Introduction: A Campground in the Heart of the Wild
In the heart of southern Florida’s wilderness, where the horizon blends sawgrass prairies with ancient cypress domes, lies a quiet refuge known as Big Cypress Midway Campground. To the untrained eye, it might appear as just another place to pitch a tent or park an RV. But beneath its stillness flows a story stretching back centuries — of land, water, and the enduring bond between humans and the wild.
Midway Campground, located within the vast Big Cypress National Preserve, serves as both a resting place for travelers and a living monument to America’s conservation legacy. Its history is intertwined with the evolution of the surrounding wilderness — from the time of the Indigenous tribes, through the age of settlers, to the creation of one of the most ecologically significant protected areas in the United States.
This article traces the complete history of Big Cypress Midway Campground: how it came to be, the people who shaped it, and how it continues to represent the meeting point between nature and humanity in the Florida Everglades.
The Ancient Land: Before Roads and Campgrounds
Long before the campground existed, the region that would become Big Cypress was home to an intricate ecosystem. The Big Cypress Swamp is not a swamp in the traditional sense but a slightly elevated wetland mosaic, where slow-moving freshwater nourishes cypress forests, prairies, and pinelands.
This land sustained Native American peoples for thousands of years. The Calusa and Tequesta tribes first roamed the region, crafting canoes from cypress trees and thriving on its fish and game. Later, the Seminole and Miccosukee tribes found refuge here after fleeing colonial expansion.
For these early inhabitants, Big Cypress was more than a home — it was a living, breathing entity. Every tree, bird, and ripple in the water carried meaning. Their camps, built on hammocks — small dry islands amid the wetlands — echoed a respect for balance with the natural world. shutdown123