Paddling the Everglades Wilderness Waterway: Your All-In-One Guide to Florida's 99-Mile Treasure Plus 17 Day and Overnight Trips

Create a canoeing or kayaking experience you’ll never forget, through Florida’s Everglades National Park and the 99-mile Wilderness Waterway.

Those in the know will tell you there is only one way to truly experience Florida’s Everglades National Park, and that is by canoe or kayak. Whether you are a novice paddler or a seasoned whitewater river runner, Paddling the Everglades Wilderness Waterway is your all-in-one guide for safe adventure on this spectacular route.

Authors Holly Genzen and Anne McCrary Sullivan present 17 of their favorite day- and overnight trips from various Everglades departure points. Having spent years exploring this maritime labyrinth, the authors share their intimate knowledge of historic Everglades rivers and bays, the endless horizon of its Gulf Coast, the eerie beauty of its mangrove forests, and the secrets of ancient tribes and early American pioneers. Descriptions of wildlife abound (the birds! the alligators!), as do the details of exquisite flora that flourishes here.

Inside you’ll find:

• The complete 99-mile Wilderness Waterway route between Everglades City and Flamingo—north to south and south to north
• 17 day trips and overnight paddles
• Nearly 30 campsites and gazebo-like chickees stilted over the water
• Maps, GPS coordinates, trip preparation, safety tips, and waterway etiquette
• An expansive directory of Everglades flora, fauna, people, and places
• Intimate observations about Everglades history, environment, and its future

Whether you only have time for a brief Everglades visit or are embarking on a 10-day expedition, this book is for you.

A longtime outdoor adventurer, Holly Genzen has a master’s degree in outdoor education and a PhD in educational administration; she was an associate professor at National Louis University. An avid hiker, she has solo thru-hiked the Appalachian Trail, and in recent years, she has focused her canoeing and kayaking activities on Florida’s many springs, rivers, and coastal trails. She has been a volunteer resident at former President and Mrs. Hoover’s Camp Rapidan in Shenandoah National Park, and she is a volunteer at Trout Lake Nature Center in Eustis, Florida. Holly lives in Leesburg, Florida, with her husband, Gary, and cat, Sherman. McCrary Sullivan had her earliest water adventures before she was old enough to walk. She is now an avid paddler and a naturalist volunteer in Everglades National Park. She first visited the park as an artist in residence, and her book of poems, Ecology II: Throat Song from the Everglades (WordTech Editions; Cincinnati, OH; 2009), explores flora, fauna, and ecology through a poetic lens. She has an MFA in poetry and a PhD in English education, and is recently retired from National Louis University where she was a professor of interdisciplinary studies.