Everglades City
by Reverend Dr Bob N. Wallace | Everglades Community Church
Fakahatchee Strand State Preserve in Collier County Florida is a Florida State Park just west of Copeland, Florida. A “strand” is a piece of forested swamp where, according to the National Park Service, bald cypress trees have taken over. Growing on the trunks and branches of the cypress trees are epiphytes or air plants. Epiphytic plants attach themselves to other living plants, in this case the cypress trees, and instead of having their roots in the ground, they wrap around cypress trees to be kept securely in place. Well known epiphytes in the Big Cypress National Preserve are bromeliads and orchids. The Florida Star Orchid is a rare, endangered species primarily restricted to the Fakahatchee Strand swamp. It was first categorized in 1993 having been thought extinct because of hard freezes in the 1980s. It has been seen at times in the Fakahatchee. The cypress swamp, much of which is in Big Cypress National Preserve, is mostly composed of these types of plants. The Big Cypress is over 729,000 acres of vast swamp and is a mixture of tropical and temperate plants that are home to varied wildlife, including the Endangered Florida Panther.
Photo Courtesy of Denise Wauters
Fakahatchee Strand is 85,000 acres and is the largest of 175 State Parks in Florida. Off S.R. 29, Fakahatchee Strand is one of the most biologically rich places in all the Everglades. It’s a geological feature unique to the region and centered on the world’s largest strand swamp. Known as the “Amazon of North America” and the “Orchid Capital of North America,” Fakahatchee could very well be South Florida’s best-kept outdoor secret being full of diverse, exotic species of plants and animals. It offers a variety of activities such as hiking, kayaking, and wildlife viewing. Some popular spots within the park include the Big Cypress Bend Boardwalk, the East River, and the Janes Memorial Scenic Drive.
Janes Scenic Drive is named after the three Janes brothers who developed tomato farming in Copeland in the 1930’s and leads to the Main entrance of the Fakahatchee Preserve off S.R 29. The Drive became a railroad bed for logging the Fakahatchee’s old-growth Cypress trees in the 1940s. Today, it’s an unimproved narrow dirt road that gives visitors access to a portion of Florida’s continuing subtropical wilderness. At approximately eleven miles long, the drive begins at the Fakahatchee Preserve main entrance and continues for approximately six miles where Janes Scenic is gated. Vehicle access on Janes Scenic Drive to enter the Picayune is no longer available. The remainder of Janes Scenic Drive is now for pedestrians and cyclists up to the border of the Picayune Strand State forest.
Access to Janes Scenic Drive is possible ONLY via Route 29 which starts at the community of Copeland on SR 29, 2 ½ miles north of Highway 41 (The Tamiami Trail) and 14 miles south of I-75 exit #80 (Alligator Alley). At the ranger station where you pay your park admission fee you will find an informative kiosk, park brochures and restrooms. It’s open from 8:00 AM to sunset 365 days a year.
