Management & Protection
Florida State Parks are managed as natural systems. All plant and animal life is protected in state parks. Hunting, livestock grazing and timber removal are not permitted. Do not remove, deface, mutilate or molest any natural resources. For your safety, do not feed any animals. Intoxicants and firearms are prohibited.

Hours of Operation
Florida state parks are open from 8 a.m. until sundown 365 days a year.

Pets
Pets are not allowed in camping areas, on bathing beaches, in concession areas and may be restricted in other designated areas of the park. Where pets are allowed, they must be kept on a six-foot, hand-held leash and well-behaved at all times. Service dogs are welcome in all areas of the parks.


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Reservations for
Florida State
Parks are now
made through
Reserve America,

toll free, at
1-800-326-3521

 

 

FAKAHATCHEE STRAND STATE PRESERVE

The Big Cypress Swamp of southwest Florida is basically a flat, gently sloping limestone plain. During the rainy season (June through September), water flows slowly southward over this plain into the mangrove swamps bordering the Gulf of Mexico. Water also flows below ground through the porous underlying limestone. In places, limestone has dissolved, forming elongated sloughs or channels which have accumulated deep organic soils. These channels or sloughs have been colonized by cypress and other trees, creating swamp forests that stand out on the horizon in contrast to the open prairies and pinelands that occupy the sterile veneer of marl soil which is on top of the remaining limestone. The local term for these linear swamps is "strand."



RESOURCES
The Fakahatchee Strand is the major drainage slough of southwestern Big Cypress Swamp and the largest and most unusual of the strands. Although logging, drainage and other human actions have had a serious impact on the swamp, it is still one of the state's most unusual natural features.

PLANT & ANIMAL LIFE
Its forest of mixed bald-cypresses, royal palms and abundant epiphytic plants is unique. The Fakahatchee Strand is approximately 20 miles long and three to five miles wide. The flow of water through the Fakahatchee Strand is essential to its continued health and that of the estuaries to the south of it.


The natural values of the Fakahatchee Strand may be greater than those of any area of comparable size in the state of Florida. It contains the largest stand of native royal palms and largest concentration and variety of orchids in North America, as well as other species of plants that are extremely rare. The unusual wildlife of the Fakahatchee Strand includes some threatened or endangered species. The Florida panther, wood stork, Florida black bear, mangrove fox squirrel and the Everglades mink have all been documented within the preserve area.

ACTIVITIES
Facilities and activities are limited at the present time. A 2,000-foot long boardwalk at Big Cypress Bend, meandering through the old growth cypress, enables the visitor to experience the beauty of this unusual swamp. From November through February rangers lead a "swamp walk" the third Saturday of the month (weather permitting) beginning at 10 a.m. The swamp walks are limited to 15 people and reservations are required.


Fakahatchee Strand State Preserve is located on Janes Memorial Scenic Drive, just west of Copeland on S.R. 29.


For more information on the preserve, write:
Fakahatchee Strand State Preserve
P.O. Box 548
Copeland, FL 33926
or call (941) 695-4593.


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