The southernmost section of the Florida Trail, from the Loop Road Terminus where Everglades National Park and the Big Cypress National Preserve meet, to the southern boundary of the Big Cypress Seminole Reservation north of Alligator Alley (I-75). It is notable for being the wildest and most rugged segment of the Florida Trail, plunging through a seasonally watery tropical wilderness where wading is a must.
In 1966, accompanied by a reporter from the Miami Herald, Florida Trail founder and Miami resident Jim Kern blazed a route through Big Cypress National Preserve to draw attention to Florida’s need for a long-distance hiking trail. Within the year, the Florida Trail was born. Less than 40 miles from suburban Miami, the Florida Trail runs for 45 miles through Big Cypress over some of the most rugged terrain in Florida, starting with a vast expanse of sawgrass prairies and dwarf pond cypress swamps, with vistas comparable to the Serengeti of Africa. It is the last stand of the endangered Florida panther. Rugged and isolated, the trail winds through a primeval landscape of giant ferns and slippery marl, colorful orchids and giant bromeliads, in a watery land nourished by summer rains. As in the Everglades, rainfall collects in nooks and crannies in the spongy limestone bedrock, flowing southward in a shallow sheet towards Florida Bay. Cypresses thrive in the deeper sloughs, which act like streams; the perpetual warmth and dampness encourage epiphytes to flourish.
Hikers follow orange blazes along a frequently watery route, day hiking the segment between the Florida Trail’s southern terminus at Loop Road and the Big Cypress Visitor Center at Oasis on the Tamiami Trail. North of Oasis, it’s a backpacker’s domain through 28 miles of remote wilderness. Backpackers utilize designated campsites set on dry hammocks along the trail route.
COUNTIES: Monroe, Collier START POINT: Loop Road terminus END POINT: Big Cypress Seminole Reservation MILES OF TRAIL: 45.1 TRAILHEADS: Loop Road, Big Cypress Visitor Center, I-75 Rest Area (MM 63) DESIGNATED CAMPSITES: 8 MAPS: 41, 42 (Region 9, South Florida) TRAIL PARTNER: Big Cypress National Preserve
Disclaimer: While FTA strives to maintain accurate information and is constantly updating its geodatabase, the trail and development along the trail corridor is constantly changing. The data has been collected from a variety of sources and accuracy varies. FTA provides this data for recreational purposes only and does not intend the data as a survey. Centerline data Florida Trail System (c) 2007 Florida Trail Association, Inc.
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