Florida Trail Big Cypress Map + 5-Day Backpacking Itinerary
Wade the wildest swamp in America, Oasis to I-75.
5-day Florida Trail backpacking itinerary through Big Cypress National Preserve. ~30 miles from the Oasis Visitor Center southern terminus north to the I-75 rest area, wading cypress strands and open wet prairie between the 7 Mile, 13 Mile, Oak Hill, and Ivy backcountry camps.
Excellent itinerary planner! Detail oriented with thoughtful tips for my family’s trip.
14 stops on a real mapEvery stop pinned in order→Every stop is a real pin, in order.
Oasis VC → 7 Mile → 13 Mile → Oak Hill → Ivy → I-75 · Florida
5 of the stops on these 5 days.
Plan and book your 5 days in Big Cypress, one step at a time
How 5 days in Big Cypress split up
The Florida Trail through Big Cypress National Preserve is unlike any other backpacking trip in the country. This ~30-mile section runs from the Oasis Visitor Center, the southern terminus of the Florida National Scenic Trail, north to the I-75 rest area at Mile Marker 63, crossing cypress strands, sawgrass prairie, and slippery marl mud, often with water from ankle- to knee-deep for miles at a stretch.
Day 1: Oasis Visitor Center to 7 Mile Camp · 7 miles
4 stops · Day one
Day 2: 7 Mile Camp to 13 Mile Camp · 6 miles
3 stops · Day two
Day 3: 13 Mile Camp to Oak Hill Camp · 7 miles
2 stops · Day three
Day 4: Oak Hill Camp to Ivy Camp · 7 miles
2 stops · Day four
Day 5: Ivy Camp to I-75 (MM63) + Shuttle to Oasis · 3 miles
3 stops · Day five
Oasis Visitor Center to 7 Mile Camp · 7 miles
Park at the Oasis Visitor Center on US-41, the southern terminus of the Florida Trail. Confirm your backcountry permit with rangers, top off every water bottle, and head north on the orange blazes. The first miles start relatively dry before the trail drops into wet prairie and your first extended wading.
Not the order you want? Drag a stop, or use the arrows beside it. Stops move between days too.
- Pietro / CC BY-SA 3.0Drive from
~1.5 hr to the Oasis Visitor Center · car required · DriveBase your logistics out of Naples, the nearest town for a hotel, gear, and a last real meal. The Oasis Visitor Center is about 1.5 hours east on US-41 (Tamiami Trail). RSW (Fort Myers) and FLL (Fort Lauderdale) are both roughly 1.5 hours away, and no public transportation reaches the trailhead, so a car is required.
Pietro / CC BY-SA 3.0Oasis Visitor Center · Florida Trail southern terminusGPS 25.8558, -81.0368 · permit pickup & water · ViewpointPark at the Oasis Visitor Center on US-41, the southern terminus of the Florida National Scenic Trail. Confirm your free backcountry permit with rangers, use the restrooms, and fill every water bottle. Call the preserve at 239-695-2000 ahead of time for current water levels.
- Florida Trail north to 7 Mile Camp
~7 mi · mixed dry & wet terrain · orange blazes · HikeHead north on the orange blazes. The first miles start relatively dry before dropping into wet prairie and your first extended wading. Move deliberately, watch each footfall in the tannin-stained water, and reach camp with daylight to filter water and dry your feet.
- Camp at 7 Mile Camp (Woodpecker Camp)
Designated dry hammock · no facilities · filter water · lodgeOne of the few designated dry sites in the preserve, an elevated hammock just above the swamp. There are no facilities, so filter water from the surrounding swamp, hang or canister your food, and practice Leave No Trace: pack out everything and camp only at designated sites.
7 Mile Camp to 13 Mile Camp · 6 miles
Today crosses the heart of the swamp, cypress domes and open wet prairie, passing 10 Mile Camp if you want a shorter day or a lunch stop. Water levels swing with recent rain, from ankle-deep to knee-deep, and the orange blazes can be hard to spot across the open prairie, so keep your GPS handy.
Not the order you want? Drag a stop, or use the arrows beside it. Stops move between days too.
Wade the cypress strands & prairie~6 mi · consistent wading · GPS recommended · HikeCross the heart of the swamp through cypress domes and open wet prairie, passing 10 Mile Camp along the way. Water swings from ankle- to knee-deep with recent rain, and the blazes can be hard to spot across open prairie, so keep your GPS track handy and your compass in your pocket.
- 10 Mile Camp (optional break or stop)
Designated dry site · good lunch spot · ViewpointA designated dry campsite roughly 3 miles into the day, and a good place to break, eat, and dry your feet. If the day is going slowly, it is a legitimate place to stop early and camp, better dry than pushing into the dark.
- Camp at 13 Mile Camp
Elevated hammock · no facilities · filter water · lodgeAnother small elevated hammock above the swamp. Watch for alligators, wading birds, and deer along the approach, and give every animal a wide berth. Filter water, secure your food against black bears, and settle in for a loud, alive swamp night.
13 Mile Camp to Oak Hill Camp · 7 miles
Leave 13 Mile Camp and continue north through alternating cypress strand and prairie. This stretch can hold some of the deeper water on the route, so take your time, test the bottom with trekking poles, and keep your pack rain cover and dry bags cinched.
Not the order you want? Drag a stop, or use the arrows beside it. Stops move between days too.
- Cross deeper water & dense strand
~7 mi · potentially deep water · slow going · HikeContinue north through alternating cypress strand and prairie. This stretch can hold some of the deeper water on the route, so take your time, test the bottom with trekking poles, and keep your pack rain cover and dry bags cinched tight against a dunk.
- Camp at Oak Hill Camp
~mile 20 · last drier ground before the north prairie · lodgeAround mile 20 and the last reliably drier ground before the long, exposed prairie miles ahead. Filter plenty of water here to top off your capacity, dry your feet, and do a thorough tick check before you settle in. Long sleeves and pants help with ticks and next-day sun.
Oak Hill Camp to Ivy Camp · 7 miles
The push from Oak Hill to Ivy Camp crosses the open savannas that Florida Trail hikers remember most, wide, exposed, and slow, where a mile can take an hour. There is little shade, so start early, ration sun protection, and keep filtering water whenever you can.
Not the order you want? Drag a stop, or use the arrows beside it. Stops move between days too.
- Cross the open savannas
~7 mi · exposed prairie · ~1 mph · little shade · HikeThe stretch Florida Trail hikers remember most: wide, exposed savanna where a mile can take an hour. There is almost no shade, so start early, wear a sun hat and long sleeves, ration sun protection, and keep filtering water whenever the chance appears.
- Camp at Ivy Camp
Last designated site before I-75 · elevated hammock · lodgeThe final designated site before I-75 and your last night in the backcountry. Store your food securely against black bears, and if you have any signal, text your shuttle driver to reconfirm the I-75 MM63 pickup time for the morning. Then savor a last night of swamp sounds.
Ivy Camp to I-75 (MM63) + Shuttle to Oasis · 3 miles
A short final morning brings you the last ~3 miles from Ivy Camp to the I-75 rest area at Mile Marker 63, the access point for the northern Florida Trail and the end of your Big Cypress crossing. You will hear the highway well before you see it.
Not the order you want? Drag a stop, or use the arrows beside it. Stops move between days too.
- Hike out to I-75 (MM63) rest area
~3 mi · northern trail access · road noise · HikeA short final morning brings you the last ~3 miles to the I-75 rest area at Mile Marker 63, the access point for the northern Florida Trail and the end of your Big Cypress crossing. You will hear the highway well before you see it.
- Pietro / CC BY-SA 3.0Shuttle back to Oasis Visitor Center
~1.5 hr drive · pre-arranged shuttle or second car · DriveMeet your pre-arranged shuttle or second vehicle at the rest area for the roughly 1.5-hour drive back to your car at the Oasis Visitor Center. Cell service can be spotty here, so lock in your pickup time and a backup plan before you leave Ivy Camp. Change into the dry clothes you stashed.
- Pietro / CC BY-SA 3.0Recover & stay in Naples
Nearest town · hotel, hot shower & a real meal · lodgeNaples is about 1.5 hours from the trailheads and the easiest place for a hotel, a hot shower, and dinner the night you finish. Rooms fill fast in the December–March dry season, so reserve early. Take a moment to appreciate that you just walked across the wildest swamp in America.
Book the 4 nights
Beds near the trailheads are the one thing on this trip that genuinely runs out. Everything else can be decided later.
Tell us your dates and we will do the calling. We check every booking site, put your points and card perks against the cash price, and email you this plan back with the best room we can find for each night. Nothing is charged and you decide at the end.
Request to bookWhat to pack for Big Cypress
Built from this route, not a generic list. Every line says why it is here.
On every day of this trip
On your feet
Because you are sleeping indoors
For the driving days
Essential swamp-hiking rules & planning.
Free backcountry permit required
Every overnight group must obtain a free Big Cypress backcountry permit before hiking, and carry a copy the whole way so park staff know you are out there. Reserve well ahead for the December–March peak and call the preserve at 239-695-2000 for current water levels.
Footwear & wading gear
Wear closed-toe trail runners or water shoes that drain, never waterproof boots. Add gaiters against debris and scratches, and use trekking poles to test the bottom and keep your balance through slippery marl mud and limestone holes.
No potable water on trail
There are no reliable drinking-water sources between Oasis and I-75. Carry a quality filter or purifier and 3–4 liters of capacity, and treat all water from the swamp. It is tannin-stained tea-brown but safe once treated.
Navigation: GPS is essential
The Florida Trail is marked with orange blazes, but they vanish in deep water and across open prairie. Load a GPX track into Gaia GPS or AllTrails, carry a compass and a physical map as backup, and expect ~1 mph through the savannas.
Wildlife & food storage
Big Cypress is home to alligators, venomous snakes, and black bears. Give all wildlife a wide berth, never feed animals, and store food and scented items in a bear canister or a reliable bear-bag hang every night.
Go in the dry season & shuttle
Backpack December through March for lower water, cooler temperatures, and fewer mosquitoes; avoid the May–October wet season entirely. This is a point-to-point route, so arrange a shuttle or two-car system between Oasis and the I-75 MM63 rest area in advance.
Care for feet that never dry
Your feet stay submerged for hours at a stretch, and skin that never dries out can soften, blister, and turn to trench foot over five days. Change into dry camp socks every night, air and elevate your feet whenever you stop, and rub on a foot powder or anti-chafe balm each morning. Pack two or three spare pairs of socks in a dry bag and rotate them.
Everything you'll actually want to know.
Everything you'll actually want to know before a Big Cypress trip.
It is strenuous and not for beginners. You wade water that is often knee-deep, sometimes deeper, for miles at a time, navigate faint orange blazes across open prairie, and move as slowly as 1 mile per hour through the savannas. Solid navigation skills, wading experience, and self-sufficiency are essential.
We'll find the cheapest way to do this trip.
Tell us your dates and we price the plan you just built: every booking site, the hotels direct, and your own points and card perks against the cash price. You get it back by email with a link for each night and what it saved you.
- It is free. The hotel pays us, not you. You pay their normal price.
- Nothing is charged and nothing is held. You decide at the end, or you walk away.
- Beds near trailheads are the part that runs out. Everything else can wait.
The figures below are estimates from local nightly rates, so you know the ballpark before you ask. The real number comes back once we have checked what is free.
- 4 nights, sites held for you
- Any permits secured before you fly
- Gear rented locally and waiting at the site
- The route pinned to your phone before you leave
- Everything in Camped
- Rooms booked for every night, one base where the route allows
- Dinner reservations on the nights that need them
- A rain-day plan written before you go
- Everything in Glamped, plus a local guide for the trip
- Airport pickup and every drive handled
- All the gear rented and waiting, so you pack clothes and nothing else
- Weather turns and they rewrite the day while you are still at breakfast
Written and walked by Yulia Vasilyeva · Co-founder · Lead planner and guide
Builds every custom itinerary herself and leads guided hikes in the Pacific Northwest, rated 5.0 by 20+ verified guests. Based in Seattle.
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All reviews are from verified guests. ★★★★★ 5.0 average from 20+ bookings.
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Fees, reservation windows, shuttle dates and trail closures are planning estimates. Confirm hours, road status and any reservations with the land manager before you go.
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Excellent itinerary planner! Detail oriented with thoughtful tips for my family's trip.