Gator Hook Trail
in Florida · centroid 57 mi from Miami
Length: 5 Miles Round-trip Difficulty: Moderate-Difficult Exploring the swamp requires getting your feet wet. The five-mile roundtrip Gator Hook Trail offers such an opportunity. The trail begins along an elevated logging tram, but soon enters ankle to knee-deep water.
For some, the water may rise to hip height. This scenic, moderately strenous hike, is unlike any other in Big Cypress National Preserve. You will become immersed in the resource (literally and figuratively), and experience something that very few visitors do - a wet hike through the cypress swamp.
The trailhead for Gator Hook Trail is located along the Loop Road roughly 2 miles from Monroe Station. If traveling south on the Loop Road from Monroe Station, the trailhead will be located on the left. You will see an informational kiosk.
- States
- Florida
- Trail type
- National Preserve trail
- Centroid nearest city
- Miami, FL · 57 mi · ~1.6 hr drive
- Centroid coords
- 25.8315°, -81.1003°
About Big Cypress National Preserve
This trail is inside Big Cypress National Preserve, a national preserve managed by the U.S. National Park Service. Conditions, road status, trail closures, and reservation requirements are published on the park's NPS page — check it before driving in, especially in winter or during major weather events.
Official NPS trail page: https://www.nps.gov/places/gator-hook-trail.htm
Park homepage: https://www.nps.gov/bicy/index.htm
Plan your hike
Maps + permits: long-distance trails like this often require permits for through-hiking, backcountry camping, or specific sections (especially in National Parks). Check with the maintaining organisation listed above and the relevant land manager before booking travel.
Water + supplies: water sources vary seasonally on most U.S. trails. Carry a filter and consult current trail-condition reports — through-hiker journals (PCT-L, AT Reddit, etc.) and the maintaining organisation publish regular updates.
When to go: hiking seasons vary widely with elevation, latitude, and snowpack. Through-hikers traditionally start the AT in March-April (Springer northbound) and the PCT in late April (Campo northbound). High-elevation western trails (CDT, JMT, Wonderland) generally aren't passable until July.
If you've hiked Gator Hook Trail and have current notes (water sources, trail closures, permit changes), tell us at /contact — we update pages as we learn.
Stay nearby
Other trails within 50 miles
Florida National Scenic Trail Southern Terminus
4 miles from this trail's centroid
Turner River Paddling Trail
11 miles from this trail's centroid
Halfway Creek Paddling Trail
16 miles from this trail's centroid
Everglades Paddling Trail
18 miles from this trail's centroid
Sandfly Loop Paddling Trail
19 miles from this trail's centroid
Fire Prairie Trail
21 miles from this trail's centroid
Sources
Trail data on this page is compiled from OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), the maintaining organisation's public-facing materials, and Wikipedia (CC BY-SA where excerpts are quoted). Distance, terminus, and descriptive text for nationally-designated trails are hand-curated from federal land-manager websites and trail-association sources. We do not modify the underlying data; this page presents what is already publicly recorded. To suggest corrections, see our methodology page.