Wildlife Viewing Site
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Description: Shark Valley is located on the northern edge of the park and features the sawgrass expanse of the Shark River Slough. Islands of tropical hardwood hammocks dot the landscape. Visitors can walk, bicycle, or take a two-hour tram ride to an observation tower overlooking the sawgrass marsh midway around a paved loop trail. The Everglades City Ranger Station at the park's western edge supplies passes for backcountry camping in the Ten Thousand Islands, which can be explored only by boat, canoe, or kayak. A concessionaire downstairs from the ranger station offers interpretive boat tours through the islands. Watchable wildlife: Fish, turtles, alligators, and wading birds can be seen from the Shark Valley tower in and around the borrow ponds. Look for red-shouldered hawks, snail kites, northern harriers, and occasional rare short-tailed hawks over the marsh. White-tailed deer are often seen lingering near the edges of hammocks or bounding through belly-deep water in the marsh. In the Ten Thousand Islands, expect to see many shorebirds, white ibis, roseate spoonbills, black skimmers (winter and spring), bald eagles (winter and spring), ospreys, magnificent frigatebirds (summer), nesting wading birds and brown pelicans, bottle-nosed dolphins, manatees, as well as sharks, rays, and other large fish. Ownership: National Park Service Contact: |
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