The Everglades Rod & Gun Club has a storied past filled with famous guests and epic adventures. Today, you can have lunch on the water and explore a unique piece of Old Florida lore.
Everglades City—population 352—is a traffic-free 50-minute drive from downtown Naples. Known as the “Stone Crab Capital of the World,” this small town makes the perfect base for both anglers and eco-adventurers. It’s also where you’ll find the historic Everglades Rod & Gun Club, a combination lodge, restaurant, and bar on the Barron River.
This place screams “Old Florida,” mainly because it WAS Old Florida. Walk inside, and it’s like stepping back in time! Picture floor-to-ceiling wooden walls festooned with taxidermy (including a gator head on the bar), old maps, fishing gear, rifles, and other memorabilia of an age long passed. The furniture is authentically antique and well-stuffed. Stroll around and take it all in before heading to the veranda for drinks and water views.
A Storied History: Presidents, Celebrities & Wild Adventures
In the main lodge, it seems as if time stopped at the turn of the last century when this Florida outpost was a playground for the wealthy and well-connected.
Over the years, the Rod & Gun Club has hosted U.S. presidents FDR, Truman, Eisenhower, Nixon, and more. Celebrities who have graced the guest list include Ernest Hemingway, John Wayne, Burt Reynolds, Sally Field, Sean Connery, Mick Jagger, and Jack Nicklaus. Actors Danny Glover and Joe Pesci were also here while filming Gone Fishin' —just one of many movies filmed in the area.
Read the well-preserved news clippings on the walls to learn more about notable visitors, and imagine cozying up beside them at the curved wooden bars.
The Rod & Gun Club dates back to the 1870s, when William Smith Allen, the earliest known modern-day settler in the area, purchased the land and built a small house. After his passing in 1889, George Washington Storter Jr., Everglades City’s founder, bought the land for the grand price of $800. Recognizing the potential of the area for outdoorsmen, Storter completed an expansion project on the house to accommodate a larger number of guests and started calling it the Rod & Gun Club.
Later, this establishment would attract the attention of Barron Gift Collier, the founder and namesake of Collier County. Known at the time as the largest private landowner in Florida, he went on to acquire the Rod & Gun Club in 1922, flipping it into a private retreat for his wealthy friends and dignitaries. You may be familiar with another of his accomplishments, too: the Tamiami Trail!
As the 20th century progressed, the Rod & Gun Club fell into disrepair and was ready to be condemned. Fortunately, even though preserving Old Florida wasn’t trendy in the early '70s, that didn’t deter the Bowen family from purchasing the property and restoring it to its former glory. (By the way, the Bowens still own the place.)
Dining at the Rod & Gun Club: Veranda Vibes & River Views
At the club’s 169-seat restaurant, you can eat indoors or on a sizeable screened-in veranda overlooking the narrow Barron River. The menu includes local fare—think gator nuggets and frog legs—along with exceptional seafood, steaks, pasta, and more. The restaurant also offers a “you catch ‘em, we cook ‘em” service, where you can have your catch broiled, blackened, or fried.
Don’t miss out on a signature cocktail or a slice of key lime pie for dessert. Everything tastes amazing, and the ambiance makes the dining experience one you’ll never forget. The Rod & Gun Club Restaurant is open every day (including holidays) from 11:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. Just make sure that you stop by an ATM beforehand, as it is a cash-only business!
Staying Overnight at the Rod & Gun Club’s Cottages
The Rod & Gun Club offers five adjacent cottages with 17 units. Each room features modern amenities (like air conditioning, thankfully), the choice of one king bed or two double beds, and a screened-in porch. Other amenities at the club include a large swimming pool, a public boat ramp, a picnic area, and a helicopter landing spot. (Hey, where else would you bring your helicopter?)
Nearby Attractions & Adventures
The club’s five acres are located on the western edge of quaint Everglades City, a block away from The Museum of the Everglades.
You’ll have convenient access to the famous wetlands of Everglades National Park and Big Cypress National Preserve. And you’ll be just minutes away from hair-raising airboat rides, eco-tours, fishing excursions, hiking, and scenic drives. In less than 15 minutes, you can be at Everglades Adventure Tours, where a knowledgeable guide will take you on a leisurely poleboat ride through narrow waterways full of twists and turns, under mangrove tunnels, and into the wide-open River of Grass.
Don’t miss the chance to stop by Clyde Butcher’s Big Cypress Gallery, a short 30-minute drive away. Maybe even attend a swamp tour while you’re there to take your understanding of this ecosystem to the next level!
No matter how you decide to explore the Everglades, the historic Rod and Gun Club is the place to relax and recharge. For an authentic Old Florida experience, Only Paradise will do.
