See Alligators In the Wild and Close-up - Shark Valley, Everglades National Park

Alligator at Shark Valley, Everglades

The alligator in the photo is roaming free at Shark Valley, in the Everglades National Park, just an hour's drive west of Miami. I took the photo.

Shark Valley is one of the best places that I know in the Everglades to see alligators. You can walk along a paved trail and see them close-by, basking in the sun.

Commercial Everglades Tours
When I first visited Florida my wife and I took an Everglades tour, which included an airboat trip, hoping to see alligators in the wild. The airboat was so noisy that if I'd been an alligator I would have slunk away before the boat got anywhere near.

We did see alligators on this commercial tour, but not on the boat trip or in the wild, just some mangy specimens in a fenced compound.

Shark Valley Alligators, Turtles and Birds
At Shark Valley you can expect to see as many as a dozen alligators in or near the water during a walk of an hour or so. Also, look out for turtles and birds such as anhingas, blue and white herons and cormorants.