This South Florida Highway Is A Journey Through One Of The Most Important Ecosystems In The World

An interstate highway that stretches across the southern end of Florida allows motorists traveling between Fort Lauderdale and Naples to experience one of the most unique ecosystems in the world. Interstate 75 between the east and west coasts of Florida — affectionately dubbed Alligator Alley when its construction was planned in 1966 — is a four-lane freeway with a 70 mph speed limit and easily the fastest way for motorists to get from one metro area (Fort Myers) to the other (Fort Lauderdale/Miami).

But it's more than just a means to get from Point A to Point B. Alligator Alley is considered a South Florida must for travelers. It's a journey across the Florida Everglades, which are home to a hotel where dolphins and manatees swim just outside your door, through one of the wildest stretches of the Sunshine State. And for birders, hikers, wildlife watchers, and anglers, Alligator Alley provides access to one of the most diverse and imperiled places in America. As it bisects the Everglades, Alligator Alley features several pull-offs and rest areas that also serve as recreational access points. Here, kayakers and canoeists can launch their boats for paddling and fishing excursions into several protected areas of the Florida Everglades. There is even access to hiking trails, fishing piers, and visitor tours, like airboat rides into the River of Grass.

The Florida Everglades is a slow-moving, shallow river of sawgrass that drains most of South Florida, from Lake Okeechobee all the way south to Florida Bay. It's the largest subtropical wilderness in the United States. This vast, 2 million-acre protected refuge provides some of the best habitat left in North America for endangered American crocodiles, critically rare Florida panthers, and a host of other more common creatures, from alligators to black bears. The Everglades are home to hundreds of bird species, from wading herons to rare warbles and world-traveling waterfowl, like the Eurasian wigeon. A drive across Alligator Alley puts visitors right in the middle of it all.

In its freshwater reaches, the Everglades are an incredible fishery for native largemouth bass, crappie, gar, and sunfish. For the last half-century or so, it's become home to exotic gamefish like peacock bass and tilapia that have been transplanted from waters around the globe. In its brackish and salty waters closer to the sea, anglers can chase redfish, tarpon, and snook, among other sought-after quarry. Pull-offs and rest areas along Alligator Alley provide several boat launches so anglers and paddlers can follow canals and channels into the swamps to chase fish with both fly and conventional tackle. Alligator Alley is a great place to launch a fishing trip for just a few hours or, for the hearty outdoors enthusiast, a weeklong Florida outdoors adventure in one of America's wildest places.

While driving across the watery glades, motorists should stop in a few places worth checking out. One good place to stop and get off the freeway is at Exit 49 — visitors will see signs for the Miccosukee Tribe's Little Trail Casino. Up for a solid meal and some slot machine fun? Have at it. But for travelers looking for a better glimpse of wildlife and an up-close experience off the freeway, drive north along Highway 84 for a few miles. Here, leaving Alligator Alley and I-75, visitors can slow down and really take in the beauty of the Everglades. A 21-mile drive from the casino along Highway 84 will take motorists to Big Cypress Landing, an Indigenous Seminole reservation and home to the Ah-Tah-Thi-Ki Museum. Guests can learn about Florida's first people and how they subsisted in the incredibly harsh conditions of the Everglades.

For something a bit more thrilling, how about a screaming ride through the Everglades on an airboat? At mile-marker 35 on the eastbound side of Alligator Alley is Everglades Swamp Tours. Visitors can book two-hour tours through the sawgrass or a spooky night ride, where wildlife can be seen thanks to spotlights that turn up glowing eyeballs wherever they shine. It's all part of this unique corner of Florida, and it's all accessible thanks to this commuter highway that delivers motorists from one side of Florida to the other. Alligator Alley is underrated from a tourism standpoint. Like a drive to a tropical paradise on one of America's prettiest roads, it offers visitors a glimpse at some of the best of the Sunshine State.