Airboat launch at Mitchell Landing in Big Cypress National Preserve

See the Boat Launches web page for an interactive location map.

Mitchell Landing is located in the southeastern section of Big Cypress National Preserve on Loop Road and is part of the Stairsteps Backcountry Unit, Zone 4, the only area in the park that is open to airboats (an Off-Road Vehicle permit is needed for any vehicle, including boats, to enter the backcountry). An airboat launch is located at the very end of the road that also services the Mitchell Landing Campground. A parking area is available for vehicles and trailers. There are over a dozen backcountry campsites in Zone 4 that are accessible to those with airboats.

Those is kayaks and canoes are welcome to launch here as well, but you really must be a hard-core adventurer to want to do so. I’ve read some forums about people paddling down to the 10,000 Islands of the Everglades from here, but it involves bushwhacking through mangrove thickets and dragging your boat through muck and tall grass, not to mention risking getting run over by airboats. Those who have done it recommend sticking to the airboat trails, of which there are 57 miles. I paddled in the Everglades through grass in very low water and found nothing really fun about it, especially knowing that if I bottomed out that I would have to get out and drag my kayak through knee deep mud.

Entry by any means into the backcountry requires a backcountry permit. These are free and can be obtained at kiosks at trailheads, boat ramps, backcountry access roads, hunter check-in stations, and the visitor centers. All you need is a pen or pencil to fill out the multi-copy form on which you provide your entry date and time, your estimated return time, and the purpose of your adventure (e. g. hike, camp, hunt). Keep one copy with you, stick one in the permit collection box at the kiosk, and place one on the dashboard of your vehicle (all backcountry access areas have parking lots or allow roadside parking). Permits help the National Park Service track of which areas are used the most, plus if your car is left overnight, the park Rangers will know when you were supposed to have returned, and if this time has long since passed, they know to come looking for you.

You can also download the Backcountry-Permit (PDF) and either fill it out by hand or by using Adobe Acrobat (or an Acrobat browser plug-in). The PDF has two permits, and if you use Acrobat, the second permit fills out automatically as you type information into the first permit. You need three permits, so be sure to print two copies of the PDF and then use scissors to separate the copies.

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