On this day, we explored Fakahatchee Strand Preserve State Park in South Florida. Some of our most exciting stops along the Tamiami Trail were here. This post will focus on these stops in Fakahatchee Strand Preserve. If you want to follow our whole trip, check out our post: Tamiami Trail – A Scenic Drive into Real Florida.
Background
For Paul’s birthday this year, he wanted to spend time with as much family as possible on the beach. So, we booked a week stay at a timeshare in Pompano Beach right on the ocean. A week at the beach sounds nice, but Paul was looking for adventure. So, he planned 3 different days of adventures in South Florida with different members of our family. Unfortunately, Becky had to work some this vacation. So, Becky decided to stay back this day with our daughter and parents. But Becky’s brother Kelly was with us and ready to go. Paul and Kelly had the whole day to explore.
Fakahatchee Strand Preserve State Park is Florida’s largest state park and the world’s largest strand swamp. The park brochure claims it contains the world’s largest cypress and royal palm forest, and we would agree. In addition, this park is home to 44 different orchid species, some only found here. Not to mention it is home to the elusive Florida Panther and known as “the Amazon of North America”. You can find our more information about this state park at: Fakahatchee Strand Preserve State Park | Florida State Parks.
Boardwalk Parking and Observation Platform
We were excited to go to the Big Cypress Bend Boardwalk recommended by multiple park rangers along the Tamiami Trail. The boardwalk has a really small parking lot and is kind of hard to see if there was nothing else around. There is also a fenced off area of buildings in front that hides the entrance to the boardwalk. We found out this was a Miccosukee village. After we parked, we saw a sign for an observation platform. Interested, we followed the short trail.
Unfortunately, the observation platform was only 5 steps and big enough for only 1 person. It overlooked a small lake which didn’t seem extraordinary. We saw a few ducks and decided to go back to the boardwalk hoping it would be better.
As we approached the beginning of the boardwalk, we walked along a dirt path. On the right was water and we could hear alligators in the water, but couldn’t see any. But we do see many large grasshoppers, some crushed by previous hikers perhaps. We also passed a man that appeared to work here. He told us to enjoy the boardwalk and mentioned they were planning to expand more boardwalks in the area in the near future. Sounds like good news.
Big Cypress Bend Boardwalk in Fakahatchee Strand Preserve
This 2,000 foot long boardwalk trail, like others explored this day, is elevated and goes straight through the woods. One of our first stops was 2 huge cypress trees. Unlike other trees we had seen today, these were mature cypress trees over 100 feet tall and were amazing. We tried taking pictures of them, but you can’t get the whole tree in the picture. Then we heard some birds and to our amazement we saw a pileated woodpecker. They are the largest of the woodpeckers in Florida with their distinctive red feathers on their head.
There are interpretive signs on the trail and the next stop was even more amazing. The strangler fig tree wraps around its host tree basically killing its host. It is a native of South Florida and in this case killed a big cypress tree. It looks like something out of Beetlejuice! As we continued walking we were amazed at the size of the trees. We passed a royal palm tree that pushed higher than all other trees around. Easily over 100 feet tall, this slender palm is the tallest we have ever seen. You can tell these trees were protected from loggers unlike some of the other areas we had been today.
As we walked along the boardwalk, we saw more grasshoppers. We identified them as Eastern Lubber Grasshoppers, a common grasshopper in the Southeast. These grasshoppers can grow up to 3 inches. They are harmless and usually hop away when we get closer. We start to see some water and soon enough we are at the end.
End of Big Cypress Boardwalk
The boardwalk opens wide to a serene pond adorned by swamp lilies. The water is so still that the lilies are perfectly reflected. There are benches to sit on, but we were more interested in taking in the scenery. Kelly spotted a smaller alligator in the water on the left perfectly hidden behind some lilies. If Kelly hadn’t pointed him out, he would have been easily missed.
After enjoying the pond at the end of the boardwalk, we returned the same way we started. As we returned, we went past the large and unique trees we had passed before, but from a different angle. We passed more grasshoppers and spotted another pileated woodpecker making our way back to the beginning. This trail had lived up to the hype.
Janes Scenic Drive in Fakahatchee Strand Preserve
We were so pleased with the boardwalk trail, we wanted to see more of Fakahatchee Strand Preserve State Park. So, we headed to the main entrance in the town of Copeland. Unfortunately, the visitor center was closed, but the park and restrooms were still open. We paid our entrance fee at the honor box by the visitor center and headed to Janes Scenic Drive.
The Janes Scenic Drive is also a dirt gravel road, but fairly wide. We passed a ranger on the way, but really didn’t see anyone else. This old tram road is elevated and dry, though there is swamp on either side. However, there is a lot of brush hiding the view most of the way. One thing we did see a lot of were more grasshoppers – hundreds if not thousands of them. We drove over more than we can count along the road. The only other wildlife we saw was a snake on the road that we identified as a juvenile Cottonmouth Moccasin. We luckily were in our car and drove close to the venomous snake, but it didn’t move.
West and East Main Tram Trails
The main road and the trails were all used for logging cypress trees in the 1940s. There are 2 main trails you can access from the scenic drive, the West and East Main Tram trails. We drove to the 1st, the West Main Tram trail, about 4.5 miles down. We stopped, but we decided to continue driving to the East trail. Another 2 miles at 15-20MPH, we made it to the end of the dirt road where there is a small parking lot. Like the West Main Tram trail, it starts at a gate. We learned there was still a private cabin about 2 miles down.
Once a logging road, the East Main Trail is a 10 mile trail. We walked for a little while, but didn’t make it to the cabin 2 miles down. If we had more time, we would have gone much farther. The trail itself was pretty well maintained. We felt like if we would have gone farther, we would have had a chance to see some wildlife. But, we decided to head back before it got dark. We then returned back on the same road taking about 30 minutes before we got to the exit. Near the exit were many vultures near a puddle in the road. We had heard about vultures damaging cars in the area, but we had no issues.
Summary of Fakahatchee Strand Preserve State Park
The Big Cypress Bend Boardwalk was an excellent walk into the swamp and one of the highlights of the day. The Janes Scenic Drive would not be recommended for most cars, but would be fine with most trucks. However, the West and East Main Tram trails have potential to be exciting for experienced hikers with more time. There are also opportunities to do guided tours through the swamp and on the water. Fakahatchee Strand Preserve State Park is a unique place in Florida. To see all of our stops along the Tamiami Trail, check out our post: Tamiami Trail – A Scenic Drive into Real Florida.