65 Big Cypress Photos That Will Convince You To Visit
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I’ve been to Big Cypress, what four times now? Five? Six? I’m honestly not even sure, but what I do know is I love it and want to keep going back forever.
One thing that has come out of these trips is.. a lot of pictures. While we’ve done a lot of hikes, we also spend a lot of time driving around looking for wildlife or just stopping wherever along the road (where it’s safe to).
This has resulted in me having a ton of pictures of Big Cypress and not to many places to share them. And I very much want to share them.
Enter, this post. A collection of 65 Big Cypress photos across all of my trips to the preserve.
And these are just the places that are Big Cypress, it doesn’t include the Fakahatchee, Everglades, or Ten Thousand Islands!
Like some of my other posts similar to this, I’ve included a bit about each picture beneath each one. I hope you enjoy these Big Cypress pictures as much as I do!
National Park Goodies
If you’re planning to visit three or more national parks within a year from your trip, definitely get the America the Beautiful pass. It will save you money in the long run if you’re going to more than three parks in a year. Buy the pass here.
If you’re planning on doing a lot of hiking on your trip, or even at home, check out AllTrails! This is my favorite app to find, keep track of, and track my hiking activity. And it’s FREE! Sign up here.
Doing a road trip? Want an adventure? Consider an Escape Campervan Rental! It’s a great way to see the parks and is perfect for couples and small (but close) friend groups. Book a campervan here!
Get yourself a National Park journal for all of the NPS sites (400+!) to keep track of your travels!
Consider reading some of these books set in national parks before your big trip, on your adventure, or once you get home to take you back to the parks until next time.
This (I’m pretty sure) is the view right by the parking lot at Clyde Butcher’s Big Cypress Gallery. Not bad!This is just outside of Clylde Butcher’s Gallery as well, right by the view above.It wasn’t until our most recent trip that I learned there was a nature trail out behind Clyde Butcher’s Gallery! This is a plant along that short trail.On our last day of the most recent trip (2024) we drove the Loop Road in Big Cypress one last time and it was SO GOOD! We saw this tiny little baby gator just relaxing on a log on our way back out.This is a Little Blue Heron (official name) and we’ve seen quite a few of these not just in Big Cypress but all around Florida. I like them.This is just an alligator under water, its back and part of its tail.This is a long wiggly necked white bird (aka an egret) and a swamp puppy (aka an alligator) (and skeleton) off of Loop Road from the last day as well.We saw one alligator on the first day when we drove Loop Road but I’m telling you, the last day really made up for that.Here is another egret along Loop Road. They used to be hunted for the feathers (the fluffy ones by it’s butt) for hats and fashion back in the day.Funny story, on the first day when we drove Loop Road, there were some people stopped along the road but we couldn’t see anything. We slowly drove past the parked cars and few people outside when an alligator ran into the water. A lady in the truck (who was there way before us and had plenty of time for pictures/to get out, plus there are plenty more alligators here) we were passing flashed us the L for Loser sign and I couldn’t stop laughing. It was just so random, I mean who does that!This is my friend One Eyed Willy. If you look closely you can see the eye on the left is all white because he’s blind in that eye! The other one is still A OK though.Here’s his eye from the side. He was so cool. We spent a lot of time with him.I absolutely love these views. And I know it would truly be torture, but I want to come down here in the summer once just to see these views all green. I bet it’s amazing.I call this witches hair. I’m not 100% sure what it actually is, seaweed or algae I think?It’s hard to see but there’s a ton of witches hair under the water here. It’s probably really bad for the ecosystem (again, I don’t know for sure but I like it so it probably is) but I love it with the cypress trees.To the shock of no one, I also love the tops of cypress trees, even when they have no leaves! Down here a lot of them have lots of bromeliads (air plants) in them.Here’s another good view of the air plants. I just love them!Here’s another alligator looking cute with it’s little swamp flower.Who doesn’t love a good cypress knee or ten? Just another cute little tail in the water. There were two alligators here, one on the right and one on the left. The right one went to scare off the left one which I think just ended up swimming around here a bit. It was pretty cool to see.More bare branches and bromeliads on Big Cypress Loop Road.A reflection of a cypress tree and bromeliads with palmettos under the water.Some witches hair and tree reflections.This is a good view showing how dense the cypress trees and air plants can be sometimes!I just love it so much. I know it all just sort of looks dead but I like it. And they’re very much alive.Not so fun fact, this is an invasive aquarium plant because people dumped their aquariums out outside. Cool.Just more witches hair.I very much enjoyed the reflections on this 2024 visit to Big Cypress.I love the fern around the tree, the reflection of the trees, the giant air plants in the reflection. All of it.This is a lovely little cypress strand on the side of the Fire Prairie Trail, a different unswampy perspective of Big Cypress.This is Reggie, a sweet little cottonmouth snake we saw on the Loop Road on one of our visits. All snakes now get compared to how cool Reggie was. More algae plant things below the water on the side of one of the dirt roads somewhere in Big Cypress. A blooming bromeliad hanging on a cypress tree off of the Loop RoadOne of the many alligators that hangs out at the Oasis Visitor Center canal along the Tamiami Trail. They flock here in the cooler winter months.Are you sick of the tree reflections yet? I’m not.My favorite of the witches hair pictures. I’m not sure why but it was so much more green on this trip compared to the most recent one.It’s totally normal to just see alligators lazing along the side of the road in Big Cypress. I’ve seen WAY more in one day in Big Cypress than I have in two and a half days (total) in Everglades National Park.Another view of Reggie. He literally just hung out in the road letting us take pictures of him. I love Reggie.This is, I think, off of Wagon Wheel Road, one of the dirt roads that runs through Big Cypress. I love it. The picture. And the road, too, I suppose.When I say I’m not tired of the reflections and algae and plants and everything else under the root beer water, I mean it.How could anyone be afraid of that cute little face!? This is Reggie again. These guys (cottonmouth/water moccasin) are venomous but I love them.Look at that tiny little baby gator swimming in there! You probably thought this was just more plants and water, didn’t you?You see a lot of these bigger egrets wandering through the swamp down here. And in the prairies. Pretty much everywhere.This is another view from (I think) Wagon Wheel Road. I love this view too. It feels so prehistoric.Another one of the many alligators we’ve seen on the side of Loop Road, just enjoying the sun.The tree reflections will never be done. LOOK. AT. THAT. BABY.The tail and back feet of another Oasis Visitor Center winter resident. I wish I could feel it’s little foot scales and toes. This big guy was at the HP Williams Roadside Park along the Tamiami Trail, between Everglades City and the Oasis Visitor Center.This is a pretty good shot showing what the bromeliads (air plants) look like. All those things that look like nests on the cypress trees are actually these! I’m sure there are some nests but most of them are air plants.Just leaves.I don’t know why, but this is one of my favorite pictures I have from Big Cypress.A couple of turtles at the HP Williams Roadside Park. There is a short boardwalk here to stop and stretch your legs and look for wildlife. It’s usually busy here but you’ll probably get to see some kind of wildlife.This is an anhinga, one of the more common birds you’ll find in Big Cypress and the Everglades. I love them. Three more alligators at the (I think) HP Williams Roadside Park. The gray stuff hanging from the tree here (and all over Florida, and the southeast in general) is Spanish Moss.This is just looking off the side of the Gator Hook Trail, a moderate but very wet trail in Big Cypress off of Loop Road. Just grassy stuff growing out between the things on the trunk of a palm tree. What are these called? Is this bark? That feels wrong. If you know what these are called, let me know because now I’m curious and Google isn’t helping.I’m not sure what these white flowers are but they’re also on the side of the Gator Hook Trail.If you don’t like air plants, this isn’t the place for you.Don’t you just want to grab that little foot!? I can’t be the only one. (Don’t worry, I would never actually touch an alligator and you shouldn’t either.)Another winter resident of the Oasis Visitor Center canal.Just a little cutie hawk on the Loop Road.These are probably bad for the tree, but the roots or vine or whatever these are look cool on the trees. And the mossy lichen stuff, of course. I love it all.And we’re ending things with this little cutie baby gator again. What do you think it’s like being a tiny baby alligator?
