Wet Walks in the Everglades: What’s a Slough Slog?

Out of all the activities that can be done in the Everglades, the wet walk is undoubtedly one of the most eye-catching, and unforgettable. It’s also the most immersive, taking you off the trail, and into the heart of the cypress forest, offering a firsthand look at the unique cypress ecosystems that make the Everglades such a rich and diverse landscape. Ask any park ranger who works in the Glades, and they’ll tell you the same thing: the wet walk is a fan favorite. In this blog, we’ll talk more about wet walks, slough slogs, and why you should step in the water to experience this for yourself!

What is a Wet Walk?

Before we talk about wet walks and slough slogs, it helps to understand the unique environment in which they take place.

The Everglades is a vast wetland, 40 to 50 miles wide and 100 miles long. The presence of water covering the land to varying depths through all or a major portion of the year is the defining feature of the Everglades. This water comes from rainfall and the sheet flow which historically flowed uninterrupted from the headwaters of the Kissimmee River, draining into Lake Okeechobee, eventually spilling from the southern rim of the lake across 4,000 square miles. Water moves over the Everglades landscape (now largely compartmentalized) with a nearly imperceptible slope to the south and southwest.

The Everglades is made up of many different ecosystems. These “micro” ecosystems will intertwine in many cases, creating a mosaic of different plant communities. These ecosystems include mangroves, coastal prairies, freshwater sloughs, hardwood hammocks, pinelands, and last but not least, cypress.

Cypress Communities

Cypress communities form in many different ways. In areas where the limestone beneath the surface has dissolved, creating solution holes, you’ll often find cypress domes, clusters of cypress trees growing in a dome shape, with taller trees in the middle and shorter trees around the edges. Cypress strands occur where the cypress trees grow in an elongate, linear shape, parallel with the flow of water. In areas of less-favorable growing conditions, stunted cypress trees, called dwarf cypress, grow thinly distributed in poor soil on drier land.

A pathway leading to a cypress strand near Pa-Hay-Okee Overlook

While much of the hiking in the Everglades involves some level of water, especially outside of the drier hardwood hammocks or pine rocklands, a true wet walk typically refers to a hike into one of these cypress ecosystems, namely, cypress domes or cypress strands. Water levels in these areas can vary widely depending on the season, ranging from ankle- or knee-deep during the dry season to chest-deep in the height of the wet season.

What’s a slough slog?

The terms “wet walk” and “slough slog” are often used interchangeably, but there’s a subtle difference between the two.

Freshwater sloughs are low-lying channels where freshwater flows more consistently throughout the year. These areas are often open and expansive, filled with tall sawgrass, cattails, and a rich diversity of aquatic plants like water lilies and pickerelweed. Slough slogs involve wading through these watery grasslands, typically in a more open landscape than that of the more forested cypress domes and strands.

A view of the Taylor Slough from the Anhinga Trail boardwalk

While both wet walks and slough slogs immerse you in the watery wonders of the Everglades, each offers its own unique scenery and experience. Both, however, will get you closer to the real Everglades than any boardwalk or overlook ever could.

Join a Wet Walk with the Everglades Institute

Ready to experience the magic of a wet walk for yourself?

The Everglades Institute offers guided wet walks that take you into the heart of the cypress ecosystem. Led by experienced naturalists, our tours provide an opportunity for take a deeper into the everglades ecosystem and learn more about what makes this environment so unique.

Best of all, every dollar from your tour goes directly back into supporting South Florida’s national parks. The Everglades Insitute is part of the Florida National Parks Association, the official nonprofit partner of the National Park Service. As a nonprofit, our mission is to connect people with nature while funding education, and preservation efforts across Big Cypress National Preserve, Everglades, Biscayne, and Dry Tortugas National Parks.

So, lace up your water shoes, bring your sense of adventure, and come experience the Everglades!