FLORIDA · BIG CYPRESS NATIONAL PRESERVE · MAY
Rain at NOAA’s Miami International Airport station nearly doubles between April and May, from 3.36 to 6.32 inches, and the average afternoon climbs to 86.7°F. For Big Cypress National Preserve, that places your trip in the opening weeks of the wet season Florida runs from May to October (our Florida calendar lays out both seasons). June’s storm routine has not taken over yet: an average May counts 6.9 rainy days against 12.6 in June.
The reward is light. On May 15 the sun rises at 6:33 a.m. and sets at 8:00 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time, about 13 hours 27 minutes of daylight, so a morning on the boardwalks and an evening drive along the Tamiami Trail fit into one day with a long, air-conditioned lunch between them. Two nights make a comfortable trip, and our Florida flights guide matches the airports to the southwest and the Everglades side of the state.
BIG CYPRESS IN MAY · AT A GLANCE
Go in May for dawn and dusk hours on the trails, with rain at 6.32 inches, nearly twice April’s total but well under June’s 10.51.
WET SEASON OPENS · NOAA NORMALS FROM THE MIAMI STATION · 2 NIGHTS
Go for: early starts in 13 hours 27 minutes of daylight, a rain count still just over half of June’s, and evening light that lasts until 8:00 p.m.
Think twice before: planning long midday hikes in open country. The coastal station already averages 86.7°F, and inland summer afternoons run hotter than the city’s.
Climate: NOAA NCEI 1991–2020 normals, Miami station · Light: sunrise-sunset.org · full sources at the end
On this page
- Big Cypress weather in May86.7°F highs and 6.9 rainy days at NOAA’s Miami station
- How warm the days and nights getA 13.3°F gap between afternoon and night
- Crowds and prices in MayBooking, lodging tax and the one spend that matters
- Things to do in Big Cypress in MayVisitor centers, Kirby Storter boardwalk and Loop Road
- A two-day Big Cypress itineraryTrails from the 6:33 a.m. sunrise, indoors at midday
- May vs April and June3.36, 6.32 and 10.51 inches of rain side by side
- Is May a good time to visit?Yes for early risers, no for long midday hikes
Everything that stays the same all year sits in our other Florida guides: the drive in and the rental car in getting around Florida, the neighboring park in our Everglades guide, and the preserve itself on the Big Cypress guide. If your dates can slide a month earlier, Big Cypress in April runs the same numbers for the last month of the dry season.
Big Cypress National Preserve weather in May: average highs, lows and rain days
| May at NOAA’s Miami station, 1991–2020 | Value |
|---|---|
| Average high | 86.7°F |
| Average low | 73.4°F |
| Precipitation | 6.32 in |
| Days with 0.10 in or more | 6.9 |
| Days with 1 in or more | 1.9 |
| Daylight on May 15 | 13 h 27 min |
| Sunrise · sunset, May 15 | 6:33 a.m. · 8:00 p.m. EDT |
The normals come from NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information: 1991–2020 monthly averages from station USW00012839 at Miami International Airport, a physical thermometer on the coast (we did not use a reanalysis model). They give May an average high of 86.7°F, an average low of 73.4°F and 6.32 inches of rain. The preserve sits inland along the Tamiami Trail, where summer afternoons run hotter and winter nights colder than the city’s. Read every figure here as Miami’s, and expect midafternoon at the preserve to feel warmer than the station suggests.
At the same station, 6.9 days in an average May collect at least 0.10 inch of rain, roughly one day in four or five, and 1.9 days bring an inch or more. On a trip, expect a wet day or two in a typical week and about two real soakings across the month. Plan outdoor hours for the morning, keep the car within reach after lunch, and pack a rain shell. Trips running into the last days of May also approach June 1, when the Atlantic hurricane season opens (our Florida safety guide covers the forecasts to watch).
Nights at the station settle around 73.4°F, roughly 13 degrees under the afternoon average, so neither a fleece nor a jacket belongs in the bag. Pack a lightweight long-sleeved shirt and long pants for the boardwalks, a packable rain shell, a wide-brimmed hat, insect repellent and a refillable bottle big enough for an 86.7°F afternoon. Leave a dry change of clothes in the car for after a downpour.
On May 15 the preserve gets about 13 hours 27 minutes of daylight, with sunrise at 6:33 a.m. and sunset at 8:00 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time, converted from sunrise-sunset.org’s UTC calculation. Schedule the last trail stop for around 7 p.m. and you keep an hour of light to reach your bed. The first hours after sunrise sit closest to the day’s low, and they are the ones to spend on foot.
How warm is Big Cypress National Preserve in May?
Measured at Miami, a May afternoon averages 86.7°F and a May night 73.4°F. That gap of 13.3°F is slightly narrower than April’s 13.8°F and a touch wider than June’s 13.0°F. Inland, the station’s limits cut toward more heat: afternoons along the Tamiami Trail run hotter than the coastal figures, so treat 86.7°F as a floor for the hottest hours rather than a ceiling.
At dawn, the air sits near the 73.4°F low, and long sleeves and long pants stay comfortable on a shaded boardwalk. By early afternoon, with the coastal average near 86.7°F and inland readings likely higher, switch to the lightest layer you brought and head for shade. Anything strenuous moves to late afternoon, after a stretch in the car or an air-conditioned visitor center.
Our NOAA normals carry no count of freezing nights for May, and we did not find one elsewhere. With the station’s average May low at 73.4°F, and even April’s at 69.8°F, leave the warm layers at home and give the space to repellent and water.
How busy is Big Cypress National Preserve in May? Crowds and prices
Florida’s high season is the dry November-to-April stretch, and May falls just after it. For the state as a whole, our Florida cost guide lists May, with early December, among the quiet bargains. That is a calendar signal. We found no room-rate or occupancy series for the towns around the preserve, so we name no percentage and crown no month cheapest.
Without occupancy data, we give no booking lead time in weeks. The date does change the terms worth choosing: a trip that runs past June 1 crosses the opening of the Atlantic hurricane season, so book a refundable rate and read the airline’s change policy before paying. Our where-to-stay guide compares the bases.
We could not verify the tourist development tax rate for the counties around the preserve, so we give no percentage. Check the final total of any booking before you confirm, since the tax line appears only at checkout on many sites.
Location is the spend that changes May. A bed in Everglades City or Naples, on the preserve’s western side, shortens the dawn drive compared with a hotel in Miami, and in May the hour after the 6:33 a.m. sunrise is the coolest you will walk all day. Paying a little more to sleep close buys you that hour.
Things to do in Big Cypress National Preserve in May
May pairs an 8:00 p.m. sunset with 6.9 rainy days at the Miami station, just over half of June’s 12.6, and afternoons 3.1°F warmer than April’s. The late afternoon and the hour before dusk stay open for a slow drive, with better odds of dry roads than a month later.
Plan around the Oasis Visitor Center and the Big Cypress Swamp Welcome Center, both on the Tamiami Trail, the Kirby Storter boardwalk for a short walk into a cypress strand, and the gravel stretches of Loop Road and Turner River Road for driving. We could not verify their May hours, boardwalk length or parking counts, so check the National Park Service’s preserve site the week you travel.
What shifts in May is the air. The station’s average afternoon runs 3.1°F warmer than April’s, the average night 3.6°F warmer, and rainy days climb from 4.3 to 6.9. Comfortable walking time moves to the two ends of a 13-hour-27-minute day, and the middle goes to lunch, visitor-center exhibits and the car’s air conditioning.
We could not verify whether any entrance, campground or permit fee applies in May, so we list nothing as free. Our Florida national parks guide sets the preserve beside the state’s other park units, and the NPS site carries the current fee schedule.
Big Cypress National Preserve in May: a two-day itinerary
Day one. Be on the Kirby Storter boardwalk soon after the 6:33 a.m. sunrise, while the air is near its low. Mid-morning, stop at the Big Cypress Swamp Welcome Center or the Oasis Visitor Center (confirm hours first). From about noon to 4 p.m., take the heat of the day indoors with a long lunch in Everglades City. Around 5 p.m., drive the gravel stretch of Loop Road or Turner River Road slowly, and be back on paved US 41 before the 8:00 p.m. sunset.
Day two. Start again at first light with a short out-and-back on the Florida National Scenic Trail from Oasis, then cross to Shark Valley or the Gulf side of the Everglades before midday. If storms build, wait them out in the car or a visitor center instead of pushing on: an average May brings 1.9 days with an inch of rain or more, and gravel roads turn slow after a soaking.
Big Cypress National Preserve in May vs April and June
| NOAA Miami station, 1991–2020 | April | May | June |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average high | 83.6°F | 86.7°F | 89.3°F |
| Average low | 69.8°F | 73.4°F | 76.3°F |
| Precipitation | 3.36 in | 6.32 in | 10.51 in |
| Days with 0.10 in or more | 4.3 | 6.9 | 12.6 |
| Day-night gap | 13.8°F | 13.3°F | 13.0°F |
Against April, May adds 3.1°F to the average high and 3.6°F to the low, and its rain climbs from 3.36 to 6.32 inches over 6.9 days instead of 4.3. June pushes further, to 89.3°F highs, 76.3°F lows and 10.51 inches over 12.6 days. We could not verify a sea temperature for the coast nearest the preserve, so we give none; if you find one, check whether it averages daily maxima, which reads a little warmer than a 24-hour mean.
Moving four weeks earlier gives you 2.6 fewer rainy days and afternoons 3.1°F cooler. We cannot say what it costs you in crowds or room prices, because we found no data to set against the drier weather. Moving four weeks later adds 5.7 rainy days, 4.19 more inches of rain and the first weeks of hurricane season.
Is May a good time to visit Big Cypress National Preserve?
Yes, for travelers who start at sunrise, walk short loops, drive the scenic roads in the evening and can shrug off a wet day or two a week. Less so for anyone planning long midday hikes in the open, or for families on a fixed timetable who cannot move a plan around a storm.
If May does not fit, choose April. At the same station it runs 3.1°F cooler by afternoon with 2.6 fewer rainy days, and it still belongs to Florida’s dry season. Big Cypress in April covers that month in full.
May gives a 13-hour-27-minute day with rain still at 6.9 days, closer to April’s 4.3 than to June’s 12.6.
The last word
Set the alarm for the 6:33 a.m. sunrise and May at Big Cypress plays in your favor: cool boardwalks first, the heat spent over lunch, the gravel roads in golden evening light. The odds sit on your side too. Subtract 6.9 rainy days from 31, and about 24 days of an average May stay under a tenth of an inch at Miami’s airport station, so pack the rain shell and book the trip.
Sources & data for this guide
- May normals (86.7°F high, 73.4°F low, 6.32 in) and rain days (6.9 at 0.10 in, 1.9 at 1 in) · NOAA NCEI monthly normals 1991–2020, station USW00012839, Miami International Airport · checked Sep 24, 2026
- April and June normals and rain days · NOAA NCEI monthly normals 1991–2020, same station · checked Sep 24, 2026
- Station scope: coastal Miami readings, while the preserve sits inland on the Tamiami Trail with hotter summer afternoons and colder winter nights · NOAA NCEI station record · checked Sep 24, 2026
- Daylight, sunrise and sunset on May 15, converted from UTC to EDT · sunrise-sunset.org · checked Sep 24, 2026
- Wet season May–October and hurricane season from June 1 · National Weather Service and NOAA National Hurricane Center, via our Florida guides · checked Sep 24, 2026
- What we could not verify: a sea temperature near the preserve, visitor-center hours, boardwalk lengths, parking, entrance and campground fees, the lodging-tax rate, room rates and occupancy. Check nps.gov/bicy before you go.
To plan your stay
- Best Time to Visit Big Cypress National Preserve: Dry Season Months, Summer Heat and Rainfall
- Big Cypress National Preserve in April: Weather, Rain Days, Daylight and Things to Do
- Big Cypress National Preserve in June: Weather, Rain Days, Crowds and a Two-Day Itinerary
- Big Cypress National Preserve in March: Weather, Rain Days, Crowds and a Two-Day Plan