-
Annual 60-Day ORV Closure for Wheeled Vehicles
Beginning at 12:01 am Monday, June 3, the annual 60-day recreational ORV closure for all units of the Preserve that allow for wheeled ORV access will begin. The closure will be lifted on Friday, August 2. More »
-
Campground Closures
Beginning Monday, May 13 through Friday, August 16 camping will be available at the Midway Campground and the “loop” in the Bear Island Campground within Big Cypress National Preserve. All other established campgrounds will be closed. More »
-
Interstate 75 Mile Marker 63 Closure
Beginning summer of 2013 the rest area and backcountry access at mile marker 63 will be closed due to construction. More »
Tamiami Trail and Monroe Station
Gateway arch to Collier County traveling from Miami west along the Tamiami Trail, soon after the road was open to the public ca. 1928. In April 1928, the Tamiami Trail (Tampa to Miami Trail) was completed across the last great wilds of the eastern United States. The project was the first east/west corridor south of Lake Okeechobee on the Florida peninsula. The task of completing the trail from Miami to Fort Myers took more than 11 years at a cost of $7 million dollars and many declared the project an engineering feat comparable to building the Panama Canal. History of the Tamiami Trail and Brief Review of the Road Construction Movement in Florida published by authority of the Tamiami Trail Commissioners and the County Commissioners of Dade County Florida, Miami 1928 The Tamiami Trail - Muck, Mosquitoes and Motorists: A Photo Essay by Doris Davis The Tamiami Trail - Beauty and the Beasts a series about the past and present of the Trail from the St. Petersburg Times, 2003 
Monroe Station, ca 1930s. Soon after the Tamiami Trail was open six service stations were constructed along the most remote stretch of the road through Collier County, much of which is within Big Cypress National Preserve, today. The stations provided a welcome rest to the road-weary traveler, whose ultimate goal was the sun and sand of tropical Florida. Monroe Station is one of only two of the stations that remain today, and is located in the heart of the Preserve. National Register of Historic Places registration form for Monroe Station, 1999 Historic American Buildings Survey on Monroe Station, HABS No. FL-544, 2007 |
Did You Know?
The anhinga is a commonly seen bird in many areas of Big Cypress National Preserve, and other park areas in Florida. However, within the United States of America, the bird is never really seen beyond Florida. Anhingas cousins are more commonly seen in South America and Africa.