Big Cypress National Preserve - Florida

Address:33100 Tamiami Trail East
Ochopee, Florida
Tel: (239) 695-2000

Big Cypress National Preserve, the first preserve in the United States park system, is a fabulously diverse park providing refuge for several endangered species as well as clean water to various estuaries in the region. The preserve has a rich cultural history including deep ties to the Seminole and Miccosukee Tribes.
The exotic Melaleuca and Brazilian Pepper species grow in Big Cypress in the company of wild hogs, Florida panthers, and walking catfish. If you're lucky, you may catch a glimpse of the majestic, endangered West Indian manatee, an extraordinary animal to behold. Birdwatchers will find the winter season in the park the most rewarding time to spot some of the beautiful birds of Big Cypress. The park is widely popular as a recreation site and is home to fantastic canoeing, hiking, and nature walks.

The first National Preserve in the National Park System, Big Cypress has a mixture of pines, hardwoods, prairies, mangrove forests, cypress strands and domes. White-tailed deer, bear and Florida panther can be found here along with the more tropical liguus tree snail, royal palm and cigar orchid. This meeting place of temperate and tropical species is a hotbed of biological diversity. Hydrologically, the Preserve serves as a supply of fresh, clean water for the vital estuaries of the ten thousand islands area near Everglades City. Visitors will find a recreational paradise with camping, canoeing, kayaking, hiking and birdwatching opportunities. Those passing through may be enticed to linger in this remnant of wild Florida to search for evidence of the elusive Florida panther or to watch an endangered woodstork feeding along a roadside canal.