First Time in Everglades City: What to Know Before You Go

The Short Version

Everglades City is not a resort. It is a working waterfront town at the edge of the Everglades, population 352, with 343 housing units—and 234 of those are vacant. More than half the homes that do exist are held for seasonal or recreational use. The median age is 59.1. The unemployment rate is zero. People here work.

You are coming to see the swamp, the gulf, and the stone crabs. That is the right reason to come. The town itself is small, low-slung, and built around the water. It will not take you long to see it all. Plan for the park, plan for the boats, and let the town be what it is.

How This Town Got Here

Barron Collier started buying land here in 1922. The community incorporated as the Town of Everglades in 1923, became the City of Everglades in 1953, and finally the City of Everglades City in 1965. The name changed twice before it stuck. What did not change was the reason for the place: Collier built the town to build a road.

He funded State Road 29 from Everglades City to Immokalee, finished in 1929, ahead of the Tamiami Trail itself. In 1928, the Atlantic Coast Line reached town—the southernmost point that railroad ever got. This was a staging ground, not a retirement village.

For decades, it was the seat of Collier County, from the county's creation in 1923. Then Hurricane Donna hit in 1960. Two years later, the legislature moved the county seat to East Naples. The town lost its reason for being, and it shrank. The 2020 population was 352. The median household income is $75,163, and the median home value is $371,400. It is not a poor town. It is a small one.

Where to Eat

You will not starve. The choices are few, but they are real.

Camellia Street Grill has the largest footprint, with over 2,000 reviews and a 4.3 rating, at 202 Camellia St W. Island Cafe matches it nearly review-for-review, 4.4 from 1,954 reviews, on Collier Avenue. Both are dependable, and both will be busy when the boats come in.

For something with more personality, Wildman's pizza, pasta and pythons is the outlier—4.7 from 377 reviews on Buckner Avenue South. The name is the pitch. It delivers.

Everglades Rod & Gun Club, at 200 W Broadway, is the town's oldest sort of institution in feel: a restaurant with 689 reviews and a 4.2 rating. It sits on the water and it looks the part. The Diving Pelican Restaurant & Bar on Copeland Avenue is a quieter option, 4.1 from 303 reviews. There is also a Subway on the Tamiami Trail if you just want a sandwich and to get moving. And island life creations on Collier Avenue rounds out the list, though its review count is not published.

Where to Stay

The hotel scene is dominated by the Everglades Adventures family of properties. Ivey House Everglades Adventures Hotel on Buckner Avenue North is the biggest, 4.2 from 637 reviews. Everglades City Motel - Everglades Adventures Inn on Collier Avenue is right in the middle of town, 4.2 from 332 reviews. Everglades Adventures Hotel Suites by Ivey House on Camellia Street East is the best-rated of the group, 4.5 from 171 reviews. Captain's Table Hotel by Everglades Adventures on Broadway Avenue East is the budget option, and it shows: 3.6 from 198 reviews.

River Wilderness Waterfront Villas on Collier Avenue is the other strong pick, 4.5 from 168 reviews, and it gets you on the water. Book early for February. There are not many rooms in town.

What to Do

The main event is the park. The Gulf Coast Visitor Center at 815 Oyster Bar Ln is the Marjory Stoneman Douglas Visitor Center for Everglades National Park. It is the western gateway to the park, and it is where the boat tours leave from. This is the reason most people come, and it is worth the drive.

For a quick view without a boat, walk to the Ernest Hamilton Observation Tower at 875 Copeland Ave. It is 77 reviews and a 4.2 rating—a short, free, worthwhile stop. You will see the mangrove coast spread out below you.

The One Weekend That Matters

The Everglades Seafood Festival happens every February, three days that bring 40,000 to 50,000 people into a town of 352. That is not a typo. Live country music, carnival rides, arts and crafts, and stone crab. The proceeds go to schools, local charities, hurricane relief, and the commercial fishing fleet.

If you come that weekend, you will not find a room in town. Plan ahead or stay in Naples. If you come any other weekend, you will have the place mostly to yourself.

What to Know Before You Go

The town is 208 people as of the last census, not 352—the larger number is the town's own claim, and the census number is the one we use. Either way, it is small. The median age is 59.1, and 32.8 percent of residents hold a bachelor's degree or higher. This is not a college town. It is a place where people came to fish, guide, or get away from something.

The median gross rent is $1,987, which is steep for a town this size, but the housing stock is mostly owned, not rented. You are not moving here. You are visiting.

Bring cash for the crab shacks. Bring bug spray for the summer. Bring a hat for the sun. And understand what you are looking at: a town that was built to build a road, lost its county seat, and found a second life as the front door to the Everglades. It is not a museum. It is not a theme park. It is a place that works, and you are welcome to watch it work—and eat well while you do.