In July, typical afternoon highs at Everglades run around 89°F (hot). Mid-afternoon sun stands about 69° high, and the sun is up from 6:41 AM to 8:15 PM. Shade depends on terrain and tree cover; open viewpoints are fully exposed.
See live sun & real shadows here →| January | 75°F |
| February | 80°F |
| March | 80°F |
| April | 83°F |
| May | 88°F |
| June | 88°F |
| July | 89°F |
| August | 92°F |
| September | 88°F |
| October | 86°F |
| November | 81°F |
| December | 80°F |
Shade depends on terrain and tree cover; open viewpoints are fully exposed. See real building shadows over satellite imagery for any time of day: https://isthereshade.com/?anywhere&at=25.3125,-80.6875
Around 8:15 PM local time in mid-July (it shifts through the year). Sunrise is about 6:41 AM.
Everglades · Homestead, FL. Data: exact sun position; climate normals from historical weather; live forecast on the interactive view.
Wide open sawgrass under a subtropical sun, that is the Everglades for most of the day. This is flat, exposed country in southern Florida, and the summer combination of high heat and heavy humidity is the thing to plan around. There is real shade in the hammocks and along the wooded boardwalks, but out on the marsh and the open trails you are under the sun with nothing to hide behind.
Everglades summers are hot and, more to the point, humid. Afternoon highs run around 89°F in high summer and climb to about 92°F in August, and the moisture-heavy air makes those numbers feel heavier than a dry-heat reading. This is genuine heat that deserves respect, especially because the open marsh gives you no relief and the effort of walking or paddling adds up fast.
The subtropical sun climbs high here. By 3 PM in July it sits about 69 degrees above the horizon, nearly overhead, and comes almost straight from the west. That high angle is why the open trails have so little shade at midday: shadows shrink to almost nothing under a near-vertical sun. Days are a touch shorter than up north, with sunrise around 6:41 AM and sunset near 8:15 PM.
The park is a patchwork of open wetland and denser growth, and the shade follows the trees:
To see where tree cover throws shadow across the trails and boardwalks, the satellite shadow view shows the terrain from above.
Mornings are the answer in summer. The early hours near sunrise are the coolest, the humidity is marginally less oppressive, and the wildlife is more active, so an early start does double duty. Walk the open trails and platforms before the sun climbs, and save the shaded hammock boardwalks for the hot midday hours. By mid-afternoon the open marsh is a hard place to be, and Florida's summer thunderstorms often build then anyway.
Take the heat seriously: carry plenty of water, wear a hat and light long sleeves against both sun and insects, use sunscreen and reapply it, and do not push a long open walk in the middle of the day. The season matters more here than the hour if your dates are flexible. Winter is the Everglades' prime time, with December through February afternoons in the upper 70s to low 80s, drier air, and easy walking. If you come in summer, go early, lean on the wooded boardwalks when the sun is high, and let the mornings carry your visit before the heat and the storms take the afternoon.