| Please note: GPS waypoints were initially taken from Waterproof Chart No. 39, and positions should be considered approximate. I'm currently taking my own GPS survey of all campsites, and these positions can be distinguished by the seconds coordinate, which is accurate to 3 digits, instead of the 2 provided by the nautical chart. | ||||||||||||
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Florida Bay Campsites | ||||||||||||
| Clubhouse Beach | ||||||||||||
| East Clubhouse Beach | ||||||||||||
| Alligator Creek | ||||||||||||
| Shark Point | ||||||||||||
| Carl Ross Key | ||||||||||||
| Little Rabbit Key | ||||||||||||
| North Nest Key | ||||||||||||
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Clubhouse Beach | ||||||||||||
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| Clubhouse Beach is located on the shores of Florida Bay about 7 miles due west of Flamingo. The spot takes it's name from the sportsman's clubhouse that was built by the Model Land Company to entice visitors to the area during the great Florida Land Boom of the 1920s. When the boom went bust in 1925, the clubhouse fell into disuse and was eventually abandoned, and years of storms have erased all traces of the building. Today, a narrow strip of beach marks the spot, which is backed by an open prairie of low scrub and sea purslane. Before hurricanes Katrina and Wilma, there were several flat, sandy areas scattered throughout the carpet of purslane that were ideal for pitching a tent. I have no idea what the area looks like now, after a 7-foot storm surge washed over the spot during Wilma's passage. If you plan on camping at Clubhouse Beach, try to approach the beach on a high tide. A low tide will expose a muddy bottom of soft marl clay that will stick tenaciously to everything it touches. Clubhouse Beach is the only waterside backcountry campsite that can be reached by hikers, via the 9-mile Coastal Prairie Trail that runs west from the campground at Flamingo. The Trail is still closed following Hurricane Wilma and hasn't yet been cleared for hiking. | ||||||||||||
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East Clubhouse Beach | ||||||||||||
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| East Clubhouse is very much like it's neighbor and namesake 3 miles to the west - a skinny stretch of beach that fronts a prairie of scrub and sea purslane ground cover. Just like Clubhouse Beach, you should try to arrive and leave on a high tide to avoid the mucky marl bottom mud that makes such a mess of things when you have to walk and carry your gear through it. Both of the Clubhouse sites have been rest stops on my trips to and from Cape Sable, but I've never camped at either of them. I had been planning a 4 day trip during the 2005 winter season to rectify this, but hurricanes Wilma and Katrina have put the kibosh on those plans for the present. If the area is spared the wrath of further storms during the coming hurricane season, I will try again during the fall to become better aquainted with these campsites. Unlike Clubhouse Beach, East Clubhouse is not accessible to hikers, as it is separated from the Coastal Prairie Trail by a mile of mostly impassable salt marsh. | ||||||||||||
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Alligator Creek | ||||||||||||
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| The entrance to Alligator Creek is located in the northeast corner of Garfield Bight, about 8 miles west of Flamingo. The campsite is on the northern bank a short distance from the creek entrance, and is backed by open marl prairie with ample space for camping. The mosquitoes can be crazy bad here in warm weather, and I've aborted attempts to camp when the bugs were simply too unbearable. Alligator Creek is aptly named: I've counted as many as a dozen gators lurking near the creek entrance, and it's common to see them lounging at the the campsite as you approach. Just east of the campsite the trees close in and the creek seems to be blocked, but if you look to your left you'll see a small opening that takes you deep into the twisty passageway of a mangrove tunnel, which is the endpoint of the West Lake Canoe Trail. The gators here are large and numerous, and they have the startling habit of plunging suddenly into the narrow creek just ahead of your boat as you approach. If you want a glimpse of the Everglades as it was in the time of the Gladesmen, this is the place to be. | ||||||||||||
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Shark Point | ||||||||||||
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| Located 8 miles due east of Flamingo near the tip of the Garfield Bight peninsula, Shark Point is reached by crossing the shallow grass flats of Snake Bight via the Tin Can Channel, or by following the shoreline from Alligator Creek to the north. The site is a natural first-night choice for a Florida Bay loop, but it does have it's drawbacks. The photo shows the closest I was able to get to the Shark Point landing before I was greeted by an enthusiastic welcoming committee of thousands of ravenous mosquitoes. Johnny Molloy states in his Paddler's Guide that this may be the buggiest campsite in the Everglades, and I can second that. Definitely a cold weather site, unless you don't mind dousing yourself with DEET and wrapping yourself in swathes of mosquito netting whenever you are outdoors. | ||||||||||||
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Carl Ross Key | ||||||||||||
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| Carl Ross Key suffered heavy damage from hurricanes Katrina and Wilma, and has been closed indefinitely. The Park Service's facilities update states that is has been closed for "wildlife protection", which suggests to me that the closure may be permanent. The island is located far out in Florida Bay, about 8 miles to the southwest of Flamingo, and is the northernmost of a pair of islands. Sandy Key just to the south is the larger of the two, and has been off-limits to landing since it's designation as a bird sanctuary, and it may be that Carl Ross has been made a part of this refuge. As a campsite, Carl Ross Key stood out in my experience as the crown jewel of the Everglades backcountry sites, and I've spent several days and nights of blissful solitude on it's beautiful white beaches. At one time there was a large osprey nest built on the ground in a clump of cedar scrub at the southern tip of the island, but the nest was inundated by storm surge during the passage of Hurricane Ivan in 2004. Carl Ross Key sits in the middle of the massive First National Bank that made approach on a low tide difficult. This tended to limit visitation by motor boats, and made the island a refuge for paddlers as well as the many birds that made Carl Ross their home. I've been unable to reach the Park by phone to confirm it's future status, and I will have an update as soon as I know for sure. | ||||||||||||
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Little Rabbit Key | ||||||||||||
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| Following Hurricane Wilma, Little Rabbit Key is open for day use only, which puts it out of consideration for paddlers as a campsite. The island is located about 14 miles south of Flamingo, as the crow flies. It can be a challenge for paddlers to reach, not just for it's distance across miles of open, windy water, but because of the massive Dildo Key Bank that you have to either cross on a rising tide, or go several miles out of your way to avoid if you're crossing on a low tide. Sea kayakers look at me like I'm crazy when I talk of paddling out to Little Rabbit in my canoe, but I have one advantage over them that they don't realize - I can stand in my canoe and pole my way across the flats on just about any tide, so I can take a straight route directly to the island. Having said that, once you get to Little Rabbit Key, you'll find that it's not the most attractive of Everglades campsites. A dock leads to a small area of open marl backed by an area of weedy scrub fringed on all sides by mangroves. The island is completely surrounded by a deep "moat" of clear water, and a network of channels allow deep draft boats to approach from the south. Because of this, the island tends to fill up with motor boaters on weekends, not all of whom seem to see the need to aquire a permit. On the two nights I've spent there, I had to share the island with partying boaters, which is something I normally don't mind. Hell, I like to party a little myself. However, on one of those nights I was relegated to a tiny spot right behind the portable toilet, since the rest of the campsite was filled well beyond it's capacity with inebriated boaters. The dock was completely surrounded with motor boats, and none of the owners were inclined to make room for my little canoe, so I had to squeeze through the mangroves to get onshore. Later, when I mentioned this to the ranger on duty at the Flamingo Visitors Center, my report was received with a shrug, and the apology that there was little they could do, since there wasn't enough staff to patrol every campsite on every weekend. In my opinion, the Park should cut the capacity to 6 or 8 people, instead of the current 12, given the very small camping area. | ||||||||||||
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North Nest Key | ||||||||||||
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| North Nest Key is located at the eastern end of Florida Bay, about 5 miles northwest of the Key Largo Ranger Station. The campsite is so far off the Wilderness Waterway that it is used mostly by people visiting the Florida Keys, rather than those coming to the Everglades to camp. It's the only Everglades campsite that I've never seen, let alone visited or camped at, so I don't have a photo. One of the trips I'd like to make at some time in the future is a crossing of Florida Bay from Flamingo to Key Largo, and North Nest key would be a logical campsite for such a trip. A full report will be made when that trip is finally realized | ||||||||||||
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