Myakka River State Park
September 17th, 2009
Last weekend we packed our bags, grabbed our cameras, and headed out to Myakka River State Park for a day filled with adventure and family fun. They say first impressions are everything and well, we loved it. The park is actually pretty big and there’s a ton of things to do that will keep you and your loved ones occupied.
Upon arriving we stopped in at the Welcome Center’s Interpretive Exhibit and checked it out for a few. There’s some pretty interesting things in there and a lot of information on some of the wildlife that you might encounter while visiting the park. On display they have some birds, a Florida Panther, Bald Eagle, a few turtles and this really ugly huge slimy thing that is actually called a two toed something and it’s pretty weird. Looks kind of like a giant slug/snake. Anyway, from there we headed on down the road where we stopped to check out some of the cabins that you can rent if you choose to stay at the park overnight. The cabins are pretty decently sized in my opinion though we did not get a chance to actually look inside of one. The cabins are tucked away in their own little areas which is nice and means that they are not right on-top of one another.
From there we made our way further into the park where we saw a couple alligators that were pretty lengthy. If we had to guess we’d say definitely between 10 and 14 feet each out of 3 total that we spotted in the one area. We also spotted a wild hog out rooting in one of the hammocks along the road-way. We also went for a little walk on over to the canopy walk that they have there. This was awesome. First you come to a small tower with stairs leading up to the canopy of the hammock where you can walk across a suspension bridge to another tower. Once making it over to the other side, you’ll want to head on up the second tower to the very top. I will warn you there is a lot of stair climbing involved so if you don’t like how that sounds, you may want to skip that. Though the hike back to the canopy walk is beautiful and definitely worth it. It really isn’t far back on the trail and if you like there are other trails as well that will take you deeper into the hammocks where around each corner there is something new to discover. If you get here early enough and you’re quiet you may even get lucky and find some deer in the park. Pam and I have some friends that love to go here right as the park opens to go out and take photos of the deer so we know they’re there but unfortunately today we did not see any.
On a side note, we’ve had quite a bit of rain lately and because of this some areas of the park are flooded over. I had to take my shoes off on the way to the canopy walk so that i could wade through ankle deep water. So bring some shoes that you don’t mind getting dirty if you’re planning a trip to the park at this time of year. Really not a big deal to me i don’t mind getting my feet wet now and then but if that doesn’t interest you then this is your heads up.
We also took one of the boat tours that they offer at the park. The tours are on a huge covered airboat which is really cool but don’t expect it to go very fast. It’s a nice relaxing tour out on the lake and the tour guide is pretty funny and makes lame jokes that make you laugh for example: did you hear about the race between the two silk-worms? they ended up in a tie. Tickets are sold on the boat and adults 12 and over are $12 each and children 5-12 years of age are $6. If you have a red ticket however, you can get adult admission for $6. We have 3 of these red tickets to give away to anyone planning a trip to Myakka River State Park so if you would like just leave us a comment and we will contact you to find out where we should send them. After our trip on the lake we went into the gift shop / cafeteria to try some gator stew that was delicious.
All in all, Myakka River State Park is gorgeous and offers a a variety of activities for anyone. It’s definitely one of my favorite parks. It’s huge, there’s wildlife all over, gorgeous cabins that you can rent, a canopy walk, and a gift shop that serves up gator stew. Dogs are allowed at the park as long as they are leashed. They’re allowed on the dirt roads and main use areas of the park. They are not permitted on the Myakka Wildlife Tours, canoes, primitive campgrounds, cabins, or any other buildings. Can you fish at the park? definitely! just make sure to have a current Florida Freshwater Fishing License which can be obtained at any WalMart for $12 if I recall correctly and is valid for 1 year from the date of purchase.
I think that about covers Myakka River State Park pretty well. If you can think of anything we forgot to mention or would like to share your adventure at this beautiful park, please feel free to drop us a line in the comments.
Have fun and happy shooting.
For more photos from Myakka River State Park, please visit the Myakka River State Park Photo Gallery
Myakka State Park is so peaceful and relaxing. The canopy tower is amazing. I am only 20 minutes away from here in Sarasota. Great site. All the best.
Comment by Charles Rinehart — September 17, 2009 @ 11:15 pm
Hello,
We are bringing our children to the park the week of Oct 11th and would love to take the boat ride. Coming down from Ohio. We love this park, it is always an adventure for our boys.We have never done the boat ride but they love to scare me by walking on the damn.
Peggy
Comment by Peggy — October 4, 2009 @ 10:33 am
Hi peggy thank you so much for the comment. i’ve sent you an email regarding the tickets for the boat ride. I hope you and your family enjoy the park as much as we did.
Comment by admin — October 4, 2009 @ 11:37 am