Big Cypress National Preserve
Big Cypress National Preserve, Big Cypress, FL
Ochopee, FL
A giant freshwater swamp of cypress and sawgrass next door to the Everglades, where the Milky Way rises over the water and a panther might be watching from the trees.
Big Cypress National Preserve is a vast freshwater swamp in South Florida, spreading across hundreds of thousands of acres just north of Everglades National Park. It takes its name not from big trees but from the sheer size of the country, a huge sweep of cypress stands, open sawgrass prairie, pine woods, and hardwood tree islands, all soaked by the slow-moving water that eventually flows south into the Everglades.
For all its wildness, Big Cypress is easy to reach: the Tamiami Trail, the old road linking Miami and Naples, runs right through it, and a scenic loop road and several boardwalks let you look out over the swamp. It is a place of real wildlife, home to alligators, wading birds, black bears, and the rare and elusive Florida panther. And because it lies far from the bright coasts, the swamp holds some of the darkest night skies in the entire Southeast, so the same water that mirrors the cypress by day mirrors the Milky Way after dark.
What Guests Love
- A wild freshwater swamp of cypress trees and open sawgrass stretching to the horizon
- One of the best chances anywhere to be in the country of the rare Florida panther
- Alligators, wading birds, and wildlife along the roads, boardwalks, and canoe trails
- Some of the darkest night skies in the whole southeastern United States
Worth Knowing
- This is a wild, wet, buggy place; mosquitoes are heavy in the warm months, so plan around the cooler, drier season
- The Florida sun is strong and shade is uneven, so bring water, cover, and insect protection
- Wildlife here is genuinely wild, including alligators and the elusive panther; keep your distance and never feed animals
- Some scenic drives and back roads are gravel and can be rough, so check conditions before you set out
Details
Ochopee, FL
Learn about Big Cypress National Preserve
A swamp of many parts
Big Cypress is not one landscape but several woven together. The preserve protects five main kinds of country: cypress swamps, open sawgrass prairies, pinelands, hardwood tree islands called hammocks, and mangrove estuaries near the coast. Water ties them all together, moving slowly across the flat land in a sheet, deep in some places and barely covering the ground in others.
The most iconic feature is the cypress dome, a rounded clump of cypress trees standing in a low, wet spot, taller in the middle where the water is deepest. Scattered across the sawgrass, these domes give the swamp its distinctive look. The whole system is the freshwater heart of the region, and the water that soaks through Big Cypress helps keep the Everglades alive downstream.
Panthers and wild neighbors
Big Cypress is some of the best remaining habitat for the Florida panther, a large, tawny cat that is one of the rarest animals in North America. Panthers are shy and hard to see, and most visitors never lay eyes on one, but simply being in country wild enough to hold them is part of what makes the preserve feel so untamed.
The panther shares the swamp with a long list of other animals. Alligators sun themselves in the canals and along the roads, wading birds stalk the shallows, black bears move through the pinelands, and deer, otters, and countless smaller creatures fill in the rest. The birdlife alone draws people from far away, especially in the cooler months when wildlife gathers around shrinking pools of water.
Roads, boardwalks, and canoe trails
You can experience Big Cypress in many ways. The easiest is from the car: the Tamiami Trail runs straight through the preserve, and the Loop Road, a long, mostly gravel scenic drive that dips south off the main highway, takes you deep into the swamp past cypress, prairie, and plenty of alligators. Short boardwalks let you walk out over the water without getting wet.
For a closer look, canoe trails wind through the preserve, threading among cypress domes, mangrove tunnels, and open sawgrass. And for the truly adventurous, guided swamp walks let you wade right into the water among the cypress, the way the swamp is really meant to be met. However you choose to see it, Big Cypress rewards going slowly and paying attention.
A dark sky over the sawgrass
Big Cypress is a certified Dark Sky Park, one of the darkest places left in the crowded, brightly lit Southeast. Sitting between the coasts and far from the glow of Miami and Naples, the vast open swamp keeps the horizon low and the sky black, so on a clear, dry night the Milky Way, the glowing band of our own galaxy, stretches right over the sawgrass and the cypress domes.
Stargazing here comes with a soundtrack. As the stars come out, the swamp fills with the calls of frogs and the hoots of owls, and the whole night comes alive. Thousands of stars appear above the water while the swamp sings below, an experience that feels a world away from the bright beaches only an hour or two east.
Closest Boutels
The closest Boutel™ stays, so you can turn this stop into an overnight. Each is an independently owned, editorially selected place to stay.
Things to Do Near Ochopee
Everglades National Park
About 20 miles south
The largest tropical wilderness in the United States, a vast slow-moving river of sawgrass and mangroves famous for alligators, wading birds, and airboat and canoe trips, bordering Big Cypress to the south.
Everglades City
About 20 miles west
A small fishing town at the edge of the Ten Thousand Islands, a base for boat tours into the mangroves and known locally for its stone crab season.
Fakahatchee Strand Preserve State Park
About 15 miles west
A long, deep swamp forest known as the Amazon of North America, famous for its wild orchids, rare bromeliads, and a boardwalk trail through old-growth cypress.