Florida Hikes

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

Backpacker wading through a cypress strand

Big Cypress Swamp

A massive ecosystem spanning more than a million acres, Big Cypress is a mosaic of sensitive tropical landscapes seen nowhere else in the United States.

Resources

As Florida authors, we’ve spent a great deal of time in the Big Cypress Swamp. Because of its unusual beauty and botanical wonders, many aspects of it are featured heavily in our books on the region.
Florida Trail Hikes book cover The Florida Trail Guide book cover South Florida Explorers Guide book cover 50 Hikes in South Florida book cover Florida Trail small coffee table book Florida Trail history book
 
Disclosure: As authors and affiliates, we receive earnings when you buy these through our links. This helps us provide public information on this website.

Exploring Big Cypress

A massive ecosystem spanning more than a million acres, the Big Cypress Swamp is unlike anywhere else on Earth. Rainfall seeps across this landscape in a shallow southeast sheetflow.

Along its path, it nourishes both lush cypress strands with deeper waters and open prairies with wizened diminutive cypress atop a rocky puzzle of karst. Islands topped with tropical trees and pines poke out of this sea of swamp.

Picking up nutrients during this slow process, the waters of Big Cypress feed the mangrove marshes of the Ten Thousand Islands as they mingle with the Gulf of Mexico.

Public Lands in the Big Cypress Swamp

Many public and some private conservation lands protect this sensitive resource known as the Western Everglades. Hydrologically, the Big Cypress Swamp stretches from Fort Myers to the northwest down to Naples.

It extends east towards Okaloacoochee Slough on its northern end, and once reached Lake Okeechobee. On its southern section, it meets the Everglades “River of Grass” along the edge of the Miccosukee Reservation along the Tamiami Trail west of Miami.

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.
boardwalk to big cypresses in Corkscrew Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary Weaving beneath a canopy knit by old-growth cypress trees in a majestic swamp forest, the boardwalk at Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary is one of Florida's best hikes.
Blaze post on prairie trail CREW Marsh Trails At CREW Marsh, a network of well-marked paths crisscrosses the northwestern tip of the Corkscrew Regional Ecosystem Watershed, providing loops of up to 3.1 miles along a vast marsh.
Nurse log in strand swamp with strap ferns Fakahatchee Strand Preserve State Park It’s the Amazon of North America, home of the ghost orchid. Protecting more than 85,000 acres, Fakahatchee Strand is Florida's largest state preserve and most certainly our wildest.
Prairie edged by pines Florida Panther National Wildlife Refuge Explore the habitat of Florida's apex predator on a pair of short hiking trails in one small corner of the vast territory that the endangered Florida panther roams.
Cross Trail junction in Six Mile Cypress Slough Preserve Six Mile Cypress Slough Preserve Winding 1.4 miles through the slough, the broad wheelchair-accessible boardwalk at Six Mile Cypress Slough Preserve in Fort Myers leads you into a dark cypress strand.

Where to stay in the Big Cypress Swamp

These communities provide places to stay within and along the edges of the Big Cypress Swamp, as well as access to restaurants, ecotours, and museums.

Discover the cultural heritage and natural attractions of the Big Cypress Seminole Reservation, too.

Boardwalk leading to thatch-roofed building Ah-Tah-Thi-Ki Museum Set in a 60-acre cypress dome on the Big Cypress Seminole Reservation, Ah-Tah-Thi-Ki is a museum of Seminole culture with an educational boardwalk loop.
Billie Swamp Safari Billie Swamp Safari With airboat and swamp buggy rides as well as interpretation of native species, Billie Swamp Safari is a nature-based attraction providing immersion into the Big Cypress Swamp.

Swamp Walks in Big Cypress Swamp

A guided swamp walk such as the ones offered at the Clyde Butcher Big Cypress Gallery are the best way to get your feet wet for the first time.

But this immense swamp also has many trails where you can wade right in, including Florida’s toughest backpacking trip along a 30-mile segment of the Florida National Scenic Trail. Here are a few suggestions.

Wet habitat in cypress swamp Collier-Seminole Hiking Trail A wet and wild 6.5-mile loop into the watery wilderness of the Big Cypress Swamp, the Collier-Seminole Hiking Trail provides a challenging wade into beauty.
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
Grassy pathway between cypress swamps Picayune Strand Sabal Palm Trail A pair of loops offer an often-soggy 3.4 mile trek into a wild corner of the Big Cypress Swamp near the outskirts of South Naples.
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

Boardwalks in the Big Cypress Swamp

These accessible boardwalk trails provide an easy way to see the beauty of the Big Cypress Swamp without getting your feet wet. They are ideal for walking along slowly for birding.

Boardwalk leading to thatch-roofed building Ah-Tah-Thi-Ki Museum Set in a 60-acre cypress dome on the Big Cypress Seminole Reservation, Ah-Tah-Thi-Ki is a museum of Seminole culture with an educational boardwalk loop.
Golden hour view of wet prairie with wading birds Big Cypress Bend Boardwalk Discover fresh perspectives on the abundance of tropical habitats at Fakahatchee Strand Preserve State Park on the newly reconfigured Big Cypress Bend Boardwalk.
boardwalk to big cypresses in Corkscrew Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary Weaving beneath a canopy knit by old-growth cypress trees in a majestic swamp forest, the boardwalk at Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary is one of Florida's best hikes.
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.
Cross Trail junction in Six Mile Cypress Slough Preserve Six Mile Cypress Slough Preserve Winding 1.4 miles through the slough, the broad wheelchair-accessible boardwalk at Six Mile Cypress Slough Preserve in Fort Myers leads you into a dark cypress strand.

Articles on the Big Cypress Swamp

Our narrative features on our adventures in the Big Cypress Swamp.

An obvious watery path through wetlands 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.
Backpacker in cypress swamp beyond blaze post Crossing Big Cypress (2/4/2019) It’s Florida’s roughest, wettest, weirdest backpacking trip, best done with friends. Sandra tackled it as the final piece of her 1,110-mile section hike of the Florida Trail, end-to-end.
ghost orchid The Ghost Orchid (7/13/2015) On a guided swamp walk into the Fakahatchee Strand, I discover how difficult it is to spot a ghost orchid on your own, let alone keep your bearings in this tangled tropical wilderness
Entering Corkscrew Strand on the boardwalk Summer at Corkscrew (6/21/2015) There is a special magic surrounding a summer hike through Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary, where ghost orchids dance high above in the soft green canopy created by the ancient cypress protected here


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