In the early 1900s, naturalists were well aware of the huge flocks of birds in the Everglades, and so were the plume hunters.
Hunters were looking to cash in on the use of heron plumage as a New York fashion statement, a popular finishing touch to ladies’ hats.
State law provided one game warden for each county in Florida, and soon the Audubon Society stepped up and hired four wardens at its own expense to protect certain rookeries in the state.
One of them was Guy Bradley. He was a Monroe County Deputy and knew the local hunting community – both legal and poachers – very well.
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Overview
Location: Flamingo
Length: 1 mile (2 miles round-trip)
Trailhead: 25.140320, -80.925390 and 25.137666, -80.933170
Type: linear
Fees: Everglades National Park entrance fee
Restroom: At campground and Flamingo Visitor Center
Land Manager: National Park Service
Phone: 305-242-7700
Expect voracious mosquitoes. This trail is paved.
Directions
The trail starts at the Guy Bradley Memorial at the Flamingo Visitor Center and follows the waterfront to the campground.
Hike
Start your walk by reading the bronze memorial to Guy Bradley, and then head west down the sidewalk towards Flamingo Lodge.
At 0.1 mile, you will come upon a sign with a picture of an amphitheater as well as a no-jeeps-allowed sign.
Turn left onto a paved path that soon splits left again and circles behind Flamingo Lodge and along Florida Bay.
Fantastic views of the keys in Florida Bay are interspersed among the stands of black mangrove.
Leaving the lodge behind, enter a wooded area. Look for pilings of an old dock near the shoreline.
The trail is still so close to the ocean that sea grass washes over the path.
The sea grass is then cleared and piled along either side of the path. At 0.9 mile, a side trail leads to the former rental cottage area.
Ahead is the grassy area of the Flamingo walk-in tent campground. The trail ends at the campground parking turnaround at one mile.
Explore More!
Learn more about Everglades National Park
Everglades National Park In 1.5 million acres across South Florida, Everglades National Park has outdoor experiences from accessible boardwalks and paved trails to rugged adventures in harsh wilderness.Slideshow
See our photos from the Guy Bradley Trail
Nearby Adventures
More worth exploring nearby
Bayshore Loop A walk through the mangrove-lined edge of Florida Bay and the unique coastal prairie habitat of the Everglades, the Bayshore Loop explores the site of the former fishing village of Flamingo.
Eco Pond One of the easiest destinations for birding in Everglades National Park, Eco Pond sits near the end of Main Park Road in Flamingo, with a half mile trail around it.
Bear Lake Trail Everglades Paralleling the former Homestead Canal, the Bear Lake Trail takes you on a journey through tropical hammock and mangrove forests along a road scooped from the canal diggings. 
West Lake Mangrove Trail At West Lake, the Mangrove Trail loops through a shady tunnel, showcasing the protector of Florida’s coastline, the mighty mangrove, along the shores of a brackish lake.
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