• The Florida panther's watchful gaze- Courtesy- Ralph Arwood

    Big Cypress

    National Preserve Florida

There are park alerts in effect.
show Alerts »

  • Fire Activity

    Currently there is fire activity within the Preserve. More »

  • Campfire Ban in Effect.

    Due to severe fire conditions campfires restrictions are currently in place. More »

  • 2013 Zone 4 Closure

    Beginning at 12:01 am Monday, April 8, 2013, the Zone 4 airboat access within Big Cypress National Preserve will be closed due to low water conditions. 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 »

Preserve Announces Start of Zone 4 Seasonal Closure

Subscribe RSS Icon | What is RSS
Date: March 16, 2009
Contact: Bob DeGross, 239-695-1107

Beginning Monday March 23, 2009 the Zone 4 airboat access within Big Cypress National Preserve will be closed due to low water conditions. This will begin the 60 day recreational off-road vehicle (ORV) closure for this management unit within the Preserve. Pending water levels, this unit will re-open to ORV access by airboats on Friday, May 22, 2009.

All other management units within the Preserve that allow for wheeled ORV access remain open through Sunday, May 31, 2009. Beginning on Monday, June 1, 2009 these units will be closed for 60 days with access being re-opened on Friday, July 31, 2009.

The Recreational Off-Road Vehicle Management Plan calls for a sixty-day seasonal closure to allow a period free from resource pressures related to ORV use. The off-road vehicle closure within Big Cypress National Preserve was first instituted in 2002.

Landowners that hold special use permits to access their private properties within the Preserve will retain continued access to their property along approved routes.

Zone 4 of the Stairsteps Unit of the Preserve allows for access via airboats only. The Bear Island, Turner River and Corn Dance Units, and Zones 2 and 3 of the Stairsteps Unit provide for access by specified, wheeled ORVs.

For information on other closures within the Preserve click here.

Did You Know?

manatee

Mermaid sightings have been reported by sailors throughout history who often blamed the part-woman, part-fish beings for leading them astray. But folklore experts believe that what those sailors were seeing were not mermaids, but rather air-breathing manatees, or their dugong relatives. More...