Gator Head Campground

Gator Head Campground is a primitive campground located within the Bear Island Unit of Big Cypress National Preserve. It can only be accessed with an ORV permit, on foot, or by bicycle. All ORVs must have a valid ORV permit, and all campers must also carry a backcountry permit. Cell phone service is limited. This small primitive campground offers nine sites with picnic tables, shared food storage, and fire rings. Vault toilets are available for use. There is no water available. The campground offers pickup camper and tent camping only; no trailers or RVs are allowed in the backcountry. Gator Head Campground offers visitors a wonderful opportunity to camp at a designated campground in the Big Cypress backcountry. Visitors can enjoy nearby hiking, biking, hunting, fishing, and off-road vehicle trails with a permitted off-road vehicle. The Bear Island Unit offers 20 plus miles of backcountry trails. The freshwaters of the Big Cypress Swamp, essential to the health of the neighboring Everglades, support the rich marine estuaries along Florida's southwest coast. Protecting over 720,000 acres of this vast swamp, Big Cypress National Preserve contains a mixture of tropical and temperate plant communities that are home to a diversity of wildlife, including the elusive Florida Panther. Everglades City is located 30 miles south and provides dining, sight-seeing, and historical sites; Everglades National Park can also be accessed via Everglades City. The Nathaniel P. Reed Visitor Center is also located 30 miles to the south.