Loop Road

Loop Road runs 24 miles through Big Cypress National Preserve, splitting off Tamiami Trail (US 41) near the old Monroe Station site and rejoining it to the east. Roughly 16 of those miles are unpaved — packed limerock and gravel through cypress swamp and sawgrass prairie, paved at each end. It's a very straight road; the couple of bends are gentle, not technical curves. The unpaved stretch carries real potholes and washboarding, worse after rain, so this is a slow, steady ride rather than one to push. Figure 1.5 to 2 hours for the full 24 miles. There's no fuel anywhere on Loop Road itself; top off on Tamiami Trail before or after. November through May is the better window, since summer rain can flood or rut the unpaved sections. Along the way you pass near the Ochopee Post Office, the smallest post office building in the country, and Clyde Butcher's gallery on US 41.