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Cypress Lake

Osceola County, Florida Natural Lake Chain of Lakes
3,192.1 acres8 ft deep1 ramp
FISH CONSUMPTION — NOT VERIFIED FOR THIS LAKE. We could not confirm whether Florida DOH's "Your Guide To Eating Fish Caught In Florida" (June 2021) carries a row for Cypress Lake, Osceola County. Absence of a confirmed row is not a clean bill of health — it means we did not verify it, and this lake shares one fish community with Lake Hatchineha and Lake Kissimmee, which does carry a mercury advisory. Check the guide yourself before you eat what you catch: https://www.floridahealth.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/Big-Book-2021v2Final.pdf (status as of 30 July 2026). — check the current advisory source for updates.
BLUE-GREEN ALGAE — NOT CHECKED. We did not verify Cypress Lake against Florida DOH's aquatic toxins notification index or DEP's algal bloom dashboard, so we can tell you nothing either way. Lake Marian, in the same county, carried an active Health Alert on 30 July 2026. Check DEP's dashboard before you swim, wade or put a dog in the water: https://floridadep.gov/AlgalBloom — check the current advisory source for updates.
Cypress Lake Access Map 1 ramp
Depth Map → Click markers for details
Boat Ramps on Cypress Lake
Lake Cypress Public Boat Ramp
Osceola County · Concrete ramp, 2 lanes, 20 trailer spots
Open Motorboat Kayak No launch fee posted — FWC's inventory records no fee and Osceola County's ramp page lists none
View ramp details →
Good to Know
Food & Drink
Nothing on the water. Wild Florida Adventure Park shares the ramp's mailing address at 3301 Lake Cypress Rd (airboat tours, gator park and drive-thru safari, Mon–Sat 9 a.m.–6 p.m., closed Sundays, 407-957-3135) — but it has no boat ramp and no trailer launch.
Bait & Tackle
None on the lake. Buy bait before you turn down Lake Cypress Road; Kenansville and St. Cloud are the nearest stops.
Picnic Areas
Nothing confirmed at the county ramp. No operator or county page lists picnic facilities here — bring your own shade and your own table.
Fuel on the Water
No marina, no fuel and no fish camp on Cypress Lake — the county ramp is the whole of the access.
Fish Species
Largemouth Bass Black Crappie Bluegill Redear Sunfish
Connected Waterways

Cypress, Hatchineha and Kissimmee are one pool: the C-36 and C-37 canals carry no locks or structures, so a boat runs all three lakes freely. Lake Toho sits about four feet higher behind the S-61 lock at Southport — locks run 7 a.m.–6 p.m. weekdays, weekends 5:30 a.m.–7:30 p.m. March–October and 5:30 a.m.–6:30 p.m. November–February, free; call the tender at 863-532-8042. Lake Gentry, the Alligator Chain and East Lake Toho sit behind spillways with no locks — every one of those trips is a tow.

Seasonal Conditions

On a lake that never gets past eight feet, the pool level is everything. The Corps read Cypress at 48.80 ft NGVD29 on 29 July 2026 against a 51.50 ft schedule — 2.70 ft short, with Hatchineha and Kissimmee within a tenth of a foot on the same schedule. The cause is not a drawdown: in August 2024 the Corps and SFWMD raised the low-pool target under the Increment 1 deviation, and dry conditions have kept the lakes from climbing to meet it. The shallow edges are shallower than the chart implies — run slow and expect bars and stumps. The fishing is Kissimmee-chain fishing: hydrilla is the dominant structure, spring is the spawn and the crowd, and summer belongs to the cool ends of the day. FWC publishes no forecast for Cypress Lake; the Lake Kissimmee forecast covers the same water. Alligators are everywhere, and afternoon storms build fast over a wide, open pan with nothing to hide behind.

Local Watercraft Rules

Plain English Summary

Black bassNo special Kissimmee-chain rule applies — statewide limits govern: 5 black bass, only one of which may be 16 inches or longer, with no minimum length for largemouth bass (as published by FWC, checked July 2026).
S-61 (Southport) lockThe only lock touching this lake. Operated 7 a.m.–6 p.m. weekdays year-round; weekends 5:30 a.m.–7:30 p.m. March 1–Oct. 31 and 5:30 a.m.–6:30 p.m. Nov. 1–Feb. 28. Lock tender: Advanced Lock Tender Division, LLC, 863-532-8042. No closure was posted for any Kissimmee Waterway lock as of 30 July 2026.
AirboatsPermitted — SFWMD lists airboating as an allowed activity on its Cypress Lake wildlife management area unit. Osceola County's nighttime airboat curfew (Code § 16-55) applies only to East Lake Tohopekaliga and Lake Tohopekaliga, not to Cypress Lake; we could not retrieve the current text of that section, so if you are running the Toho lakes, confirm the hours with the county.
Wildlife management areaSFWMD's Kissimmee Chain of Lakes WMA unit on Cypress Lake is "only accessible from the water," with primitive campsites along the sandy shoreline. Hunting is managed by FWC. District recreation hotline: 866-433-6312.
Herbicide crewsStay 500 feet clear of aquatic-plant spray crews (SFWMD's Kissimmee Waterway guide).
No-wake and restricted areasWe have not been able to confirm whether Osceola County designates any no-wake or restricted areas on Cypress Lake, and there is no FWC boating-restricted-area rule for Osceola County in Florida Administrative Code Chapter 68D-24. That is an absence, not a permission. Watch for posted signs on the water.
Full legal textOfficial boating regulations →
Frequently Asked Questions
What water can I actually run from Cypress Lake?
Three lakes without touching a lock, and a fourth if you're willing to lock through. Cypress, Lake Hatchineha and Lake Kissimmee are three basins of one pool: the C-36 canal (Cypress to Hatchineha) and the C-37 canal (Hatchineha to Kissimmee) carry no water-control structures and no locks at all, so you run the whole chain in open water. That is why the Corps read all three within a tenth of a foot of one another on 29 July 2026 — 48.80, 48.70 and 48.75 ft NGVD29 — on one shared 51.50 ft schedule, and why SFWMD reports them as a single line item. Lake Tohopekaliga is reachable, but only through the S-61 (Southport) lock at the head of the C-35 canal, on the lock tender's hours. Lake Gentry, the Alligator Chain and East Lake Tohopekaliga cannot be reached from here by boat at any water level — those routes cross spillways with no lock. For them, you trailer.
Can I get from Cypress Lake up to Lake Toho?
Yes, by locking through S-61 at Southport — it is the only navigation lock anywhere near this lake. Toho sits about four feet higher: on 28 July 2026 the structure's headwater read 52.90 ft NGVD29 and its tailwater 48.77 ft. Locks run 7 a.m.–6 p.m. on weekdays year-round and 5:30 a.m.–7:30 p.m. on weekends from March 1 through Oct. 31 and 5:30 a.m.–6:30 p.m. from Nov. 1 through Feb. 28 — as published on SFWMD's navigation page and confirmed 30 July 2026 — and there is no charge during posted hours. Note the winter change: the weekend evening closing moves an hour earlier on November 1. S-61 has been closed to navigation in past dry years — in May 2018 the District warned it would stop operating the lock once the water level below it fell to 48.5 feet above mean sea level, though that notice names no vertical datum, so the margin today's reading leaves is unclear. Call the lock tender at 863-532-8042 before you plan the trip. No closure was posted for any Kissimmee Waterway lock as of 30 July 2026.
Can I run to Lake Gentry or the Alligator Chain?
No. Lake Gentry drains toward Cypress through the C-34 canal, but two spillways sit in series on the way — S-63 discharges into an intermediate reach and S-63A is the one that discharges into Cypress Lake — and SFWMD lists no navigation lock at either. For the Alligator Chain and East Lake Toho, the District's own Guide to the Kissimmee Waterway, printed in September 2008 and still published by SFWMD, says it flatly: "due to the lack of navigation locks, boaters cannot travel through the canals connecting the Alligator Chain of Lakes and East Lake Tohopekaliga with Lakes Kissimmee, Cypress, Hatchineha and Tohopekaliga." Nothing has changed since — SFWMD's current lock list still includes no upper-chain lock except S-61. Two lakes six miles apart, and a trailer between them.
How low is Cypress Lake right now, and does it matter?
On an eight-foot lake it matters more than anywhere else in the chain. On 29 July 2026 the Corps read Cypress at 48.80 ft NGVD29 against a 51.50 ft regulation schedule — 2.70 ft below it. SFWMD, reporting separately in NAVD88, put the whole Kissimmee-Cypress-Hatchineha pool at 47.6 ft as of 26 July 2026, 2.7 feet below the Increment 1 schedule. (Different datums; don't compare the raw numbers.) This is not a fish-habitat drawdown. In August 2024 the Corps and the District began operating these lakes under Increment 1, a temporary deviation that raised the low-pool target from 49.0 to 51.5 ft NGVD29 as a first step toward the fully authorized Headwaters Revitalization Schedule expected in 2027, and dry conditions have kept the lakes from reaching that raised target. No navigation advisory has been issued for this pool — but run slow, expect bars and stumps, and don't assume last year's line still has water on it.
Is this the same as Lake Cypress, Lake Cypress Springs, or Blue Cypress Lake?
This page is the 3,192-acre Cypress Lake in Osceola County, on the Kissimmee chain, whose only public ramp is at 3301 Lake Cypress Rd, Kenansville. FWC's boat ramp inventory and Osceola County both call it "Lake Cypress" — same water, different word order. It is not Lake Cypress Springs, a deep sandhill lake in Washington County in the panhandle; it is not Blue Cypress Lake in Indian River County, which has its own FWC forecast page and its own hub here; and it is not the Cypress Lake place-name near Fort Myers in Lee County. When in doubt, go by county.
Where do I launch, and is there a fish camp on the lake?
One door and no camp. The Lake Cypress Public Boat Ramp — Osceola County's, two lanes, gravel parking for about 20 trailers, no posted launch fee — is the only ramp on the water, and Osceola County says access runs sunrise to sunset. Cypress Lake has no operating fish camp and no marina, which makes it the odd lake out in a chain famous for them. Wild Florida Adventure Park shares the ramp's mailing address but is an airboat and gator attraction with no boat ramp and no trailer launch. The nearest full-service operations are on the C-37 connector well downstream, past Hatchineha.
Is there an FWC fishing forecast for Cypress Lake?
No. FWC's Northeast region "Sites & Forecasts" index lists 19 waters, including Lake Kissimmee and Lake Tohopekaliga, but neither Cypress Lake nor Lake Hatchineha appears there or in any other FWC region. The closest legitimate proxy is the Lake Kissimmee forecast, because these lakes share one pool and one fish community: hydrilla is the dominant structure and summer fishing is best in the cooler ends of the day. Lake Kissimmee's TrophyCatch tallies — 835 Lunker Club (8–9.9 lb), 174 Trophy Club (10–12.9 lb) and 2 Hall of Fame (13 lb+) entries, as retrieved 30 July 2026 — are Lake Kissimmee's numbers, not Cypress Lake's.
Scout's Notes
Lake Vibe & Fishing Intel

Cypress Lake — Lake Cypress on the county ramp sign — is 3,192 acres of Osceola County water that never gets past eight feet deep, the top basin of what the Corps calls the lower three lakes. Since 1965 the Corps' structures have held the chain's natural fluctuation to about three feet, and the engineering produced this lake's defining feature: the C-36 canal runs into Lake Hatchineha and the C-37 on into Lake Kissimmee with no gate, no weir and no lock — three lakes, one pool, one schedule. Above you, S-61 at Southport holds Lake Toho about four feet higher.

Launch at the county ramp off Lake Cypress Road at first light — access is sunrise to sunset and there is no second ramp, no fish camp and no marina on this lake. Idle out and learn the bars on the way in rather than the way home; in July 2026 the pool sat 2.7 feet below its schedule, and on eight feet of water that deficit is your lower unit. Then use what makes this water special: run C-36 to Hatchineha, keep going through C-37 to Kissimmee, and fish three lakes in a day without waiting on a gate. Toho means a call to the lock tender at 863-532-8042 and a lock-through at Southport. Anyone who tells you they ran here from Lake Gentry trailered.

Sources: USACE Jacksonville District Kissimmee daily reports (KSSDaily.htm 29 Jul 2026 and r-kss.html data ending 28 Jul 2026, ft-NGVD29), SFWMD Weekly Environmental Conditions & Operations Report 29 July 2026 (NAVD88), SFWMD navigation page and Guide to the Kissimmee Waterway (printed September 2008), SFWMD Kissimmee Chain of Lakes WMA — Cypress Lake unit, SFWMD Notice of Proposed Rule and Rule Language 20 Nov 2020 for Rule 40E-10.021(7)(g) F.A.C. (effective 3-10-21), USACE Increment 1 Temporary Deviation draft EA (February 2023) and USACE news release 21 Aug 2024, FWC Kissimmee Chain of Lakes Area page and KCOL management plan page, FWC Northeast Sites & Forecasts index and Lake Kissimmee forecast (retrieved 30 July 2026), FWC boat ramp inventory row OS00338GD, Osceola County Lake Cypress Ramp page.
Connected Lakes
Lake HatchinehaConnectedLake KissimmeeConnectedLake TohopekaligaConnectedLake GentryConnected

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