An airboat is an iconic site in the Everglades – being on one is an experience you’ll never forget. Airboats can glide along in shallow, marshy waters due to their flat-bottom design and their above-water propeller; they are also known as fan boats.

Years ago, airboats were the primary mode of transportation in the Everglades, but now they are used for recreational purposes.

In 1942, Barrel Head House built one of the first commercial airboats. After that, Everglades visitors enjoyed viewing the Park on these boats where they could see alligators, plants, birds, and other wildlife. Airboats are still one of the most popular tourist attractions in south Florida and the Everglades.

Below, we have detailed some parts that make up an airboat.

• Engine: Airboats have an aircraft or automotive V8 engine ranging from 500 to 600+ horsepower.
• Propeller: Airboats have an aircraft propeller operates out-of-water to power the airboat.
• Propeller cage: This sits inside a metal cage, which protects the boat and its inhabitants from injury from the propeller’s blades.
• Rudder panels: Steering an airboat relies heavily on rudder panels, which help direct air.
• Rudder stick: The rudder stick is located on the airboat driver’s left side; the rudder stick directs the boat through the swamp.
• Accelerator: The airboat captain uses the accelerator to pick up speed during airboat rides.

Explore the Everglades on a Private Airboat Tour

Captain Mitch’s Private Everglades airboat tours is based in Everglades City and is one of the oldest airboat tours in the Everglades. Captain Mitch’s Airboat Tours has been running safe, fun and family-friendly excursions throughout Everglades’ wilderness for decades.

To schedule an airboat trip when you’re visiting the Everglades, call Captain Mitch’s Airboat Tours at 239-695-3377 or visit the Everglades Airboat Tours  page.

The Everglades is a magical place to explore, but being that it’s the outdoors, it’s a good idea to stick to paths and trails. The Everglades National Park allows visitors to explore the area with many hiking and bike trails winding throughout the wetlands. People can also canoe, boat, and kayak through the Everglades’ waterways.

If you choose to go on a trail, the Park recommends that visitors bring water with them and to pay attention to the weather forecast. If you hear thunder, the Park suggests going into a building or vehicle. Being a warm climate, insects are plentiful, so you should wear appropriate clothing and apply bug spray. Pets are not allowed on any of the Park’s trails.

Below, we’ve shared few trails within the Park that allows people to explore.

The following trails are currently not being maintained because there are endangered species nearby.

Coastal Prairie Trail – This trail is 11.2 miles long. It isn’t recommended due to its high exposure of mosquitos and sun and mud. Being 11.2 miles, it can be a tiring walk.  This trail is a critical habitat for the Cape Sable thoroughwort.

Snake Bight – Snake Bite is a 7.6-mile loop trail. It is moderately-difficult and leads from the forest to the shoreline of the Florida Bay. You may see crocodiles, flamingos (in December), mosquitos, pythons and anacondas on this trail. This trail is good for biking and walking, but it does get buggy. This trail is considered a critical habitat for the Cable Sable thoroughwort.

Christian Point Trail – This is a 4.2-mile harder trail that leads you deep into a mangrove forest along the Florida Bay. Beyond the forest, the trail will lead you to a small prairie that opens up later into a large mark prairie. It can also be buggy. This trail is a critical habitat for Cape Sable thoroughwort. c

Other Non-Maintained Trails to Checkout:
Rowdy Bend
Bear Lake
LPK Bike Trail

These trails are maintained:

Anhinga Trail – This trail is easy and is .8 of a mile long. It’s close to the Park entrance, which is why most visitors travel on this trail. You can easily spot wildlife along this trail, including alligators and birds. There are several observation decks throughout the trail.

Bayshore Loop – Bayshore Loop is an easy to moderate level trail that is 1.3 miles long. This trail is very buggy. This loop will bring you along the edge of the Florida Bay through the coastal prairie habitat. It passes through the original fishing village of Flamingo. Bayshore Loop is a great bird-watching trail.

Pa-Hay-Okee Boardwalk – The Pa-Hay-Okee Boardwalk is an easy .2 loop that leads visitors through the “River of Grass” (Pa-Hay-Okee) within the Park for a close look at the area. It leads people to an observation tower.

Other Maintained Trails in the Everglades:
Bear Lake Trail
Bobcat Boardwalk
Gumbo Limbo Trail
Guy Bradley Trail
Mahogany Hammock Trail
Old Ingraham Highway
Otter Cave Hammock Trail
Pinelands Ecotone
West Lake Mangrove Trail

Explore the Everglades by Airboat

From alligators to flowers, there’s a lot to observe and explore on these trails – you get an up-close-and-personal experience in a beautiful area. If you’re tired of walking or you want a different view of the Everglades, hop on an airboat tour.

To schedule an airboat trip when you’re visiting the Everglades, call Captain Mitch’s Airboat Tours at 239-695-3377 or visit the Everglades Airboat Tours . Captain Mitch’s Airboat Tours has been giving fun, informative, and safe tours in the Everglades for decades.

By now, you likely know that the Burmese Python is an invasive species to the Everglades, causing a lot of destruction. You’ve probably seen several articles of python hunters catching huge pythons and removing them from the Everglades, so they won’t breed or kill any more native wildlife. By reducing the number of pythons in the Everglades, hunters are helping bring a balance back to the ecosystem to the Everglades.

Now, researchers are finding that the Burmese pythons are threatening wading bird nests in the Everglades. It was always known that pythons eat wading birds, but now this is the first time that researchers have documented pythons eating nestlings. Researches from the University of Florida found that there is more python activity on islands with wading bird colonies than those without bird. In a study, the researchers caught snakes eating eggs and young birds on camera five times more than racoons, rat snakes, and other predators.

Unfortunately, it has been estimated pythons have already eaten/killed more than 90 percent of mid-sized mammals in the Everglades. Pythons can eat more than their own body weight and grow up to seven feet long in their first year of life. Researchers are worried bird species will be wiped out in the Everglades, especially since they aren’t prepared to deal with this invasive predator.

The answer to restoring the wildlife balance in the Everglades lies in the reduction/eradication of the pythons. To get a permit to hunt for pythons, click Everglades python permit page.

The pythons lower animal populations by eating them, but they also harm the population who eats them! These snakes’ bodies hold high levels of mercury, which can poison any animal or reptile that eats them. The pythons’ presence is changing the entire ecosystem of the Everglades

If python hunting isn’t your thing, visit the Everglades in a much more relaxing way… on an airboat tour! An airboat tour will give you a glimpse of the Everglades’ native, wonderful wildlife that is still around, despite pythons. To book a tour, click the Captain Mitch’s Everglades Airboat Tours page or call 239-695-3377.

What is creepy and crawly, has 8 legs and scares a lot of people? Spiders! For the most part, people either love or hate spiders. Spider love the Everglades. In fact, there are 20,000 spiders per acre of land in the Everglades… and the Everglades is 1.5 million acres of wetlands, so that’s A LOT of spiders. The spiders enjoy the warm climate. Some are easy to spot while other spiders are barely visible to the naked eye.

Just like other species, there are native and invasive species of spiders in the Everglades. The invasive species have made their way to the Eveglades and Florida by airplane, ships, and other animals.

Some of these spiders make webs while others live in the leaves and brush on the ground. Even if you hate spiders, you have to respect the fact that are essential to a healthy Everglades’ ecosytem. They eat a lot of insects and they get eatn by other prey.

Here are three types of spiders living in the Everglades:

Banana Spider – This spider is an orb-weaving spider. They consume mosquitoes, bees, butterflies, flies, small moths, and wasps. This spider is also known as a gold silk spider, because of the color of the silk of their webs. It loves high humidity. The female banana spider is one of the largest orb weavers in America coming in around three inches long in size. The female banana spider ha yellow, white, orange and brown on its body, while the males are dark brown in color. The female can spin a three-foot-wide web. The banana spider is not an aggressive spider, and its bite is harmless to humans.

Red Widow Spider – The red widow spider has a reddish color on its head and legs; its abdomen (body) is black. The red widow is a venomous spider. According to the University of Missouri, no bites have ever been recorded from this spider, so little is known about its venom. The female red widow spiders are a ½ inch in size and male red widow spiders are about 1/3 of the size of the female. This spider can be found in the pine scrub habitat along the sandy ridges in central and southeastern Florida. It web is built on palmetto leaves. The primary prey of this spider is the scarab beetle.

Brown Recluse Spider – The brown recluse spider is one of the most poisonous spiders in the Everglades. This spider is common in tropical climates, and they are not native to Florida. This spider is the size of a quarter. They make webs, but they also will wander to look for their food, such as cockroaches and other insects. A brown recluse spider will not bite a human unless it’s trapped up against the person’s skin (if you roll onto a spider or if it’s in your clothing). This spider’s venom can cause necrosis, loss of limb, and death.

Viewing Spiders in the Everglades

If you want to view some spiders in the Everglades, you’ll have to look closely as you walk along the trails. Despite being terrifying to many people, these eight-legged creatures help balance the ecosystem.
Want to have some fun in the Everglades while learning about the area? Jump on an airboat to try and catch a glimpse of one of these arachnids as you sail on by. To book an airboat tour, visit the Everglades Airboat Tours  or call 239-695-3377. Captain Mitch’s Airboat Tours has been giving fun, informative, safe tours in the Everglades for decades.