The Tamiami Trail, aka South Florida’s piece of U.S. Highway Route 41. The stretch of highway connects two major Floridian cities — Tampa and Miami, traversing the Everglades along the way.
As Florida Seminole Tourism explained, construction of the highway began in 1915 and the road was fully opened in 1928.
However, with all this new innovation came some not-so-great consequences, including changing the day-to-day lives of Indigenous people living near and along the route and massive upheaval to the natural ecosystem. Work is still underway to fix many of the ecological issues, including projects to “raise the roadway to allow water and wildlife to pass underneath. Adjustments were made to make sure water was being distributed evenly.
The Seminole Nation of Florida has also remained active in advocating for the area, including its work with the Everglades Restoration Initiative. The region is indeed still thriving thanks to all these measures and initiatives, and it’s a place where travelers can see plenty of Floridian wildlife, including birds, alligators, turtles, river otters, bobcats, and, as Paradise Coast noted, black bears and maybe even an endangered Florida panther as you pass through Big Cypress National Preserve. Keep going from here, and you’ll hit Everglades National Park, where you can spy even more wildlife, including more panthers, alligators, and white-tailed deer, and if you pull over to the water’s edge, maybe even a manatee.
There are also plenty of cultural attractions worth stopping for on the way, including the Miccosukee Indian Village, where you’ll find the Indian Village Museum and can hop on an airboat ride to get a whole new view of the Everglades. And don’t forget to stop at the Skunk Ape Research Headquarters in Ochopee, a research institute dedicated to the legend of the “skunk ape,” Florida’s version of Big Foot.
