Things to do nearFakahatchee Strand Preserve State Park

Fakahatchee Strand Preserve State Park protects a 20-mile-long, 3-to-5-mile-wide drainage slough that functions as the primary drainage for the Big Cypress Swamp. The strand's cypress canopy is among the oldest and tallest in Florida, with some trees estimated to be several hundred years old. Logging companies cleared much of the surrounding region in the mid-twentieth century, but the strand's core was preserved, and the park was established in 1974 to protect this irreplaceable habitat.

The park is home to more native orchid species than anywhere else in North America, including the legendary ghost orchid, which draws naturalists from around the world each summer. Bromeliads and ferns festoon nearly every branch, and the understory is thick with royal palms growing in one of their only wild North American stands. Guided swamp walks led by park rangers are the most immersive way to experience the interior, taking small groups wading through knee-deep water beneath the cypress canopy.

Wildlife here is extraordinary. Florida panthers, black bears, white-tailed deer, and hundreds of bird species all depend on the strand's resources. The nearby Big Cypress National Preserve shares this broader ecosystem, and together they form one of the most significant subtropical wilderness areas in the United States.

Fakahatchee Strand Preserve State Park rewards visitors who come prepared to slow down and look closely, offering a genuinely wild Florida experience that feels worlds away from the coast.