Guides · Everglades City, Florida
Everglades City, FL: Visiting on Your Own
Everglades City is a working stone-crab town at the end of a road Barron Collier built. See it by treating its few streets as the whole destination.
Getting to Everglades City: Where the Road Ends
Collier funded State Road 29 from Everglades City to Immokalee, finished in 1929 ahead of the Tamiami Trail itself. That road is how you arrive — and why the town exists in its present shape. The 2020 population was 352. Census figures put the population at 208 people. Thin year-round base. Come in expecting a small grid of streets, a waterfront, and not much else. That is the destination, not a waypoint on the way to one.
Everglades City History: A Former County Seat
Barron Collier began buying land here in 1922. The community incorporated as the Town of Everglades in 1923, became the City of Everglades in 1953 and the City of Everglades City in 1965. In 1928 the Atlantic Coast Line reached town — the southernmost point that railroad ever got. Everglades City was Collier County's seat from the county's creation in 1923 until two years after Hurricane Donna struck in 1960, when the legislature moved it to East Naples. The town is named for the Everglades it sits at the edge of. Two charters renamed it before the present form stuck in 1965.
Where to Eat in Everglades City
The options are a handful, and they cluster on Collier Avenue and the blocks around it. Rather than rank them, here is what you are actually choosing between.
On Collier Avenue itself: Island Cafe (4.4 from 1,954 reviews, 305 Collier Ave), Everglades Fishing Co (4.8 from 198 reviews, 201 Collier Ave), Nely's Corner (4.6 from 148 reviews, 203 Collier Ave) and island life creations (201 Collier Ave). Three of those four sit within a few doors of each other. The choice is a short walk, not a drive.
Off Collier: Camellia Street Grill (4.3 from 2,078 reviews, 202 Camellia St W), Everglades Rod & Gun Club (4.2 from 689 reviews, 200 W Broadway), Wildman's pizza, pasta and pythons (4.7 from 377 reviews, 104 Buckner Ave S) and The Diving Pelican Restaurant & Bar (4.1 from 303 reviews, 901 Copeland Ave). Subway (3.9 from 127 reviews, 31990 Tamiami Trl E) is on the trail east of the centre.
A day on your own, without a tour, is mostly this: walk Collier Avenue, pick one of the places above, and let the town set the pace.
Everglades Seafood Festival: February Crowds
The Everglades Seafood Festival runs three days in February and brings 40,000 to 50,000 people to a town of 352. Live country music, carnival rides, arts and crafts, and the stone crab this coast is named for. Proceeds go to schools, local charities, hurricane relief and the commercial fishing fleet.
Everglades City Housing and Population
| Figure | Value | What it tells a visitor |
|---|---|---|
| Total housing units | 343 units | The whole town is smaller than one festival crowd |
| Seasonal or recreational use | 203 units | Most of the housing is not year-round |
| Vacant housing units | 234 units | Expect quiet streets outside the season |
| Median home value | $371,400 | Coastal Florida pricing in a town of 352 |
| Median gross rent | $1,987 | Renting here is not a budget option |
| Median age | 59.1 years | An older, settled year-round population |
| Bachelor's degree or higher | 32.8% | — |
| Median household income | $75,163 | — |
| Unemployment rate | 0% | — |
The visitor center and what the park side asks of you
The Marjory Stoneman Douglas Visitor Center for Everglades National Park is the orientation point on the park side. Start there for the park itself; the town is the base, not the park. Between the two, State Road 29 and the streets off it are what you have — a small working town, a few places to eat, and water at the end of the road.
Common questions
- What is there to do in Everglades City?
- The town sits at the edge of the Everglades it is named for, with the Marjory Stoneman Douglas Visitor Center for Everglades National Park. State Road 29, completed in 1929, still runs north to Immokalee. The working waterfront and stone-crab fleet are the reason people come.
- Where should I eat in Everglades City?
- Camellia Street Grill at 202 Camellia St W is rated 4.3 from 2,078 reviews. Island Cafe at 305 Collier Ave is rated 4.4 from 1,954 reviews. Wildman's pizza, pasta and pythons on Buckner Ave S is rated 4.7 from 377 reviews.
- What is the Everglades Seafood Festival?
- Three days in February that bring 40,000 to 50,000 people to a town of 352. It has live country music, carnival rides, arts and crafts, and the stone crab this coast is named for. Proceeds go to schools, local charities, hurricane relief and the commercial fishing fleet.
- How many people live in Everglades City?
- The 2020 population was 352. The median age is 59.1 years, and the median household income is $75,163. It was a county seat that lost its county, and it is down to those 352 people.
- When did Everglades City stop being the county seat?
- It was Collier County's seat from the county's creation in 1923 until two years after Hurricane Donna struck in 1960, when the legislature moved it to East Naples. Barron Collier began buying land here in 1922.
- What is the history of Everglades City?
- Barron Collier began buying land in 1922, and the community incorporated as the Town of Everglades in 1923. It became the City of Everglades in 1953 and the City of Everglades City in 1965. Collier built the place to build a road.
Every business named above is one we hold a listing for, and every date traces to a source on our sources page. We do not describe menus, interiors or service we have not verified. Details change — confirm before you travel.