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When travelers dream up a Florida road trip, the Gulf Coast, Atlantic beaches, or Orlando’s theme parks tend to get top billing. But the 284-mile historic Tamiami Trail delivers a different kind of “Old Florida” escape, where around 750 species of wildlife\u00a0\u2013 including alligators, crocodiles, turtles, herons, and countless other species \u2014 steal the show. Named as a mash-up of Tampa and Miami, the Tamiami Trail connects the two cities while mostly running parallel to Interstate 75, also known as Alligator Alley.\u00a0While both roads take drivers through the heart of the Everglades, including the 1.5-million-acre,\u00a0wildly underrated Everglades National Park<\/a>, the Tamiami Trail takes travelers on a more exploratory journey through\u00a0the biodiverse landscape.<\/p>\n Construction of the Tamiami Trail began in 1915 as part of a push to develop an automobile route across South Florida to bring more tourism to the region, where boat travel had previously been the primary mode of travel. Funding challenges delayed progress until\u00a0entrepreneur Barron Collier financed a portion of the costs in exchange for naming rights to what is now Collier County, home to Naples and much of the region west of the Everglades. After 13 years of construction that required around\u00a02.6 million sticks of dynamite to dig through the deep, swampy trenches,\u00a0the Tamiami Trail opened in 1928,\u00a0paving the way for road trippers to get up close with scenic parks, sweeping wetlands, and abundant\u00a0wildlife.<\/p>\n On its eastern end, the Tamiami Trail begins near Miami’s Brickell financial district, then rolls through Little Havana and past\u00a0Florida International University,\u00a0leaving city streets behind for wetlands. From there, the route crosses the Everglades region and its protected preserves before reaching Naples and turning north toward Tampa along U.S. 41.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n What to expect on the eastern side of the Tamiami Trail<\/p>\n
Steven Group\/Shutterstock<\/p>\n A popular stop along this historic highway is\u00a0Shark Valley<\/a>, one of\u00a0three main entrances to Everglades National Park,\u00a0along with Everglades City, the\u00a0Gulf Coast gateway to the park further west<\/a>, and Homestead,\u00a0located south of Miami.\u00a0 Shark Valley is known for its\u00a015-mile paved loop,\u00a0which visitors can explore on foot, by bicycle (rentals are also available on-site) or aboard a guided tram.\u00a0However you choose to explore, wildlife is the main attraction: There may be no sharks, but\u00a0alligators bask right next to the pavement while turtles, herons, and other birds\u00a0are common throughout the marshes.\u00a0<\/p>\n The trail also leads to a 70-foot observation tower, where visitors can take in sweeping views up to 20 miles across the “River of Grass,” a\u00a0nickname popularized by environmental activist Marjorie Stoneman Douglas. One Google reviewer<\/a> said completing the full loop took about four and a half hours while offering frequent sightings of birds and reptiles.<\/p>\n The Tamiami Trail also introduces travelers to\u00a0the Indigenous communities\u00a0that have lived in the Everglades for generations, including the Seminole Tribe of Florida and the Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida. Visitors can learn about Miccosukee history and culture through exhibits at the Miccosukee Indian Village<\/a>.\u00a0While the highway has no shortage of airboat operators with giant kitschy billboard signs, including Coopertown Airboat Tours and Everglades Safari Park, the\u00a0Miccosukee-operated airboat rides\u00a0combine wildlife viewing with information about the tribe’s connection to the Everglades, offering visitors a two-in-one experience.\u00a0One Google reviewer raved<\/a>, “The whole experience was informative and fun, especially due to the people who facilitated, they were great!”<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n What to expect on the western side of the Tamiami Trail<\/p>\n
Jim Schwabel\/Shutterstock<\/p>\n About 90 minutes west,\u00a0the route reaches Fakahatchee Strand Preserve State Park<\/a>, Florida’s\u00a0largest state park.\u00a0Its\u00a02,500-foot Big Cypress Bend Boardwalk\u00a0carries sightseers above what is considered one of the world’s largest royal palm swamps.\u00a0As a Google reviewer<\/a> put it: “As someone not from Florida, and wanting to see a darn alligator, this was the place,” adding that they took two steps from the boardwalk and saw one right away.<\/p>\n The Marsh Trail at\u00a0Ten Thousand Islands National Wildlife Refuge<\/a> lies eight minutes west and provides\u00a0another scenic stop. Florida Hikes<\/a>\u00a0describes the area as “where the Florida peninsula breaks apart into thousands and thousands of tiny pieces.” The 2.2-mile out-and-back trail\u00a0lets road-trippers experience the fragmented coastal landscape without booking a boat tour, but those\u00a0with more time can\u00a0still explore\u00a0the winding labyrinth of islands by boat\u00a0in search of manatees and birds such as\u00a0black-whiskered vireos.\u00a0Another seven minutes west,\u00a0the\u00a07,271-acre Collier-Seminole State Park<\/a>\u00a0preserves the historic\u00a0Bay City Walking Dredge, the 1924 machine that helped create the Tamiami Trail.<\/p>\n Heading 45 minutes north brings the drive to\u00a0Koreshan State Park<\/a> in Estero, a Gulf Coast\u00a0village full of outdoor fun<\/a>. Here,\u00a0remnants\u00a0of a former 19th-century “visionary community” are juxtaposed beside Victorian gardens. About an hour and a half farther north,\u00a0the laidback town of Osprey<\/a> rounds out the route with\u00a0shark-tooth beaches\u00a0and\u00a0Oscar Scherer State Park.<\/a>\u00a0This pocket of Florida wild contains 15 miles of trails, a lake popular for swimming and paddling, and a prominent scrub-jay habitat, offering one last taste of the scenery that the historic Tamiami Trail has to offer before it reaches Tampa Bay.<\/p>\n
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