Parking
Use the signed Rowdy Bend trailhead on Main Park Road, about three miles north of Flamingo Visitor Center. Auto parking is at the trailhead.
Overview
About Rowdy Bend Trail
Why go
- A long birding walk through both shaded buttonwoods and open coastal prairie.
Heads up
- The 5.2-mile return retraces an overgrown, unmaintained old roadbed.
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 Rowdy Bend 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
Rowdy Bend Trail: A Longer Woodland Birding Walk0:00 / 0:21
“Up ahead is Rowdy Bend Trail, an old road through shady buttonwoods and open coastal prairie. Woodland birding is the main reason to choose this walk; if that doesn't interest you, I'd skip it.”
Plays as you drive up to this trailhead in the Parkwolf Everglades Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- Coot Bay Pond: A Simple Picnic Stop
- Mrazek Pond: A Quick Check for Feeding Birds
- Christian Point Trail: From Mangroves to Coastal Prairie
- Bear Lake: A Canal Walk Beyond the Access Road
- 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 Rowdy Bend Trail
The walkThis is a 5.2-mile out-and-back, about 2½ hours at a relaxed pace. Follow the old roadbed 2.
This is a 5.2-mile out-and-back, about 2½ hours at a relaxed pace. Follow the old roadbed 2.6 miles one way from its Main Park Road trailhead to the Snake Bight Trail junction, then return the same way. It is a longer lowland walk through changing habitat, with woodland birding as the main draw.
Along the old roadThe route alternates between shady buttonwoods and open coastal prairie.
The route alternates between shady buttonwoods and open coastal prairie. The old roadbed is overgrown; the park describes the trail as passable but unmaintained. It stays nearly level, so the distance and uneven vegetation matter more than climbing.
Why the tread stays roughThe park leaves the route unmaintained to protect critical habitat for the endangered Cape…
The park leaves the route unmaintained to protect critical habitat for the endangered Cape Sable thoroughwort, a small flowering plant limited to the coastal Everglades and a few Florida Keys sites. Expect a natural, overgrown corridor rather than a cleared path.
Start and park rulesUse the signed Rowdy Bend trailhead on Main Park Road, about three miles north of Flamingo…
Use the signed Rowdy Bend trailhead on Main Park Road, about three miles north of Flamingo Visitor Center; auto parking is at the trailhead. Turn around at the Snake Bight Trail junction for the Rowdy Bend hike. Dogs are prohibited on park trails.
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.
