Lake Okeechobee authorized uses for Lake Okeechobee include the following: The wide dike surrounding Lake Okeechobee is the basis for the Lake Okeechobee Scenic Trail (LOST), a part of the Florida National Scenic Trail, a trail that is a National Scenic Trail. There is a well-maintained paved pathway along the majority of the perimeter, although with significant breaks. It is used by hikers and bicyclists, and is wide enough to accommodate vehicles. The most common fish in this lake are largemouth bass, crappie, and bluegill. Pickerel have been less commonly caught. Lake Okeechobee and the Everglades are featured as a backdrop for
Miami River (Florida) to improve the river's condition. Although it is widely believed that the name is derived from a Native American word that means "sweet water", the earliest mention of the name comes from Hernando de Escalante Fontaneda, a captive of Indians in southern Florida for 17 years, when he referred to what is now Lake Okeechobee as the "Lake of Mayaimi, which is called Mayaimi because it is very large". The Mayaimi Indians were named after the lake, beside which they lived. Spanish records include the cacique of "Maimi" in a group of 280 Florida Indians that arrived in Cuba in