What to Do in Everglades City When It Rains

The Museum That Remembers What the County Forgot

Start at the Museum of the Everglades, 105 Broadway Ave W. It is the old laundry building for the Rod and Gun Club, and it tells the story of why this town exists at all. 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. The museum walks you through all of it—the railroad, the road, the county seat that later lost its county. Rated 4.7 from 368 reviews, it is small, serious, and worth an hour.

Two blocks over, the Old Collier County Courthouse at 102 Copeland Ave N stands as a quieter monument. Only two reviews, a perfect 5.0. It is not a museum with exhibits so much as a building that used to be the center of government for all of Collier County. Rain drips off its roofline; inside, the wood floors creak. That is enough.

Eat Where the Locals Eat, Which Is Everywhere

Everglades City has 343 housing units, and 203 of them are held for seasonal or recreational use. On a rainy weekday, the restaurants are where the permanent 208 residents and the wet tourists mix.

Camellia Street Grill, 202 Camellia St W, is the busiest room in town—4.3 from 2,078 reviews. It sits at the edge of the river, and when it rains, the windows fog up and the stone crab orders keep coming. Island Cafe on Collier Ave pulls a 4.4 from 1,954 reviews; it is a counter-and-booth operation that does not slow down for weather. Everglades Rod & Gun Club, the old hunting and fishing lodge at 200 W Broadway, is the most atmospheric option—4.2 from 689 reviews, dark wood, high ceilings, and a bar that has seen a century of wet afternoons.

If you want something quicker, Wildman's pizza, pasta and pythons at 104 Buckner Ave S has a 4.7 from 377 reviews. The name is not a joke. The Diving Pelican Restaurant & Bar on Copeland Ave is a 4.1 from 303 reviews, a straightforward bar-and-grill with a view of the water. And yes, there is a Subway at 31990 Tamiami Trl E, rated 3.9 from 127 reviews. On a rainy day in a town this size, a chain sandwich is not a compromise; it is a known quantity.

island life creations on Collier Ave has no review count listed, which sometimes means it is newer or less visited. It is a restaurant, not a gift shop, despite the name. Win-Car Inc Gifts and Hardware, 209 Collier Ave, is the true hybrid—4.9 from 47 reviews. You can buy a mousetrap and a shell necklace under the same roof. That is Everglades City.

The Visitor Center That Doubles as a Shelter From the Storm

The Gulf Coast Visitor Center at 815 Oyster Bar Ln is the Marjory Stoneman Douglas Visitor Center for Everglades National Park. It is the only official park gateway in town, rated 4.4 from 669 reviews. When it rains, this is where you go to watch the weather roll across the Ten Thousand Islands from a dry, air-conditioned room. Rangers answer questions, maps are free, and the boat tours that usually leave from the dock next door will either be running or not—check before you book.

If the rain lets up for ten minutes, walk to the Ernest Hamilton Observation Tower at 875 Copeland Ave. It is a 4.2 from 77 reviews, a simple wooden tower that gets you above the mangroves. You will see why the town is named for the Everglades it sits at the edge of. If it is still pouring, skip it and stay inside.

The Seafood Festival, Whether It Rains or Not

Every February, the Everglades Seafood Festival brings 40,000 to 50,000 people to a town of 352. Three days of live country music, carnival rides, arts and crafts, and stone crab. It rains some years. The festival does not care. It is held outside, under tents and tarps, and proceeds go to schools, local charities, hurricane relief, and the commercial fishing fleet. That is the town's calendar in one event: work, weather, and community.

A Note on This Place

The census numbers tell you something. Median age is 59.1. Unemployment is 0 percent. Median home value is $371,400, and median rent is $1,987. Vacant housing units: 234. That means most of the roofs in town belong to people who are not here most of the year. When it rains, the people who are here—the 208, the ones working the docks and the kitchens—are what keep the place running.

State Road 29, Collier's road to Immokalee, was completed in 1929. The railroad reached town in 1928, the southernmost point the Atlantic Coast Line ever got. The county seat moved to East Naples two years after Hurricane Donna struck in 1960. None of that changed because of weather. Neither will your afternoon.

Rain in Everglades City is not a problem. It is a reason to sit down, eat something, and look at the water. Do that.