Sunny hot afternoon in #Everglades #NationalPark

Rode #SharkValley tram, saw very few #alligators even from observation tower, and at end of dry season.

Tour narrative was great, describing birds and landscape. An amazing must see and do!

#florida

Biking in Big Cypress and Beyond

Bear Island

The Bear Island area is in the northwest corner of the Big Cypress National Preserve. No cars are allowed in Bear Island, only permitted off-road vehicles. This won’t be a problem for bike riders as there are 21 miles of trails.

There are three campgrounds at Bear Island, but only one of them, Bear Island, is accessible by car. Once there, the 21 miles of trails can easily be accessed. To get to the Bear Island campground, drive straight up Turner River Road; it is a twenty-one mile dirt and gravel road. There is no access to I-75. This and the other two campgrounds, Pink Jeep and Gator Head, are primitive campgrounds. Each of these campgrounds have vault toilets for your comfort and convenience.

The Bear Island bike trails can also be accessed for day use at the I-29 entrance. The entrance is marked by a mailbox with a bright orange triangle on it. There is no sign. The entrance is two miles north of where I-75 and I-29 intersect. Once at the entrance, there are two gates. The first gate is not locked. Open it, park your vehicle between the two gates, and close the outer gate. Walk around the second gate to access the trails.

These trails are flat and are generally dry. At times, during the wet season, some of the trails may be wet – generally those in the northwest corner of Bear Island. We ride from the I-29 entrance to the Bear Island campground and back for a total distance of 14 miles.

This is a Preserve, so you will see wildlife: birds, alligators, snakes. Just respect the animal by giving them as much distance as possible.

If you would like to learn about campgrounds which have easy access to paved (or hard surfaced bike trails), check out my ebook, “RVing with Bikes.”

Birdon/Upper Wagon Wheel/Turner River

These roads are actual dirt and gravel roads in Big Cypress National Preserve. However, there is little traffic. Again, the trails are flat and dry. Turner River Road is a 21 mile road from Highway 41 to the Bear Island campground. There is parking at the H.P. Williams Roadside Park which is located at Highway 41 and Turner River Road.

My husband and I will ride from our volunteer campsite on Dona Drive, cross Highway 41 and be on Birdon Road. We’ll ride up Birdon Road to Upper Wagon Wheel to Turner River. We’ll ride about 20 miles. A word of caution: There are two dogs on Birdon Road that sometimes chase us. We just ride as fast as we can past that house. Other than that and a few cars, it’s just us and the Preserve.

The road conditions vary, but our experience is that the roads are continually being grated.

Fire Prairie Trail

This is a dry hiking trail located off of Turner River Road, not too far from Bear Island campground. It is 2.6 miles one way. The beginning of the trail has Cypress swamps on both sides and eventually goes out to a prairie where there is full sun. We have only hiked this trail, but it is suitable for biking. The trail is located somewhat near the Bear Island Campground.

Shark Valley

Shark Valley is a Visitor Center in Everglades National Park. There is a 15 mile paved multi-use trail at Shark Valley. You can take a 2 hour tram tour, rent a bike, or ride your own bike on the trail. We bring our own bikes and get in free with our Senior Lifetime pass.

Park staff do ask that when the tram goes by that cyclists stop on the right while the tram is passing. On our ride, we had to do that two or three times. The path goes out to an observation tower, and if you climb that, you’ll be away from your bikes. I am very cautious, so I bring a lock to use while we climb the observation tower. My husband says, who is going to steal our e-bikes way out here. But I say, you never know. I am not taking any chances.

The only other caution is that Shark Valley can get very busy, especially during the holiday weeks. The parking lot is not all that big, so it is managed with a one-in, one-out plan. During busy times, it could take a while to get in. Some park out on Highway 41 and walk in. However, I have heard the park rangers say, there have been break-ins out there. I don’t know about you, but we’re parking in the parking lot.

Loop Road

We have not ridden Loop Road on our e-bikes, but people do. However, I do have a suggestion. The first four miles of Loop Road, when entering from Monroe Station, can be rough. My suggestion is to park your vehicle at the Gator Hook Trail parking lot and ride the bike from there.

Loop Road is mostly a dirt and gravel road with a small amount of traffic and a large amount of wildlife. Ride as far as you like and then turn around and go back. It loops to Highway 41, but that is a very busy highway and not suitable for biking, in my opinion.

Everglades City to Chokoloskee

Everglades City is a small city that functions as the gateway to the west side of Everglades National Park. We like to park at McLeod Park where we’ll take our bikes off. From there, we ride around the traffic circle and head out on S. Copeland Ave. On the left hand side, going south, is a bike path. This will take you all the way to Chokoloskee Island, about four miles.

The path ends, but just a couple blocks more is the HavAnnA Cafe – a wonderful Cuban Restaurant. The restaurant also sells fresh Cuban bread for $2.50. The challenge will be carrying that long loaf of bread back while riding your bike!

Once we ride back to Everglades City, we’ll ride around on the side streets which have very little traffic. You could also bike around Chokoloskee as well.

Marco Island – Mackle Park to Goodland

Marco Island is described as bike-friendly. And it is. There are sidewalks everywhere. We found riding around on the island a bit difficult for us. We don’t like to ride on the roads with traffic, and there’s usually lots of folks walking on the sidewalks.

However, there is a six mile bike path along San Marco Road which goes from Marco Island to the small town of Goodland. The path is nice and wide. It does cross San Marco Road twice, so be sure to realize when it crosses. Otherwise, you may find yourself on a much more narrow sidewalk with steep inclines and ninety degree turns. Not that I’ve had that experience.

Obviously, you can start at either end of the bike path. We like to start at Mackle Park on Marco Island where we park our car, take off our bikes and ride the couple blocks over to the bike path. From Mackle Park, take the side street (Andalusia Terrace) to South Heathwood Drive, turn right, up to San Marco Road. Turn right again to be on the bike path. While we haven’t eaten there (yet), folks have recommended “The Crabby Lady” in Goodland.

There is a short paved path (0.9 mile) around the lake at Mackle Park. While you could ride your bike around the lake, the path is better suited for walking.

Ave Maria

About 45 minutes away from the Reed Visitor Center in Big Cypress is the town of Ave Maria. Ave Maria is a very large master-planned community with miles of trails. Much of Ave Maria (17,000 acres) has been left as preserve land; however, the current plans allow for 11,000 homes.

The hub of Ave Maria is the Catholic church which is in the center of the community. This area can have a lot of cars and traffic; however, many of the rest of the streets have little traffic and can be just fine for bike riding. There are parks and restaurants and ice cream shops, too.

Fakahatchee Strand Preserve State Park

The entrance to Fakahatchee Strand Preserve State Park is through Janes Memorial Scenic Drive. (The road sign says “Janes Scenic Drive.”) For full disclosure, we have not ridden our bikes at Fakahatchee. (I’ll update this post if we ever do.) We have driven on this road.

Janes Memorial Scenic Drive is a six mile dirt road. The traffic is minimal enough that one can easily ride on bike on it. The road extends another 4.5 miles where cars are not permitted. There are also “trams” or trails off Janes Memorial Scenic Drive where one can hike or ride bikes.

There are two caveats. Our experience is that the surface of Janes Memorial Scenic Drive can vary greatly. One year, the surface was so bad, it was very difficult to even drive a car on it. Much less ride a bicycle. This year, the road was re-grated, and it was much improved.

The second caveat relates to the “trams” or trails off this main road. These are suitable for hiking or biking… if the trails are dry enough. The dry season is roughly November 1 to about April 1. Of course, the weather makes its own schedule. At times, these trails can be too wet or muddy to hike or bike. It’s going to depend on how dry each dry season is as well as how late in the dry season it is. Please feel free to comment below if you can add to this discussion.

Sanibel Island

Sanibel Island is an easy day trip from Big Cypress. We did take a day trip there in March of 2024 and rode our bikes 26 miles. We enjoyed bike riding in Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge among other places.

The only negative thing here, and it is a big one, is the traffic. We haven’t returned to Sanibel, mainly because of the traffic issues. It takes some time getting on and off the island. If we visit again, we may stay a night or two. Once on the island, you can get everywhere with a bike. There is also an RV park on Sanibel Island. If you’re familiar with Sanibel and have any suggestions, please put them in the comments below. It is a beautiful place.

For more info about bike riding on Sanibel, click here.

If you have any comments on the places listed above or if you have additional suggestions for bike riding in the area, please put them in the comments below.

For more information about camping and bike riding, check out my ebook, RVing with Bikes. This ebook lists campgrounds where you can ride from your campsite to paved (or hard surfaced) bike trails.

RVing with Bikes is now available as an app in the Google Play Store or in the Apple App store!