13.1 percent of Florida. The Park Service holds the largest share at 2,491,692 acres, the Forest Service 1,217,769, Defense 521,943, Fish and Wildlife 306,892 and the BLM 2,345
Established October 11, 1974 as the first national preserve in the country. It burns roughly 60,000 acres a year under its own fire programme
A year for a Big Cypress off-road vehicle permit 7
$100
Valid through January 31 of the following year whatever month you buy it. One permit covers one vehicle, and the five classifications are UTV, ATV, swamp buggy, street legal and airboat
Walton County. Our own 3DEP query at the USGS point reads 339 feet. The low point is sea level on the Atlantic
Clubs, and why access here is fragile
Florida motorised access is small, specific and litigated. Every secondary trail in Big Cypress is closed under a settlement agreement while the Park Service completes an environmental review, and the preserve names racing, mudding, sport riding and motocross as activities that can cost a driver their access privileges outright.
In a permit state a club is worth joining for the knowledge, not the company. They are how people learn which gates are open, which access points are the legal way in, and how to drive a permit system without losing it. The state programme that funds much of this, the T. Mark Schmidt grant, is paid for by OHV titling, so the riders fund the ground.
A club turns a vehicle into a calendar. Day runs, weekend trips, training days, garage nights, and a list of people who will come and get you.
Most clubs offer
01Organized runs and trips at different levels
02Training days for new members
03Trail maintenance and clean-ups
04A voice in local land-use planning
05Help, tools and advice
How to find the right one
Go on a run as a guest before you pay dues.
01Decide between a club built around one make and one open to anything.
02Ask about the pace and style: family camping, technical trails, long-distance travel.
03Ask what the dues pay for.
04Watch how they treat the newest driver on a run.
Why clubs matter
Routes stay open because someone shows up. Clubs that adopt trails, clear them after winter and take part in land-use planning are a large part of why there is still somewhere to drive.
Questions people ask
Do I need a certain vehicle?
Some clubs are built around one make. Many are open to anything with four-wheel drive and a willingness to learn.
How do I list my club?
Use the List your business form and choose Clubs. Tell us where you meet and how people can join a run.
How high is Florida?
From Everglades City at 1 feet to Britton Hill at 345.
Altitude decides what your engine, your brakes and your lungs have to work with, and how late in the year the passes open.
0
Feet above sea level
Towns
BrooksvilleWithlacoochee State Forest headquarters and the Croom Motorcycle Area, the central Florida state forest riding ground. At 207 feet, high by peninsular standards.207 ft
Lake CityWhere I-10 meets I-75 beside the Osceola National Forest, the one Florida forest whose roads open to OHVs carry no permit and no fee.196 ft
BristolApalachicola Ranger District office on SR 20 in Liberty County, where unmaintained system roads marked with a Jeep symbol are open to 4x4 use during hunting season.167 ft
UmatillaSouth gateway to the Ocala National Forest on SR 19 and the address of the Seminole Ranger District office. The highest of the peninsular towns in this guide at 97 feet.97 ft
OcalaWest end of the Florida Black Bear Scenic Byway on SR 40 and the way in to the Ocala National Forest from I-75. The Lake George Ranger District office sits east of town at Silver Springs.70 ft
Salt SpringsOn SR 19 inside the Ocala National Forest. The Salt Springs OHV Connector Trail runs in from the southeast corner of the Longleaf Trail.34 ft
ImmokaleeThe nearest town of any size to the Bear Island Unit, which is the one part of Big Cypress a street-legal 4x4 may drive. North on SR 29 from the Tamiami Trail.34 ft
CrawfordvilleWakulla Ranger District office for the Apalachicola National Forest. The Leon County OHV trails and the Silver Lake trailhead are the reason to be here.29 ft
CarrabelleTate’s Hell State Forest headquarters, at the coastal end of the Big Bend Scenic Byway. Over 150 miles of OHV trail start from the forest roads north of town.23 ft
PalatkaNorth of the Ocala National Forest near the Rodman Reservoir, where the Rodman trailhead gives northern access to the Ocala North OHV system.20 ft
Daytona BeachVolusia County beach driving, at 10 mph and by pass, and the east end of the Florida Black Bear Scenic Byway corridor at Ormond Beach.14 ft
HomesteadMain entrance to Everglades National Park on SR 9336, with Flamingo 38 miles further south, and the mainland address for Biscayne National Park.8 ft
AstorOn the St. Johns River where SR 40 leaves the Ocala National Forest. A river crossing rather than a services town, at 4 feet above sea level.4 ft
NaplesLast city services on the west side before US 41 crosses the swamp. Tyres, fuel and a dealer network within reach of the preserve.4 ft
OchopeeOn the Tamiami Trail at the heart of Big Cypress. The preserve’s headquarters address, and the Loop Road and the Turner River loop both leave the highway within a few miles.4 ft
Everglades CityThe Gulf Coast entrance to Everglades National Park, on the water at the end of SR 29. The lowest town in this guide by the USGS measurement.1 ft
Passes, high roads and summits
Britton HillThe highest point in Florida, in Walton County in the western panhandle. Our own 3DEP query at the USGS point reads 339 feet345 ft
Sugarloaf MountainLake County, on the Lake Wales Ridge north of Clermont. Measured for this chart from the 3DEP surface; no agency publishes a figure for it309 ft
Pass, road and summit elevations are the figures published by the agency that manages them. Town elevations are the town’s or county’s own
figure where it publishes an exact one; the rest are from the U.S. Geological Survey (3D Elevation Program at the place’s official coordinates),
retrieved September 18, 2026. Every source is listed at the foot of the page.
