Everglades National Park seasonal timing guide for Florida’s wet and dry periods

Tropical wetland wilderness protecting the unique River of Grass ecosystem

Everglades National Park

Everglades National Park preserves a unique ecosystem that exists nowhere else on Earth. The Everglades began forming approximately 5,000 years ago when regular flooding created the conditions for vast peat deposits and distinctive plant communities to develop. Water flows imperceptibly south from Lake Okeechobee through a宽 40 to 70-mile river, moving at only about 100 feet per day through sawgrass marshes that dominate the landscape. This slow movement creates a constantly shifting environment where the boundaries between open water and solid ground are never permanent. The park's establishment in 1934, after decades of advocacy by conservationists like Ernest F. Coe and Marjory Stoneman Douglas, marked a revolutionary concept in national park management: protecting a living ecosystem rather than dramatic geological features. The park contains nine distinct but interconnected ecosystems, from freshwater sloughs and marl prairies to tropical hardwood hammocks, pinelands, cypress domes, mangroves, and marine environments. Each system responds dynamically to water levels that fluctuate dramatically between wet and dry seasons, creating constantly changing conditions that support remarkable biodiversity.