Anhinga Trail: Wild Alligators Without an Airboat, Then a 1959 Fruit Shake
Two stops on one road: a flat boardwalk where winter pulls alligators to the rail, then half an hour up SW 344th Street for a hand-cut fruit shake at a 1959 stand.
Royal Palm to the Redland in one afternoon
🐊 Walk the marsh before the heat builds
Start at Royal Palm, four miles past the Homestead gate. The Anhinga Trail runs 0.8 miles out and back on flat pavement and boardwalk, smooth enough for wheelchairs and strollers, with no separate reservation; budget one to two hours. From December into April the water drops and pulls alligators, turtles and anhingas close to the rail. None of them are guaranteed on any given morning. Keep 15 feet from every alligator, never feed or touch one, and stay on the open trail instead of stepping off for a photo.
🥤 Same road, a hand-cut shake 30 minutes on
Robert Is Here sits at 19200 SW 344th Street, about 30 minutes from the Royal Palm lot and directly on the way back to the highway. A boy started the stand here in 1959 selling cucumbers, and the counters still fill with fruit cut that morning. Shakes and smoothies run 9 AM to 6 PM every day, closed only for Thanksgiving and Christmas. Blend whatever came in that day, up to three flavors: mango and passion fruit hold a place on the year-round list, while starred fruits like mamey or canistel rotate in and out, so not every flavor is available on the day you visit.
🎫 Fees, the free day, and the drive
One car pass covers everyone riding with you for seven days: 35 USD at the gate, card only, no cash. Non-US residents 16 and over add 100 USD per person unless they arrive holding an annual or America the Beautiful pass. November 11, 2026 is fee-free only for US citizens and residents, so visitors from abroad still pay, and the gate fills earlier that morning. NPS asks for weekdays and a pre-10 AM arrival. The two stops sit on the same road about 30 minutes apart, so this is a car day rather than a walking route.
