Big Cypress Bend Boardwalk: What to Know Before You Walk In

If you're planning a stop at the Big Cypress Bend Boardwalk, you're about to walk into one of the last stands of virgin bald cypress forest left in Florida.

Some of these trees have been standing for over six hundred years, since long before the Tamiami Trail cut through this swamp at all.

The boardwalk sits along the western edge of Big Cypress National Preserve, just off Highway 41, and it's short enough for almost any visitor to walk, yet dramatic enough to be one of the most memorable stops in the entire preserve.

TAKE A SELF-GUIDED TOUR OF BIG CYPRESS:

Big Cypress' Salvation Driving Tour makes the Big Cypress Bend Boardwalk one of its featured stops, with the real history of the swamp around it told the whole way there.

Along the way you'll learn:

• How a woman named Marjory Stoneman Douglas stopped the world's biggest airport from being built in this exact swamp

• Why the Florida panther nearly went extinct in the 1990s, and how eight cougars from Texas helped save it

• The story behind the Tamiami Trail, a road that took thirteen years to blast through solid rock and swamp

Most visitors spend 3 to 5 hours exploring the full 32-stop route.

Check out Big Cypress' Salvation Driving Tour here.

WHAT YOU'LL SEE ON THE BOARDWALK:

The Big Cypress Bend Boardwalk winds through ancient bald cypress, some of the oldest trees left standing in South Florida. Alligators sun themselves along the water's edge, wading birds like egrets and herons nest in the branches overhead, and if you're patient, you might spot a river otter slipping through the water below.

This is also prime Florida panther territory, though sightings are rare since panthers hunt at dawn and dusk and actively avoid people. Fewer than two hundred panthers remain in the wild, and most of them live right here in Big Cypress.

WHAT TO KNOW BEFORE YOU GO:

• The boardwalk is free to walk and open year-round, though the dry season (November through April) offers the easiest conditions and best wildlife viewing.

• Bring bug spray. This is a wetland, and mosquitoes are part of the deal, especially in summer.

• Wear comfortable shoes. The boardwalk is flat and easy, but conditions can be humid, so dress for the swamp, not the mall.

PLAN YOUR TRIP:

Want the full breakdown—where to eat, where to stay, and how to plan a one or two-day visit around Big Cypress? Our Big Cypress National Preserve travel guide covers all of it.

Check out our Big Cypress National Preserve travel guide to plan your trip.