Florida National Parks

Visitors will find a recreational paradise with camping, canoeing, kayaking, hiking and birdwatching opportunities. Those passing through may be enticed to linger in this remnant of wild Florida to search for evidence of the elusive Florida panther or to watch an endangered woodstork feeding along a roadside canal.

Some days, Biscayne Bay's shallow waters are glassy smooth, a window on another world. Other times, the wind whistles and whips, creating white waves that bite like teeth at an angry sky.

Some days are quiet and still, the silence broken only by the sound of ocean ripples lapping at the mangrove-fringed shoreline, the exhalation of a manatee, or a crab scuttling across the leaf-strewn forest floor. On weekends, the laughter of children, the sizzle of burgers on a grill, or the "woosh" of water being cleared from a snorkel takes over.

Some days, the water over the reef is so clear that every detail on the bottom is visible, and zooming across it on a boat can seem like flying on air. Then there are blustery days when it is milky with mud stirred up by wind and wave.

Even the 10,000 year human history of the place reflects its temperamental nature. Idyllic vignettes of a Tequesta Indian man free-diving for conch from a dugout canoe, or a Bahamian woman watching the sunset across a tidal creek after a hard day's work contrast with violent shipwrecks, acts of piracy, and a long, hard struggle for environmental protection.

We invite you to use this website as a way to test the waters, and hope that you will plan a visit to immerse yourself in the many moods of Biscayne National Park.

Dive in!

The barrier island and adjacent waterways offer a blend of plant and animal life. Records show that 1,045 species of plants and 310 species of birds can be found in the park.

Endangered species include, but are not limited to, loggerhead, green and leatherback sea turtles, West Indian Manatee, Southern bald eagle, wood stork, peregrine falcon, eastern indigo snake, and Florida scrub jay.

The park has two districts and the Seminole Rest Site. The North District is in Volusia County, near New Smyrna Beach, Florida. Seminole Rest is also located in Volusia County in Oak Hill, Florida. The South District, in Brevard County is near Titusville, Florida.

Visitors may enjoy walking the nature and historical trails during the cool winter months. Throughout the year opportunity for recreational activities include; lagoon and surf fishing, boating, canoeing, surfing, sunbathing, swimming, hiking, horseback riding and backcountry camping.

But this expedition would never yield the gold and treasure these men so desperately sought. Instead, they marched from one village to the next, taking food and enslaving the native peoples to use as guides and porters. Hopes were dashed, fortunes squandered, and hundreds of lives lost on this calamitous journey. The de Soto expedition would change the face of the American Southeast forever, and cause Spain to drastically reevaluate her role in the New World. Ultimately, it was the first hand accounts of survivors, describing the native cultures and the richness of the land, which became the journey's enduring legacy.

The mission of De Soto National Memorial is to preserve the controversial story of this four year, four thousand mile odyssey and interpret it's significance in American history. Visitors can attend living history demonstrations, try on a piece of armor, or walk the nature trail through a Florida coastal landscape similar to the one encountered by conquistadors almost five hundred years ago.

The Tortugas were first discovered by Ponce de Leon in 1513. Abundant sea turtles or "tortugas" provisioned his ships with fresh meat, but there was no fresh water-the tortugas were dry. Since the days of Spanish exploration, the reefs and shoals of the Dry Tortugas have been a serious hazard to navigation and the site of hundreds of shipwrecks.

U.S. military attention was drawn to the keys in the early 1800's due to their strategic location in the Florida Straits. Plans were made for a massive fortress and construction began in 1846, but the fort was never completed. The invention of the rifled cannon made it obsolete. As the military value of Fort Jefferson waned, its pristine reefs, abundant sea life and impressive numbers of birds grew in value. In 1935, President Franklin Roosevelt set aside Fort Jefferson and the surrounding waters as a national monument. The area was redesignated as Dry Tortugas National Park in 1992 to protect both the historical and natural features.

Everglades National Park has been designated a World Heritage Site, an International Biosphere Reserve, and a Wetland of International Importance.

The schedule for tram tours at Shark Valley may be obtained at 305/221-8455. The schedule for boat tours at Everglades City may be obtained at 239/695-2591. The Flamingo Lodge and Marina may be reached at 239/695-3101.

Everglades National Park has been designated a World Heritage Site, an International Biosphere Reserve, and a Wetland of International Importance.

The schedule for tram tours at Shark Valley may be obtained at 305/221-8455. The schedule for boat tours at Everglades City may be obtained at 239/695-2591. The Flamingo Lodge and Marina may be reached at 239/695-3101.

In addition, the park, which is located on barrier islands along the shores of the Atlantic Ocean and the Matanzas estuary, provides a natural habitat rich in wildlife with the salt marsh, scrub, and maritime hammock now protecting endangered and threatened species like the historic Fort Matanzas protected St. Augustine long ago.