Probably the most iconic Everglades activity is an airboat tour. Airboats are a great way to explore the shallow waters that are typical of the Everglades. In many areas, the water isn’t deep enough to allow for a boat with a submerged propeller engine. Airboats have their propeller in a cage on the back of the boat (like a fan) and the boat’s bottom is flat to let it glide across shallow – or no – water.
There are many companies that claim to offer Everglades Airboat Tours but only 3 are authorized by the National Park Service to give tours within the park. The rest are actually touring outside the Everglades’ boundaries. The three authorized companies are Coopertown Airboats, Everglades Safari Park, and Gator Park, and their guides are actually National Park Guides. Both Everglades Safari Park and Gator Park also offer wildlife shows. We specifically chose Coopertown because they did not. Although I’m sure the boys would have found it entertaining, alligator wrestling and taking pictures holding baby alligators just didn’t feel right. We were there to enjoy wildlife in the wild, not in a show.
Most companies have two different sized airboats – one for private tours and one for group tours. In general, the private tours take up to 6 people and the group tours can fit up to 20 people, although exact numbers vary by company and boat. We opted for a private tour both for a more personal experience and for covid-safety reasons. Coopertown offered 1, 1.5, and 2 hours private tours. We chose the hour and a half tour to explore a little deeper into the park.
One thing about airboats… they are LOUD! We were all given headsets to block out some of the noise. Airboats are also fast! Once we got out of Coopertown’s channel and into the open water, we really took off. The boys loved it!
When we first headed out, we seemed to be following a trail. There was a pathway of water in between the grassy areas and the driver followed the path, twisting and turning to stay in the water. It was shallow in some areas and deeper in others, but there was clearly a visible path.
We were all surprised when the driver suddenly turned and drove straight into the grass. I’m certain there was some water under there but it wasn’t visible to us. It appeared as if we were skimming across land. He later told us that while the boat technically can go on land, they run better with at least two inches of water. It was pretty amazing to sit up front in the boat and watch us drive straight through the grasses.
Our tour guide stopped the boat and gave us a lot of information about the Everglades and its “river of grass”. He was really knowledgeable and interesting. He taught us all about Cladium jamaicense, better known as sawgrass. He pulled a stalk to show us how its leaves are serrated and sharp enough to cut you if you run your hand along it in the wrong direction. He also told us that if we were ever lost in the Everglades, we could survive by eating the sawgrass stalks. He even convinced JB to try a bite!
From there we moved on to some deeper waters and wider pathways. And it wasn’t long before we spotted some gators! We saw a few out for an afternoon swim.
We saw gators swimming here and there throughout the rest of the trip. Our guide stopped a few more times to teach us about the different plants and birds and other creatures that call the Everglades home.
We also visited a few cool, hidden spots that only the longer private tours get to visit. We saw an old abandoned shack and an island with an amazing uprooted tree that was miraculously still thriving years after toppling over in a hurricane.
We had a great tour with Coopertown Airboats. The guide was really informative, the scenery was gorgeous, the plants were beautiful, the birds and wildlife were abundant, and the ride was so much fun. This is a great add-on activity to the Anhinga Trail. They both offer really different and unique views of the Everglades. The airboats can get you out into the middle of the river of grass for a whole new perspective on the area. This is a must-do activity when visiting the Everglades.
