Florida is disappearing. Well, not all of Florida, but plenty of it — especially along the coastline. Sea level rise is a thing, and so is climate change. Throughout this Summer Guide we’re thinking about “what if it were our last summer on Earth?” but for a moment, consider where you would vacation if it were Florida’s last summer on Earth. Here are seven places you need to see — before you can't.

5. Visit Miami Beach and the Florida Keys Sea level is rising at a rate of about one inch per year in Miami, and Miami Beach is already having problems with flooding, according to a December 2015 article in The New Yorker. Due to climate change, sea levels could rise by a total of three feet by the end of this century. This is a huge problem for Miami and the Keys, many of whose buildings reside at just three feet above sea level at the moment. Go visit these places before they’re underwater, and look out for those high tides. Climate change is also affecting the health of the coral reefs, according to June 2017 article in The Washington Post, so be sure to schedule yourself a snorkeling or scuba diving trip while you’re in the Keys. Credit: Cathy Salustri
1. Eat oysters in Apalachicola Apalachicola Bay used to provide 90 percent of Florida’s wild oysters — they were prized for their sweetness, a product of all that freshwater flowing in from the Apalachicola River. But then the water started getting saltier and saltier, until eventually you just couldn’t make a decent living oyster hunting in Apalachicola anymore. Some have started farming oysters here, and there is hope that the native oyster population will rebound, but don’t wait too long to try an Apalachicola oyster; they may not be around forever. Seafood Lover’s Florida recommends Apalachicola Seafood Grill, Boss Oyster, Owl Café, or Up the Creek Raw Bar in Apalachicola. But some days, even Apalachicola restaurants have to serve oysters from Texas. Here in the Tampa Bay area, it’s almost too late for Apalachicola oysters. PJ’s on St. Pete Beach gets them only sporadically. “We don’t get them all the time, because they’re not constatly harvesting beds,” co-owner Kelli Umstead told us. Tongers “take turns harvesting beds along the Gulf Coast up around the panhandle all the way to Texas as not to overharvest any particular bed.” We also talked to Kevin Joseph of Empire Oyster, and he said “nobody has Apalach anymore. They’re basically extinct. But lots of places will call a Texas or Louisiana oyster an Apalach. Especially around here.” Credit: Cathy Salustri
2. Take an airboat ride through the Everglades Airboats have been zipping around the Everglades since the 1920s, but that’s about to change. In 2015, the National Park Service decided to ban airboats inside Everglades National Park. Current airboat businesses — Coopertown, Everglades Safari Park, and Gator Park — are grandfathered in, but when the owners die, their businesses die with them. Long story short: These airboats won’t be around forever. Don’t miss your chance to glide over the river of grass in a noisy AF airboat. Do they scare off the wildlife? Maybe. You always have the option to take a quieter, NPS-approved boat ride through the park, but it’s not an airboat. The NPS boat tours are narrated by park-trained naturalists. Credit: Cathy Salustri
3. Drift down Florida’s natural springs Here in Florida, we’re literally drinking our springs dry. “Increasing demands on groundwater resources may eventually compromise the amount of water that will flow from springs in the future,” says Howard L. Jelks, biologist, in Margaret Ross Tolbert’s Aquiferious. We’re already seeing decreased flow in some of our springs, according to the Southwest Florida Management District. Water flow in the Ichetucknee, known for tubing, has declined by 15%. And Fanning Springs’ reduced flow downgraded it from a first magnitude spring to a second magnitude. So go visit these Florida springs before they’re just a trickle in the woods. Credit: Cathy Salustri
4. Vacation on an Old Florida cattle ranch, City Slickers-style There was a time when cattle roamed free throughout the state of Florida. They were herded by Florida cowboys, who communicated with the cows and with each other via the cracking of their whips — which is why we call them Florida Crackers. You don’t see many cattle roaming free in Florida these days (not on purpose, anyway). With new development, there aren’t a lot of cattle ranches left, either. But you can still get a taste of the Florida cowboy life at a handful of Old Florida ranches in central Florida. Fodor’s recommends The Griffin Ranch, Cypress House Ranch, and The Smokehouse Ranch, among others. As an added bonus, many of these ranches are near Florida springs. Ahem. Credit: Cathy Salustri
6. See a gopher tortoise on Egmont Key Locally, Egmont Key is threatened by climate change, too. Last year the Florida Trust for Historic Preservation listed it as one of the most threatened historic properties in the state. Again, sea level rise is the culprit. The island is already 50% smaller than when it was mapped in 1875, and it’s only going to get smaller. So ferry over from Fort DeSoto Park before this local island disappears. Credit: Cathy Salustri
7. Mourn our past sins at Higgs Beach Oh, man, talk about insult to injury. In 1860, the U.S. Navy caught three ships carrying Africans and forced them to divert to Key West. Of the 1500 people captured and who narrowly escaped lives in shackles, hundreds died. The Key West community cared for the almost-slaves, and those they couldn’t save, they buried on Higgs Beach in what today we call the “African Cemetery.” But guess what happens when the water rises? Credit: Cathy Salustri