Page Updated: November 09, 2023
Big Cypress National Preserve
Whitetail Deer - Big Cypress National Preserve
Located in the south Florida everglades, the 700k+ acre of Big Cypress National Preserve falls under the protection of the National Park Service. The park provides opportunities for swamp walks and canoe tours, and avid thru hikers will also know it as the southern terminus for The Florida Trail. But, if there was ever a time to wish we were hauling around an ATV with us, this would be it. Miles of ORV trails weave throughout the preserve, and I can only imagine how amazing it is to explore the area this way.
We camped overnight at Bear Island Campground; a first come first serve almost primitive site located at the end of a 20-mile dirt road. No running water, but it provided a vault toilet, and the sites are well maintained.
After a late camp set up, we ventured out to explore the 20.3 miles of Bear Island Loop on our bikes. The moderately rated gravel ORV/mountain bike trail is flat, pitted, and whooped my tail… we didn’t complete the entire trek, but squeezed in just over 11 miles before heading back to camp.
The portion of the trail we completed was amazingly cool; one of the most unique trails we’ve experienced to date. Swampy waters running alongside the trail had us constantly searching for wildlife.
Two thumbs up!
A couple of factors worked in our favor during our trip. Visiting in early May meant the typical tourism season was over and crowds were light. This allowed us to grab a first come first serve site later in the day.
Also, it’s the cusp of rainy season, so the mosquito count was still low. They weren’t specifically troublesome, but we did use preventatives - bug repellent and a single Coleman camp candle. We occasionally heard them buzzing about, but only a couple of bites for me.
But, I did acquire one gnarly spider bite.
As we say in the south (and maybe elsewhere in the world), the bottom fell out the minute we rolled back into camp. We hunkered into the tent; and since it was late and we were hungry, we had a gourmet dinner of popcorn, jerky, and beer.
The rain continued late into the night. Gator grunts echoed throughout the dark and made my imagination run wild. At one point, I questioned the sanity of camping in the everglades in a tent on the ground. But alas, we survived!
When the skies cleared at 4am we were wide awake and decided to make use of the time and play around with the Milky Way.
Morning came and a Great Horned Owl showed up at camp but was gone before I could snap a photo. I bet he probably just wanted some bacon.
Before visiting, I thought Big Cypress was a one-and-done. After our visit, I think it might be worthy of a revisit at a later date… with an ATV in tow.
Next time, we’re checking out those Swamp Buggy Tours!
Big Cypress National Preserve
scenes from
-b&b
Florida Overseas Heritage Trail Hwy1
Everglades National Park
