The Tamiami Trail: The Road Across the Everglades
The last miles of your drive follow one of Florida’s most ambitious roads. Here’s the story behind it.
The road that takes you the last few miles to our dock has a long name and a longer history. SW 8th Street, Calle Ocho and US 41 are all the same road: the Tamiami Trail.
Where the name comes from
“Tamiami” combines Tampa and Miami, the two cities the road was built to connect. The idea took shape in 1915, when supporters pushed for a highway across the bottom of the Florida peninsula.
Building it
Building a road across the Everglades was a huge job. Crews spent 13 years on it, from 1915 to 1928. They blasted through limestone with about 2.6 million sticks of dynamite and used the rock to build up the roadbed above the water. The project cost about $8 million at the time. The trail officially opened in April 1928.
The finished route runs about 284 miles from Tampa to Miami. Around Miami it became Southwest 8th Street, the same street that runs through the middle of Little Havana.
A road that blocked the water
The trail also had a side effect. The raised roadbed worked like a dam, cutting off much of the slow southward flow of water through the Everglades, often called the River of Grass. In recent years, sections of the road farther west have been rebuilt as bridges so water can flow south again. A one-mile bridge was finished in 2013, and more bridging has followed.
Driving it today
In the city, the Tamiami Trail is just a busy street. West of Krome Avenue it changes completely: a two-lane road with sawgrass and water on both sides. Our dock sits right at that turning point, at 17696 SW 8 St.
Read how this drive fits together in our complete drive guide.
Skip the drive. We pick you up.
Every private airboat tour includes round-trip private transportation from your Miami Beach hotel or rental. Call with your address and group size to book.
