Best Scenic Drive


Important: This article was last updated on September 21, 2005. Please call ahead to confirm hours, prices, dates and other information.

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Loop Road
Big Cypress National Preserve, 33100 Tamiami Trail East, Ochopee, 239/695-1201, www.nps.gov/bicy

 If you want to see what Florida used to look like before we paved everything over and built condos on every piece of unprotected land, take a drive on Loop Road. Beginning and ending on Tamiami Trail, the loop is a 26-mile, single-lane dirt road. The driving is breathtaking, providing views of old-growth cypress trees and crystal-clear waterways teeming with aquatic wildlife. Expect to see alligators, turtles, snakes and the occasional deer or otter. This long and winding road is best explored by a truck or Jeep, but it is accessible by car during periods of little rain.