Overnight trips in the Everglades

Recommended overnight kayak or canoe trips in the Everglades

Everglades City to Picnic or Tiger Key, 15 miles round trip

This is one of my favorite

and most familiar overnight trips.

here are a

couple of routes

to choose from

for this type of

mileage

. The most popular route

is via Indian Key pass with a

nice detour into

beautiful creek

hat

connects

Indian Key

pass with the southeastern point of

Gaskin Bay

(click on thumbnail

image below to see a map of this route)

By doing this,

avoid

some of the

Indian Key pass

boat traffic

(which

includes the

massive tour

boats)

through

this route and there is usually an oyster bar to get

out onto for a

quick rest

stop.

Another route is to head through West Pass

Bay

past the

Ferguson River

and down West

Pass

or take a detour to

Fakahatchee Island (a

decent rest

stop).

Fakahatchee Island is out

of the park

proper, but is campable

a very

large shell

mound.

This route adds about 1

mile.

We usually come up

to Picnic

Key between Tiger and Picnic Keys.

Since

the hurricanes

2005, a lot

of both

of these keys have been cleared and for

good or bad, there is more

campable

beach areas.

Of the two,

only Picnic Key has a port-a-john. If you come in

between Tiger and Picnic Keys, you'll

go south until you round the

sout

west

corner of Picnic

Key and will see the facilities immediately. The southwest

beach from that point on is prime

real

estate for

kayak camping. Just before

you round the corner though are other campable

areas, but they are mostly

inhabited

powerboaters. Tiger Key is campable on its northwest

tip and

this seems to be the favorite among campers. You have a

pretty lagoon on one

side

and the gulf on the other. It was

cleared out by the 2005 hurricanes, but

it's still a relatively

small

beach area for more than one party of campers. I

prefer the beach area that is directly

south of the point and facing directly

west. Lots of space here. Last word of caution, low tide

on either of these

keys means a fair amount of walking to and from

your boat. Plan smart

ly!

Dolphins are a common site as you paddle toward the gulf. This was taken in
West Pass after having left the Everglades City ranger station and were
heading to Picnic Key.

Constance Mier, 2007

Sunset on Picnic Key, with southwest end of Tiger Key in the distance.
The driftwood you see sticking out of the sand litters the beach, thanks to
hurricane Wilma. Despite the devastation, the effect offers interesting
photo opportunities.

Constance Mier, 2007

Sunset on Tiger Key, from the north side. Way off in the distance you can
spot Cape Romano. Once again, hurricane Wilma left this island wrecked,
but with more beach area cleared for camping.

Constance Mier, 2007

A campsite on Camp Lulu. Here, we are camped on the east side and in the
distance, you can see Tiger Key. From here, you can take a short walk
along the beach and get to the lagoon that's located on the west side. There
is also a newly-painted building near the lagoon that use to be inhabited by a
man who "squatted" on the island for years.

Constance Mier, 2007

The Lopez River campsite. The structure is the old cistern built by Gregorio
Lopez around the end of the 19th century. There is another camp site on the
other side of the structure.

Dinner time on Sunday Bay; a rare moment as we had both platforms, one for
cooking and hanging out, the other for sleeping.

Everglades City to Camp Lulu, 17 miles round trip

You can basically take the same route as you do to Tiger Key. Once

you

get to the

northwest point of Tiger Key,

head

west about 1 mile.

You]ll cross the

Everglades National

Park border about 1/2 mile from Camp Lulu, and you'll

enter the

10,000 National Wildlife

Refuge

(see thumbnail below for map of

route)

Camp

Lulu is out of the national park proper,

camping there does not

require

permit

(but you do need to leave your float plan at the

ranger station).

This is

popular party spot for motor boaters and

paddlers;

although I've

never

had a

negative experience there. Since the 2005 hurricanes, there is a greater

area for

camping

and you

can pretty much choose your spot all along the

eastern

shoreline of the

island. A lot of people like to camp on the

southern

side facing

the gulf, or on the lagoon,

which can be accessed by paddling

around the gulf

side of the island.

There

are no

port-a-john

facilities on Camp

Lulu (or any other campsite outside of the Everglades National Park)

Chokoloskee Island to Sunday Bay, 16 miles round trip

If you want a simple trip that includes chickee camping, this is it.

Basically, you

can take the same route as

described above for the Lopez

River

trip. From Cross Bays

head east past marker 125 into Sunday Bay and

the left

shore line until you get to the

opening of the hidden bay where

you'll

find Sunday Bay chickee. That's the nice thing about

this chickee, it's

hidden

away, you can't see it from Sunday Bay. You won't see the chickee

on your

#41

map, the rangers

will give you a supplement

map

when you get

your permit.

It's a

very short distance and not a navigational issue by any

means.

This is a

relatively

popular site for the through paddlers on the

Wilderness Waterway,

consider yourself lucky

getting a

permit during the

busy season. I was

fortunate

the first time I camped here to

have the entire

chickee to myself. If

you have

time

after setting up camp, explore the area

behind the chickee, you'll

find some

hidden bay-lettes with lots of birds

photograph.

Chokoloskee Island to Lopez River via Turner River & Cross Bays, 13-16 miles round trip

This is absolutely one of my favorite overnight trips. It's excellent for

those

days when

you have a morning in-coming

tide as you can ride up

Turner

River

with ease. This is a

backcountry trip, bringing you to one of my

favorite

campsites on the

Lopez River. You can

take the short route from

Chokoloskee

directly to The Lopez River, but it's only a 5

mile

journey one-

way. We

typically

leave Lopez River to get back to Chokoloskee the next day

via

this

route, making

it a 13-mile trip all

together. By taking Turner River

from

Chokoloskee

Bay, you

add about 3 miles to your trip. This is a gorgeous

route,

taking

you along 2

beautiful rivers. In the fall, I see flocks of roseate

spoonbills among egrets,

herons and ibises

along the Turner

River, an

incredible display of color. There

are some rest stop opportunities

along the

way, before getting into Cross Bays.

Once past Cross Bays, y

ou can detour

into

crooked creek or take

the more direct route into Lopez River.

If you do

take

crooked creek,

you

pass

the wilderness waterway markers 125

and

126. The campsite is about 1 mile

from

the mouth of the

crooked creek.

The

campsite is moderate in size compared to the other

backcountry sites and you

can separate you

self from

another

party by camping on the

opposite side of

the old cement

cistern.

From

your campsite, you'll witness

dolphins passing

by as they ride the tides in and

out, feeding along the way.

You'll hear them

before you see

them! Getting back

via Lopez

River through

Chokoloskee Bay

(the 5-mile route)

is a bit tricky

at low tide, beware of

shoals. Follow the right

shore line and

look for the channel markers as

you

head toward Chokoloskee

Island. By the way, we put in on the

ide facing

Turner River

from Outdoor

Resorts. Be prepared to pay for parking and put-in,

call in advance for

information.

Overnighters (1 night, 2 days), click on a thumbnail images below to see the routes:

It is helpful to have a marine chart of the area to better understand these routes. You may purchase marine charts of the Everglades at waterproofcharts.com. The
chart for the Ten Thousand Islands area is #41 (north of Lostmans's River) and for the Flamingo/Whitewater Bay/Hells Bay area, you'll need #39).

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