Florida Hikes

Hike Bike Paddle Camp Florida with authors Sandra Friend and John Keatley as your guides

Blue blazes on cypress in a strand with cocoplum foreground

Big Cypress South Loop

Explore a grand mosaic of sawgrass prairies, cypress swamps, and pinelands on a 16.2 mile remote backcountry loop along the Florida Trail starting at Oasis Visitor Center.

Big Cypress National Preserve (25.857167, -81.032778)   16.2 miles   Florida Trail, Big Cypress

Deep within the great expanses of the Big Cypress Swamp, the Florida Trail begins its northbound track.

It presents the potential of a months-long journey for thru-hikers, ending at Fort Pickens in Pensacola or the Alabama border.

Wet passage with signage in broad cypress prairie Edging a cypress savanna

Oasis Visitor Center is far removed from civilization, a popular destination along the Tamiami Trail.

Sightseers frequent a boardwalk above an alligator-filled canal near its entrance.

One of the most difficult hikes in Florida starts just a few steps away. This hike allows you to sample one small but strenuous piece of its southernmost challenges.

Pathway between boardwalk and fence Boardwalk and the beginning of the Florida Trail

Resources

Resources for exploring the area
Florida Trail Hikes book cover The Florida Trail Guide book cover South Florida Explorers Guide book cover 50 Hikes in South Florida book cover Hikers Guide to the Sunshine State book cover The Hiking Trails of Floridas National Forests Parks Preserves book cover
 
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Overview

Location: Ochopee
Length: 16.2 miles
Trailhead: 25.857194, -81.033806
Address: 52105 Tamiami Trl E, Ochopee
Fees: Free
Restrooms: Near the trailhead
Land manager: National Park Service
Phone: 239-695-2000

Trails open 24 hours a day. Visitor center open 9 AM – 4:30 PM. Protection from sun and insects is highly recommended. No dogs allowed.

Much of the trail is underwater for most of the year, with the driest conditions between the months of December and March.

Directions


 
The Southern Terminus of the Florida Trail is in front of the Oasis Visitor Center in Big Cypress National Preserve, located along US 41 (Tamiami Trail) 37 miles west of Dade Corners and 21 miles east of SR 29 at Everglades City / Ochopee.

Hike

Beginning at the parking area, head down the visitor center sidewalk and onto a crushed shell pathway.

Pass a distinctive limestone monument marking the Southern Terminus of the Florida Trail.

Follow the path for a tenth of a mile before taking a sharp turn, where a grassy causeway leads north alongside a chain link fence at the edge of an airstrip.

Large stone monument at trailhead Southern Terminus

Orange blazes mark the route as it leads down an elevated berm for a half mile to an opening in vegetation that presents fantastic views of cypress prairies to the east.

Northward, the trail cuts across narrow, grass-flanked corridors. Exposed rocks with solution holes serve as stepping stones to avoid the deep mud in between them.

Stones sticking out of muddy path Exposed limestone

Cabbage palms, pines, and palmettos thrive on upland islands with slightly higher elevation.

Tropical hammocks persist in rare spots where the ground stays dry for most of the year, presenting junglelike patches of mixed hardwoods, ferns, and wild coffee.

Near the three-mile mark, turn left at an intersection with the south end of the loop trail, following blue blazes westward.

Path between tropical trees Tropical hammock

Pines give way to a scattering of cypress. Drop into an expansive sawgrass-covered marl prairie.

The trail skirts an edge of the this grassland, passing a deep dome before entering a densely forested cypress strand.

Cypress and sawgrass with blue blaze on a tree Sawgrass prairie

The next section of trail is especially striking, winding through the often-inundated strand of dwarf cypress and their collection of countless epiphytes.

The trees are host to myriad bromeliads, which take their purchase on rough bark and flourish in environments with high humidity.

Puffs of bromeliads in wizened, bare cypress trees Strand swamp

Emerge from the opposite side of the swamp. Sporadic slash pines dot the landscape, bearing scorch marks and standing tall above a grassy forest floor that naturally burns every few years.

The blazes can be tricky to follow in these savannas, especially if volunteers haven’t yet had the opportunity to return to repaint them after a fire.

Grassy understory with scattered limestone slabs beneath blue sky and charred pines Pine savanna

The landscape alternates between open pinelands and cypress domes as the trail continues northward and eventually curves east.

Traverse a shrubby flatwoods habitat before reaching the Florida Trail at the north end of this loop.

Turn right at this junction to follow its orange blazes back to the Southern Terminus.

Tall pines amid scattered saw palmetto and grasses Open flatwoods

In a quarter mile, pass Woodpecker Camp, an established campsite with a picnic bench and fire ring.

Formerly known as 7 Mile Camp, this is a good spot to break this hike into a two-day backpacking trip, 9.4 miles into the loop.

Hikers clustered around a picnic table Woodpecker Camp

Follow the Florida Trail south, noting how much more defined the footpath is compared to the side loop due to heavier foot traffic. The trail is muddier as well, when water levels are low.

At 12.3 miles, the trail traces a wide path through a beautiful cypress dome that holds water for most of the year. Reach the south junction of the loop almost a mile later.

Continue past it by staying on the orange blazes, retracing your earlier footsteps for another three miles back to the trailhead.

Cypress dome with wide open passage inside Cypress dome

Trail Map

Big Cypress South Loop Trail Map
Red: route described. Blue: TTT Loop.

Explore More!

Learn more about Big Cypress National Preserve

Summer in Big Cypress Big Cypress National Preserve Protecting nearly three quarters of the million-acre Big Cypress Swamp, Big Cypress National Preserve is Florida's second largest and most remote wilderness.
Words Florida Trail Big Cypress overlaid on backpacker picking their way through dense small cypresses Florida Trail, Big Cypress A wild, watery wilderness for Florida backpackers, the 42.2-mile Florida Trail in Big Cypress National Preserve is both beautiful and extraordinarily challenging.

Video

Hiking the South Loop at Big Cypress National Preserve

Slideshow

See our photos from this hike

Nearby Adventures

Wet pine savanna beyond an orange blazed pine Florida Trail, Big Cypress South 30.3 miles. Traversing a vast wilderness in the wet wilds of Big Cypress National Preserve, the southernmost segment of the Florida Trail is the toughest backpacking trip in Florida
Walking through wet areas helps cool you down Tamiami Trail Triathlon 3.0 miles. Trying the hiking portion of the Tamiami Trail Triathlon in summer is a little crazy, but we wanted to check it out. The swamp is lovely, but the loop uses a rough OHV road
Young cypresses in dense swamp Roberts Lake Trail 8.2 miles. Now the Roberts Lake Trail, the former Loop Road to Oasis section of the Florida Trail is now blazed blue. It is where sawgrass and cypress meet, where the Everglades and Big Cypress blend.
Line of cypress trees in winter Kirby Storter Boardwalk An accessible walk through the habitats of the Big Cypress Swamp, Kirby Storter Boardwalk gets you up close to the wonders of nature in Big Cypress National Preserve.

Official NPS Map Interactive App
Hunt Dates Official Website

Chris Stevens
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