The Okeechobee Waterway (OCWW) provides a shortcut from the Atlantic Ocean to the Gulf or Mexico and divides central and south Florida. It starts at the ICW in the mouth of the St. Lucie River at Mile 0 and ends 154 miles later at Mile 0 on the Gulf ICW (GIWW) at San Carlos Bay south of Cape Coral. This efficient route allows boats to pass across the state from the ocean to the Gulf without having to make the long trip down around the Keys and up across Florida Bay.

The OCWW offers a chance to see rural Florida with small towns preserved much as they were early in the last century. Along the waterway ranches and big commercial farms alternate with moss-hung wilderness, while bustling boom towns coexist alongside sleepy villages that have been around since way before Miami.