One of the things I was always curious about in Big Cypress was swamp walks.

And while this isn’t quite the same as what I was thinking about (waist deep in the Fakahatchee), I think it was much better for me, a certified hater of most activities in water.

The deepest the water we got here was mid-calf and I had tall rain boots on so it didn’t even matter.

This is something I was curious about and wanted to try for so long but it also really freaked me out.

I don’t like water activities (in water, specifically; boats and kayaks are fine). And I’m always worried about getting lost (not a problem here).

Strangely, the one thing I don’t seem to worry about in Big Cypress and the Everglades, is wildlife.

I’m absolutely terrified of mountain lions out west. Even mentioning them out on a hike pushes me over the edge from fine to terrified.

But in Big Cypress? Those Florida panthers that are basically the same as western mountain lions? Not a bother.

I don’t get it but I’m not complaining. Anacondas? Not a concern (except for the ecosystem). Bears? Are they even in this prairie area? Who knows.

Alligators? Cottonmouths? Perfectly fine. Possibly even hoped for.

This little adventure starts at the one corner on Birdon/Wagon Wheel Road, one of the dirt roads through Big Cypress north of the Tamiami Trail.

This isn’t an official trail by any means but there is a small little break in the foliage leading into the prairie, and this is where we started.

The corner I’m talking about is after Birdon Road turns into Wagon Wheel Road, which will then turn to the right and meet up with Turner River Road.

There is some room for parking, just be sure not to block the road.

Gear’d (barely) up and ready to go, we headed out into the prairie. We basically did a big lollipop loop.

We headed straight out into the prairie, dotted with cypress domes of varying sizes.

Cypress domes are pretty much exactly what they sound like. It’s usually a circular (sometimes oval-y or donut-y) shaped mini cypress swamp.

The trees and shrubs around the edge in shallower water are shorter while the trees in the middle are significantly taller in the deeper water.

These are where Florida panthers can like to hang out in areas like this, though we didn’t get to see any.

It was generally pretty open and very flat, with occasional small palm trees around.

We didn’t really have a goal but were vaguely headed toward a larger cypress dome (or strand, I’m not exactly sure) straight out.

First we headed to the left into and around other cypress strands, enjoying the silence and the scenery.

We found a couple of turtle shells in the water but no live turtles. We really didn’t see any kind of wildlife either.

The weather was perfect and it was nice and sunny with just a few puffy clouds.

After curving right a bit and lingering among the trees for a while, which were more dense now, it was time to head back.

Instead of going back exactly the way we came, we continued heading around in a bit of a loop, eventually meeting back up with the path we came in on.

There aren’t real trails here but you can kind of see paths either from other people or animals.

The water wasn’t deep anywhere, some parts were much more shallow than others, but it was pretty muddy water all over.

Before I knew it, we were finishing up our 3.5ish mile loop back at the car, and boy were my feet happy.

I was wearing my tall Hunter boots which were perfect for this, but I think I was not wearing the right socks.

They’re obviously not hiking boots, but I would have been way more uncomfortable wearing something were my feet and legs actually got wet and muddy.

These made the walk significantly more enjoyable for me, even if my feet hurt in the end.

Because if there are two things that will make me have a very bad time on a hike, it’s mud and mosquitos.

This may have been on the lowest end of “swamp walk” adventure you could possibly get, but it was perfect for me and I loved it.

Since this doesn’t have it’s own name, I called it the cypress cemetery because all of the trees were just white and bare, looking like skeletons.

I would definitely do this kind of thing again, and would someday love to do an actual Fakahatchee swamp walk. A girl can dream, right?

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