Parking
Park at Royal Palm Visitor Center. The trail sign is just outside the center beside the lot; flush restrooms and drinking water are available at the site.
Overview
About Gumbo Limbo Trail
Why go
- A lot of hammock shade in a short walk
- Paved, with wheelchair access listed
- Solution holes and a short boardwalk add variety
Heads up
- Rough pavement in spots
- Mosquitoes can be persistent
Map & elevation
The route
Plan your hike
Before you go
Parking
Safety
4 active Everglades alerts
- ClosureEast Everglades Day Use Area closedThe East Everglades Day Use Area is closed to all public use from SW 168 Street westbound to SW 237 Avenue, including the entire roadway of SW 237 Avenue.Official details
- ClosureGulf Coast wilderness sites closed or restrictedClosures and restrictions affect several Gulf Coast wilderness areas and sites. - Hog Key: Camping is open, but the middle of the key is closed.Official details
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Everglades Tour Guide
Your drive to Gumbo Limbo Trail, narrated.
Parkwolf is a GPS audio tour guide for Everglades National Park. As you drive, it chimes in with what’s ahead: hidden gems, upcoming stops, history, geology, and wildlife, right through your car’s speakers.
See the Everglades audio tourRecorded for this trailhead
Royal Palm: Wildlife Without a Long Hike0:00 / 0:34
“You're approaching Royal Palm, a small information station with one of the easiest ways to get close to the wetlands.”
Plays as you drive up to this trailhead in the Parkwolf Everglades Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- The Bird That Quietly Sinks
- The Craft Behind a Chickee
- Who Cooks in the Woods?
- Ernest F. Coe Visitor Center: Advice and a Lakeside Break
- 62 audio storiesacross Everglades’s roads, triggered by GPS as you drive
- Wildlife heatmapsfor Mountain Lion, West Indian Manatee, Alligator, and 13 more
- Works offlinemaps, 19 trails, 33 places, and audio download before you lose signal
- CarPlay readysimple controls built for the drive
“Fantastic app with many points of information… It’s great to just turn on while you’re driving and it gives you an audio tour of the national Park. We love it!!!!”
Trail guide
Hiking Gumbo Limbo Trail
A short, shady loopGumbo Limbo is a 0.
Gumbo Limbo is a 0.4-mile paved loop from Royal Palm Visitor Center through a dense tropical hardwood hammock. Allow about 20 to 30 minutes if you stop at the solution holes and look into the canopy. It is an easy choice when you want a short walk with more to notice than the distance suggests.
Follow the pavement through the hammockThe trail starts by a sign beside a royal palm, then bends under a close canopy of trees and…
The trail starts by a sign beside a royal palm, then bends under a close canopy of trees and ferns. The asphalt is rough in a few spots, although the route is listed as wheelchair accessible. Several limestone solution holes sit beside the path. One has an overlook into the hole, where bright and dark water meet; later, a short boardwalk crosses a broad, marshy hole edged with cattails. The loop returns facing the visitor center and parking area. The nearby Anhinga Trail is a separate walk.
Look into the limestoneThese holes formed as slightly acidic rainwater, helped by fallen leaves, slowly dissolved the…
These holes formed as slightly acidic rainwater, helped by fallen leaves, slowly dissolved the porous limestone below the hammock. They are easy to miss if you hurry past, and the boardwalk gives you a look across one of the larger, wetter depressions rather than just into it.
Look up, tooRoyal palms, gumbo limbo trees, oaks, ferns and bromeliads grow in the shade.
Royal palms, gumbo limbo trees, oaks, ferns and bromeliads grow in the shade. Keep an eye out for warblers, catbirds, barred owls and the colorful Liguus tree snail; alligators may also be seen at the pond. These are possibilities, not a checklist, so take a moment to scan the branches and trunks.
A little history at Royal PalmThe hammock was once known as Paradise Key.
The hammock was once known as Paradise Key. Scientists and conservationists pushed to protect it while Henry Flagler owned much of the surrounding land and was building his Florida railroad. In 1916, the state set aside 960 acres for Royal Palm State Park, an early step in the wider protection of the Everglades.
Start at Royal PalmUse the Royal Palm Visitor Center lot; the trail sign is just outside the center beside the…
Use the Royal Palm Visitor Center lot; the trail sign is just outside the center beside the parking area. Flush restrooms, drinking water and a bottle-filling station are at the site. Pets and bicycles are not allowed on park trails. Mosquitoes can be persistent, especially in hot, humid weather, and poisonwood grows along the walk. Its sap is highly irritating, so leave it alone.
Wildlife
Wildlife in Everglades
15 sightingsMountain LionMost seen around 7 AMSighting map
1,429 sightingsWest Indian ManateeMost seen around 9 AMSighting map
4,397 sightingsAlligatorMost seen around 5 PMSighting map
1,672 sightingsCrocodileMost seen around 6 PMSighting map
42 sightingsBlack BearMost seen around 6 PMSighting map
15 sightingsBobcatMost seen around 7 AMSighting mapSighting maps show where each species has been reported across Everglades. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.
