Florida Peninsula

States: Florida

The Big Water

the dike, the muck and the 1928 storm

The Big Water is a ~115-mile back-roads route, around Lake Okeechobee (loop), on US 98, US 441 and US 27, driven in 1 day, that stays off Florida's Turnpike through the Florida Peninsula.

Open the interactive map →

Drive

Around Lake Okeechobee (loop)

Distance

~115 miles

Time

1 day

Highways

US 98 · US 441 · US 27

Avoids

Florida's Turnpike

Region

Florida Peninsula

You can drive all the way around the second-largest lake inside the lower 48 and barely see it; the Herbert Hoover Dike hides the water the whole way. The dike exists because the 1928 hurricane pushed the lake onto the muck towns and killed some 2,500 people, most of them Black farmworkers, a catastrophe Zora Neale Hurston set at the heart of Their Eyes Were Watching God. Sugar country, Muck City football, and mass graves that took 75 years to get markers.

📍 The 1928 storm markers at Port Mayaca and Belle Glade are the route's gravity; read both.

The drive, segment by segment

The East Wall

Okeechobee → Belle Glade · ~45 mi

Port Mayaca's mass grave, Pahokee's ridge above the lake, and the muck-farming towns the storm rewrote.

• 🏛️Port Mayaca Cemetery — Port Mayaca

  A mass grave holding roughly 1,600 unnamed victims of the 1928 hurricane, moved here when the water receded. The state's deadliest disaster, nearly erased from memory for decades.

• 🎬Pahokee: Muck City — Pahokee

  A town of a few thousand on the lake's rim that ships NFL players the way other towns ship produce. Friday nights here are documentary-grade Americana.

• 🌿Climb the Hoover Dike — Canal Point

  The 143-mile dike carries a paved scenic trail on top; it is the only way to actually see the Big Water from the road that circles it. Any access ramp will do.

Sugar Country

Belle Glade → Clewiston · ~25 mi

Cane fields to every horizon, burn smoke in season, and America's Sweetest Town under the U.S. Sugar water tower.

• 📚Belle Glade 1928 Memorial — Belle Glade

  A sculpture of a family fleeing the flood marks the storm Hurston put at the center of Their Eyes Were Watching God. The library's Lawrence E. Will Museum tells the Glades story.

• 🛏️Clewiston Inn — Clewiston

  The 1938 colonial inn U.S. Sugar built for visiting brass, with a wraparound Everglades bird mural in the bar. Old Florida hospitality, cane trucks rumbling past.

• 🍽️Roland Martin Marina — Clewiston

  Headquarters of the lake's claim as Bass Capital of the World: guides, airboats and a tiki bar full of tournament lore. Order the fried okra, watch the scoreboard.

The Quiet Shore

Clewiston → Okeechobee · ~45 mi

Moore Haven's locks, Lakeport's fish camps, and the emptiest arc of the dike back to the cattle town.

Tips and best time to go

• Cane-burning season (roughly Oct–Mar) drops ash and smoke on the east-side towns; keep the windows ready.
• Fuel and food thin out on the west shore; Clewiston is the reliable stop.

Frequently asked questions

How long is The Big Water and how many days does it take?

The Big Water is about 115 miles and takes 1 day at a back-roads pace.

Where does The Big Water start and end?

It is a loop: Around Lake Okeechobee.

Which highways does The Big Water follow?

It follows US 98, US 441 and US 27.

Which interstate does The Big Water replace?

It avoids Florida's Turnpike, using US 98, US 441 and US 27 instead.

How many stops are on The Big Water, and what are the highlights?

6 stops are mapped, including Port Mayaca Cemetery, Pahokee: Muck City, Belle Glade 1928 Memorial, Clewiston Inn and Roland Martin Marina.

Which ready-made itineraries include The Big Water?

Cracker Trail & the Big Water (2 days) and Old Florida: Springs, Swamps & the Nature Coast (7 days).

Worth a detour

• Ortona Mounds — A Calusa-era mound and canal complex west of Moore Haven; the people here engineered waterways centuries before the Corps did.
• Torry Island swing bridge — One of the last hand-operated swing bridges in Florida, cranked open for boats out of Belle Glade. Worth timing your crossing.