38.3 miles. Everglades City, Fort Lauderdale, Miami, & Naples
The wildest and most remote section of the Florida Trail, the traverse of the Big Cypress Swamp north of the Southern Terminus is like no other hike in Florida.
Crossing Big Cypress National Preserve, it leads hikers through ghostly savannas of ancient, bonsai-like cypress, traverses vast sawgrass prairies, and plunges into lush cypress strands and domes.
Once the trail reaches Interstate 75, its character changes. While the hiking is easier, following old roads, there is a daunting array of wildlife, including a gauntlet of massive alligators.
Covering more than a million acres, the Big Cypress Swamp is a rain-fed system. It flows southwesterly, a seasonal river a few inches to a feet feet deep and nearly 40 miles wide, nourishing the mangrove fringe along Florida Bay.
Man-made obstructions, including highways and canals, impede the natural wash of water across this tropical landscape. The swamp is home to the highest concentration of orchid and fern species in the United States.
Winding deep into the wilds of Big Cypress National Preserve, this is the most remote section of trail in the state of Florida.
The landscape is likened to the savannas of Africa, but also has pockets of rainforest-like botanical beauty enveloped in thick humidity.
Hiking here means ankle-to-knee deep wading for several days. Day hiking options are limited to out-and-back wades from the trailheads.
Overnight trips can be launched on loops that lie north of the two trailheads providing access to this section.
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Hiking Tips
To get a handle on water depths in Big Cypress, it’s worth looking at the volume of controlled outflow passing under US 41 from the canal along the highway, and compare it to the historic data on the graphs.
This one is to the WEST of Oasis and this one is to the EAST of Oasis. The greater the recent flow, the deeper the swamp will be.
Do not bring your dog with you. Dogs are not permitted on the Florida Trail in Big Cypress.
Wear a bright orange shirt or vest during hunting seasons. Check the FWC website for hunting season dates.
You will get your feet wet hiking this portion of the Florida Trail. Waterproof boots are of no use here since water will occasionally be over the tops of your boots and will get trapped inside.
Hammock hangers will appreciate their significant advantage over tents in this section. No matter which you bring, tent or hammock, don’t expect to pack it dry for the duration of your hike through Big Cypress.
Rubber-band a coffee filter around the intake of your water filter. It will eliminate most of the fine silt present in the water. You may find yourself field-stripping and cleaning your filter more than once on this section otherwise.
Don’t rush. It’s a beautiful and unusual place for a backpacking trip, worth savoring along the way.
Trail Map
Trail Segments
Florida Trail, Big Cypress North 8.0 miles. An easy ramble from the I-75 rest area north along Nobles Grade, this wildlife-rich segment of the Florida Trail offers several loop options for day hikers and backpackers.
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 FloridaLoop & Side Trails
These trails intersect with the linear Florida Trail in Big Cypress.
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.
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 roadArticles
Big Cypress Backcountry Access (12/4/2020) By December 15, all public comments are due on the new Big Cypress Backcountry Access Plan. Here's our analysis of it and our opinions, along with a discussion of backcountry and wilderness in Florida.
Crossing Big Cypress (2/4/2019) It's Florida's roughest, wettest, weirdest backpacking trip, best tackled with friends. Along this 30 mile stretch of the Florida Trail in the heart of Big Cypress National Preserve, immersing in the swamp is the point of the hike. Sandra tackled it as the final stretch of her multi-year 1,110-mile section hike of the Florida Trail, end-to-end.
Kicking off Hiker Season with Primrose (1/29/2014) On January 5th, we loaded up Primrose and headed south, traveling parallel to the Florida Trail for much of the trip, starting out at Christmas. Driving south of Tosahatchee, we continued through the Deseret Ranch where we spotted our first two Florida Trail thru-hikers walking up the highway. Although they are not keeping online journals, …
The 2014 Florida Trail thru-hiker Kickoff (1/10/2014) When we started hearing a lot of buzz about friends and friends of friends headed to the Florida Trail this season, we figured that our new book The Florida Trail Guide and the talks we’d done at venues like ALDHA and Trail Dames had worked some magic. Sure enough, nearly a dozen people we knew …