in water.
The route
- US-41 east from Naples — the original 1928 Tamiami Trail, and the better drive
- Big Cypress Oasis Visitor Center (~50 min) — alligators stacked in the canal below the boardwalk, free
- Kirby Storter Roadside Park — a short free boardwalk into a cypress strand, usually empty
- Everglades City / Chokoloskee (~1h 10m) — stone crab in season, the Museum of the Everglades, the Gulf Coast Visitor Center
- Loop Road, if you have a full day and don't mind gravel — the wildest 24 miles in South Florida
Where to actually stop
The Everglades rewards walking and standing still far more than it rewards speed — noise moves wildlife. The Oasis Visitor Center canal, the Kirby Storter boardwalk and the Big Cypress Bend boardwalk at Fakahatchee are the three stops that reliably deliver alligators, wading birds and old-growth cypress, and all three are free.
When to go
December to April, decisively. The dry season concentrates wildlife at the remaining water, drops the mosquito load from unbearable to tolerable, and gives you the clear light the place deserves. Summer trips are still worth doing, but go early and carry repellent you would describe as excessive.
Common questions
- How far is the Everglades from Naples?
- Big Cypress National Preserve is about 50 minutes east on US-41; Everglades City is about 1 hour 10 minutes. Both are comfortable half-day trips.
- What is the best month for an Everglades trip from Naples?
- January through March. Wildlife concentrates around the remaining dry-season water, mosquitoes are manageable, and the light is clear.
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