Royal Palm Visitor Center in Everglades National Park

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See the Visitor Centers web page for an interactive location map.

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While the building at the Royal Palm unit of Everglades National Park is fairly large, half of it is a restroom facility. The portion of the other half that is open to visitors takes up no more space than a small bedroom and houses nothing but an information desk, a snack and drink concession area, and a small souvenir and book store. Here you can pick up a park brochure, trail maps, and other information, and sign up for Ranger-guided tours that require reservations. This is also the meeting place for many of the Everglades Institute tours.

The Royal Palm Visitor Center is typically open from 10 AM to 4 PM.

Back of the Royal Palm Visitor Center as seen from the Anhinga Trail, Everglades National Park

There is one thing to be aware of when visiting the Royal Palm and Flamingo areas, particularly in the morning up until around 10 AM, and that is for some reason the vultures love to eat cars. That’s right, they love to eat cars. Or at least the rubber on cars—windshield wipers, weather stripping around the windows, soft tops—and they can do thousands of dollars worth of damage. Tarps are provided at the Royal Palm Visitor Center, but there are not nearly enough to go around. You might want to bring your own along with plenty of bungee cords to strap it down. It’s not a guarantee that your car will be victimized, as mine never was and I didn’t have a tarp. In fact, very few cars had a tarp on them the last time I was there. However, I have witnessed it happen, and I have talked with a few others who have had their vehicles damaged.

Cars parked at Royal Palm Visitor Center in Everglades National Park

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