Nike Hercules Missile at the Nike Missile Site, Everglades National Park

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See the Royal Palm Area web page for an interactive location map.

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NIKE MISSILE SITE TOUR OPTIONS

The Nike Missile Site HM-69 (Alpha Battery) is Everglades National Park’s only history-related attraction. Tours of the site are given by both the National Park Service (NPS) and the non-profit Everglades Institute. I have done both tours (NPS twice) and definitely prefer the NPS tour. However, it is only given on weekends from November through the end of May, whereas the Everglades Institute gives tours daily, year-round.

The drawback to the Everglades Institute tour is that the stop at the Nike Missile Site is just one part of an all-encompassing tour of the Royal Palm Area, which includes a walk on the Anhinga Trail and another short trail in the area. The guide is more of a naturalist than a Cold War historian. The NPS tours are given by Rangers or volunteers who know their history.

The second difference between the two tours is that the NPS tour covers the entire missile site. The Everglades Institute tour only stops at the renovated missile shed and museum. This will suffice for most people, as it is the most interesting attraction. However, history buffs will definitely want see and learn about the entire Nike Missile Site on an NPS tour, if it fits into their schedule.

Renovated missile shed at the Nike Missile Site, Everglades National Park

A National Park Service tour of the Nike Missile Site lasts 1.5 hours and starts at the Daniel Beard Center, which is a short drive from the Royal Palm Visitor Center. It is free, and there is no need to register, so just show up a few minutes before the tour begins (typically at 2 PM). The guide will be waiting outside under a shade tree near the entrance to the parking lot. Nearly all of the tour is outdoors and exposed to the sun, and it requires approximately a half mile of walking. Those in wheelchairs are welcome to attend and are able to access all sites. There are no restrooms available. Be sure to bring plenty of water. For a schedule, check the National Park Service’s Royal Palm Ranger Guided Tours web page.

The Everglades Institute tour starts at the Royal Palm Visitor Center. A fee is involved, so you must make a reservation on the Everglades Institute’s Everglades Guided Tours web page. Participants are driven around the Royal Palm area in a bus. The stop at the Nike Missile Site is at the renovated missile shed, so there is less walking involved (at least at the Nike Missile Site).

Starting in December and continuing through May, those who cannot make a tour can visit the Nike Missile Site on their own from 10 AM to 2 PM on select days of the week. Knowledgeable volunteers are on hand to answer any questions you might have. As with the NPS tours, check the Royal Palm Ranger Guide Tours web page for a schedule.

From May through November, the only way to see the missile site is on an Everglades Institute tour.

NIKE MISSILE SITE

When the Nike Missile base closed in 1979, all of the buildings were left standing, so everything is just as it was 50 years ago. Overall, there are 22 original buildings remaining on the site.

The former command center is now the Daniel Beard Center. It is painted pink today, which is exactly the color it was painted when the base was in operation. Today it is a research center for Everglades National Park. It is open to park employees and scientists, not to the public.

Daniel Beard Center in Everglades National Park

Any pink buildings near the command center are original buildings.

Pink buildings at the Nike Missile Site in Everglades National Park are all original to the site

Getting to where the missiles were stored required passing through a guarded entrance gate. A reproduction of the original warning sign is posted at the gate. One of the original signs is now in the missile shed museum.

Reproduction of the original sign at the entrance to the Nike Missile Site at Everglades National Park

Not too far down the road from the entrance gate are two buildings. The smaller one with the fence attached is where guard dogs were kept.

Dog kennel at the Nike Missile Site, Everglades National Park

The building with a missile drawn on the outer wall is where the missiles were assembled and maintained.

Missile assembly and maintenance building at the Nike Missile Site in Everglades National Park

There are four missile sheds on the property, each surrounded by a hill. If an explosion occurred in the shed, the earthen hills would shield the other sheds from the blast.

Earthen hills protect against an explosion in one of the missile sheds at the Nike Missile Site, Everglades National Park

Each shed housed four Nike missiles, one of which was fitted with a nuclear warhead. These were surface to air missiles. A nuclear warhead would cause a mid-air explosion so large that it could wipe out multiple enemy aircraft. Missiles without the nuclear warhead were designed to shoot down a single plane.

One of three missile sheds at the Nike Missile Site, Everglades National Park

One shed has been renovated and now houses a museum. There is one restored Nike Hercules Missile and plenty of spare parts and other equipment on display. When the shed is open for self-guided tours, knowledgeable volunteers are on duty to answer questions.

Missile shed at the Nike Missile Site, Everglades National Park

Restored Nike Hercules Missile at the Nike Missile Site, Everglades National Park

Missile part on display at the Nike Missile Site in Everglades National Park

Original warning signs from the entrance of the Nike Missile Site on display in the restored missile shed, Everglades National Park

Transponder Control Test Set Group on display at the Nike Missile Site, Everglades National Park

Launcher Control Indicator on display at the Nike Missile Site, Everglades National Park

Missile Body Cannister used for shipping missiles on display at the Nike Missile Site in Everglades National Park

The two other missile sheds have not been restored, and they are not open to the public.

Second missile shed at the Nike Missile Site in Everglades National Park

Third missile shed at the Nike Missile Site in Everglades National Park

CUBAN MISSILE CRISIS

After Fidel Castro took over Cuba in 1959, he allied himself with the Soviet Union in return for financial and military aid. Because the United States had nuclear missiles staged in Turkey that were within striking distance of the Soviet Union, the Soviet Union wanted missiles close enough to strike the United States. Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev decided Cuba would be a suitable destination, and missiles were secretly deployed.

On October 14, 1962, a U. S. U-2 spy plane photographed a large number of Soviet SS-4 medium-range ballistic missiles being assembled. Their destination was to be Cuba. President John Kennedy toyed with the idea of bombing the current missile sites in Cuba, followed by a full scale invasion. Instead, it was decided to create a naval blockade of the island to prevent the new missiles from arriving. Any agreement to end the crisis would not only require these ships to turn around, but also for the Soviet Union to remove the existing missiles. The plan was broadcast to the citizens of the United States on October 22nd. The world then waited to see if an all-out nuclear war would start.

The Soviet ships reached the blockade on the 24th. Instead of fighting their way through, they stopped and waited: a wait that lasted for another three days. In the meantime, a U. S. spy plane was shot down over Cuba, killing Major Rudolf Anderson, the only casualty of the conflict.

Through negotiations, the U. S. and the Soviet Union came to a last minute agreement on the 28th and avoided any fighting. The U. S. promised not to invade Cuba and to remove its nuclear missiles from Turkey. The Soviet Union would remove the existing missiles in Cuba, and the ships carrying the new missiles would return home. The Turkey arrangement was done in secret and kept from the public.

This did not end the Cold War nor neutralize the possibility of a future threat from Cuba, so following the Cuban Missile Crisis, a Nike Hercules Missile Base was set up west of Homestead, Florida. Officially named Alpha Battery, it was operational in 1964. At the time, the property was private farmland, not Everglades National Park. The government used the power of eminent domain to evict the farmers and set up the base. Three other missile sites were built: B Battery in Key Largo, C Battery in Miramar, and D Battery near Miami on the site of today’s Krome Immigration Detention Center.

Men stationed at the missile base knew they faced a death sentence should an attack from Cuba ever be launched. The base is only 160 miles from Cuba, and supersonic Soviet MIG aircraft could attack before the men could react and fire the missiles. After all, the south Florida missile bases would certainly be the first places hit.

The missile site remained operational until 1979, at which time technology and a diminished threat had made it no longer necessary. The land became part of Everglades National Park, but nothing was done with it until 2008 when the National Park Service decided the base would make for a fascinating tour.

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