The longest trail in the Homestead or the Flamingo sections of Everglades National Park is the one-way Coastal Prairie Trail, which runs for 7 miles before ending at Clubhouse Beach.

The path is an old one, made by cotton pickers in the 1930s when the federal government decided to eradicate Florida’s native wild cotton plants that grew to tree height.

The reason for the eradication program: to protect cotton elsewhere in the country. The native Florida cotton contained pink bollworms (also called corn earworms).

Buttonwood mangroves surround you on part of the hike; be prepared for mosquitoes.The trail ends Clubhouse Beach on Florida Bay.

You can camp at Clubhouse Beach overnight only with a backcounty permit from the Flamingo or Coe Visitor Centers.

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  Photo by M. Timothy O'Keefe