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Traveling Huntleys

Inspiring travel stories, tips, and guides from a couple exploring the world one destination at a time.

Big Cypress National Preserve

Everglades City & Big Cypress, Florida

January 24, 2020 by Michael Huntley

Last Updated: July 4, 2026

From Grassy Key it was a few hours’ drive northwest to Everglades City, where we set up at Everglades Isle Motorcoach Resort for the next stretch of our winter travels. Everglades City turned out to be an ideal base for exploring Big Cypress National Preserve — one of the largest national preserves in the United States and one of the most remarkable wildlife habitats in North America. We had visited the area once before and stayed on Chokoloskee Island, but that trip was cut short when we were evacuated due to flooding from storm surge. This time, we wanted higher ground — and the wildlife did not disappoint.

American Alligator resting in cloud-reflected water in the marshes near Everglades City, Big Cypress National Preserve, Florida
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Big Cypress National Preserve, Florida: Alligators, Birds & a Ranger Canoe Trip

January 31, 2017 by Michael Huntley

Last Updated: May 2026

Big Cypress National Preserve covers 729,000 acres of subtropical wilderness between Miami and Naples in southwest Florida — a mosaic of cypress swamps, wet prairies, mangrove estuaries, and hardwood hammocks that forms the northern watershed for Everglades National Park. What makes Big Cypress unusual among federal public lands is how it was established: when Congress created it in 1974, the Miccosukee, Seminole, and Traditional peoples were granted permanent rights to occupy and use the land in their traditional ways, with first rights to develop income-producing businesses including guided tours. Hunters retain off-road vehicle access. Property owners within the preserve boundary have been allowed to keep their holdings. It is managed as a preserve, not a park — a distinction that shapes everything about how it feels.

Big Cypress National Preserve, Florida
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