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Shark Valley Is Finally Open After Irma – And The Gators Didn't Miss You Much

WLRN Public Media | By Howard Cohen

Published December 18, 2017 at 8:36 AM EST

Park guide Stacey Wolfe and a group of tourists from Australia walk along a trail in Shark Valley over the weekend.

Everglades National Park reopened Shark Valley on Saturday, much to the delight of cyclists who have made the park a popular attraction for decades.

Shark Valley had been closed for three months since Hurricane Irma flooded the 15-mile loop road, which draws bicyclists, walkers and tram riders. The park also serves as home to alligators, otters, fish, turtles and birds. A wetter than normal season made water rise thigh-high in the parking lots, said Everglades National Park ranger Kimberly Oppen.

“The high water levels we have experienced, we had not seen anything like that in quite some time,” she said. “We’re ready to go. We’re excited. Everyone was itching to get back.”

Almost everyone.

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