Everglades National Park guide · 2 min read
Shark Valley Tram Road and Observation Tower
Shark Valley sits deep in the Everglades, along the Tamiami Trail, which is United States Highway 41, west of Miami.
Most visits begin at the Shark Valley Visitor Center, where you will find exhibits, a park film, and a bookstore. The guided tram tour also departs from the visitor center, so it is the place to pick up tram tickets and bicycle rentals.
The Shark Valley Tram Road is a 15-mile loop that follows the River of Grass into Shark River Slough. Its surface is level pavement, and tour trams, bicyclists, and walkers all share it. Halfway around, the 70-foot Shark Valley Observation Tower rises above the marsh, and it is the highest spot in the park that people can reach on foot. From the top, the sawgrass marsh and tree islands spread out for miles on a clear day.
The Shark Valley Tram Tour is a two-hour narrated trip in open-air trams. Park-trained naturalists talk about how the ecosystem works and about the people who have lived here. The tram stops at the tower, where you can walk up to the viewing platform. Reservations are strongly recommended, since the tram sells specific time slots that can fill up.
Biking is the other popular way to cover the loop, and bicycle rentals are available at the visitor center, so you do not need to bring your own. Riders can set their own pace and stop at the tower whenever they like.
Wildlife is easy to spot from the road. Alligators are common here, and turtles, snakes, and a variety of birds also turn up. You can spot anhingas, limpkins, snail kites, and wood storks at many points as you travel the tram road, so bird watching is a good reason to slow down. Walkers can also try the Bobcat Boardwalk or the Otter Cave Hammock Trail, both reached from Tram Road behind the visitor center.
