Everglades National Park schedules Turner River tour

March 14, 2:01 AMMiami Travel ExaminerGeorge Leposky

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The Turner River Complex and
Sandfly Island tours will explore
the mangrove-lined coast of
Everglades National Park’s Ten
Thousand Islands region near
Everglades City Photo Courtesy
Everglades National Park.

To celebrate Florida Archaeology Month, an Everglades National Park ranger will lead a special boat tours to prehistoric shell mounds in the Ten Thousand Islands region near Everglades City on Saturday and Sunday, March 28 and 29.

The March 28 tour will visit the Turner River Complex, northeast of Chokoloskee Island and a half-mile from the mouth of the Turner River. This complex covers 30 acres and extends for a quarter-mile along the river.

Ales Hrdlicka, a Smithsonian anthropologist who visited the site in 1922, considered the Turner River Mounds to be “the most noteworthy group of shell heaps and mounds in the entire region”   In 1955, William H.Sears of the Florida State Museum secured permission from the owners of the property, the family of Chokoloskee storekeeper Ted Smallwood, to excavate at the site. Sears’ work was the first professional archeological excavation within the Ten Thousand Islands and provided the first contour mapping of a South Florida mound complex.

Motorized boat tours will depart from the park’s Gulf Coast Visitor Center in Everglades City at 1 PM, 1:30 PM, 3 PM, and 3:30 PM and will make a 30-minute stop at the mound complex.  Visitors should arrive at least 15 minutes before the scheduled departure time. The tours cost $35 per adult (regular boat tour price).  Space is limited to six persons per trip. 

In addition to the motorized tour, a ranger will lead canoes to the mounds. Bring your own canoe or kayak, or rent a canoe for $26.50 (tax included).  Rental canoes can hold two or three people.  Singles can pay for half of a canoe.

The March 29 tour includes a stop and short walk on Sandfly Island, another important prehistoric mound site.  This tour will depart at 2:30 PM and can accommodate 46 people. The cost is $26.50 (regular boat tour price).

Because space is limited, reservations are required for all trips. For more information or to make reservations, call the Gulf Coast Visitor Center at 239-695-3311. 

The Gulf Coast Visitor Center is five miles south of U.S. Highway 41 (Tamiami Trail) on State Road 29 in Everglades City. From Interstate Highway 75 (Alligator Alley), take exit 80 (State Road 29) south and go 20 miles to Everglades City, then follow the signs to the park. The visitor center will be on your right.


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