Big Cypress
If you haven’t taken the time to stop at the new Big Cypress Bend Boardwalk in the Fakahatchee Strand Preserve State Park you are missing out!
The weather is perfect, there are no bugs and the view is spectacular. When you visit, bring a drink, a book or a friend and relax in the rockers on the deck to take it all in. You’ll see birds, fish, butterflys, dragonflys, alligators, all the standard critters.
Along the 2,300 foot long boardwalk are lookouts/rain shelters with seating. There are over 40 signs telling you about all the wildlife you could see as well as educating you about the parks history. The boardwalk takes you through the largest Bald Cypress / Royal Palm swamp in the world. You are stepping into the central slough, the deepest part of the Fakahatchee Strand. Most of the trees here are hundreds of years old. While you are there keep a look out for wild Ghost Orchids. There are active Bald Eagle nests too!
The lake, or gator hole, at the end of the boardwalk is a great place to rest and watch the alligators that make the lake their home. Often adult female alligators and two or three generations of juvenile alligators can be found basking in the sun. The pond also supports many wading and diving birds including Green Herons, Pileated Woodpeckers, and Barred Owls.
In the building there is also a gallery featuring “today’s artist”. During my visit the exhibit was A Glimpse of the Wild and Wonderful by Jay Staton an artist who has been capturing Florida’s natural beauty for more than 35 years. The gorgeous photos were huge images of the famous ghost orchid, local bears and the Everglades.
At the moment the boardwalk stops at the lake. Plans are in the works to rebuild parts of the older boardwalk and extend it to loop all the way around the lake. It also includes a raised walkway.
The boardwalk as we experience it today is phase 1 of a much larger project started in 2015 by the Friends of the Fakahachee. This is the largest project they have ever undertaken.
It’s truly astonishing to see the abundance of beautiful cypress trees and wildlife that still thrive in this precious part of the everglades. During its peak, the Lee Tidewater Cypress Company operated trains that transported out of the area a staggering 80 carloads of logs every week. In less than a century, this relentless logging activity led to the felling of thousands of ancient cypress trees, which were hauled away using elevated railways and roads. Many of these pathways still crisscross the park to this day.
Leave your fishing gear at home, fishing is prohibited from both the bridge and boardwalk. The clean, modern bathrooms are conveniently located by the parking lot and there are trashcans nearby. The park opens at 8 am and closes at sundown.
When you visit be sure to drop the suggested donation of $3 into the sturdy box located at the trail-head. Donations go to the Friends of Fakahatchee, the nonprofit that supports the park and maintains the boardwalk.
The Boardwalk is a must see whether you are a local or a visitor. It’s simply the best of the Everglades. I can’t wait to walk on the raised walkway. Can you imagine all that we will see?
