Marjory Stoneman Douglas Wilderness

All life in the Everglades hangs by a wet thread — the fresh water required to sustain its vast and varied species, threatened by human intervention, and growing weaker all the time. This lush but fragile landscape is primarily a marsh of scattered tall grasses. Everglades National Park, which covers about 1.4 million acres, contains only part of the watery expanse known as the everglades. The Marjory Stoneman Douglas Wilderness, named after the Mother of the Everglades, makes up the majority of the park. At its heart is the river of grass Douglas wrote about: six inches deep and 50 miles wide, a body of water that flows so slowly the movement is imperceptible. From its origin along the shores of Lake Okeechobee, the river drops only 15 feet on the voyage to saltwater Florida Bay. Scaly alligators share the marshes with flamingos, roseate spoonbills, egrets and herons, pelicans, cranes, hawks, ibis, storks, frigate birds, kites, skimmers, and hundreds of other colorful birds. The shallow waters of Florida Bay make up a little less than one-third of the Wilderness. Most of the bay's tiny keys serve as nesting sites for birds, and the salt water teems with fish, bottle-nosed dolphins, sea turtles, sharks, and manatees. You pretty much need a boat to reach Florida Bay and the Wilderness Waterway, a 99-mile marine trail running from Everglades City and the Ten Thousand Islands in the north to Flamingo in the south. A 38-mile road leads from the park entrance to a visitor center at Flamingo on the southern coast, and from it several trails head into the Wilderness, most of them day-hike routes of less than one mile; four longer trails, from four to 13 miles, can also be reached near Flamingo. When setting out on foot or canoe trails, carry in all the drinking water you will need. Designated in 1978 and managed by the National Park Service.