The Everglades in Florida
The Everglades, known as the Gateway to the Ten Thousand Islands, is a charming mix of old and new and a reminder of an earlier age. This fishing village and mecca for sports fishermen is located near Marco Island and Naples, its neighbors to the west and north.
Gateway to the Ten Thousand Islands & Everglades
Adventurers make their way to Everglades City and sister community Chokoloskee Island to go fishing, boating, and kayaking in the watery maze of the Ten Thousand Islands and in the Gulf of Mexico.
Local guides and rangers at Everglades National Park lead biking, airboat rides and hiking tours into the vast wilderness of the Florida Everglades. The Everglades makes a perfect base for visiting Everglades National Park, Big Cypress National Preserve, and Fakahatchee Strand Preserve State Park.
Everglades History
Everglades history begins with the settlement of Seminole Indians driven from their tribal homes during the Seminole Wars in the mid-1800s. The ‘Glades, as locals call the region, also attracted outlaws and other refugees who came to hide in the near-impenetrable wilderness.
Prior to 1923, farming was the primary occupation of people living in the area and included sugarcane, bananas, and vegetables. George T. Storter is considered the founder of Everglades City and the first to draw visitors and sportsmen to the area.
The Storter family home became the Rod & Gun Club in 1925, under the ownership of Tamiami Trail builder Barron Collier. A gathering place for hunting and fishing enthusiasts, it welcomed famous guests such as Ernest Hemingway and Dwight D. Eisenhower among them. The waterfront Rod & Gun Club operates as a lodge and restaurant today and looks much as it did in its heyday, an Old South-style beauty.
Other inn and campgrounds also accommodate modern-day visitors to this adventure landscape, where feasting on fresh stone crab and alligator nuggets is the reward for a vigorous day of sporting.
Southwest Florida Travel Guide is your foremost vacation and tourist information resource for exploring the Everglades area.