Myakka River State Park, Adventure Awaits

Myakka River State Park is just east of Sarasota on Hwy. 72, it offers a great Experience.  Makka has 57 square miles of  wetlands, prairies, and forest.  Myakka is one of Florida’s oldest state parks.  Myakka offers hiking, camping, fishing and abundant wildlife viewing. The forest at Myakka is quite unique with straight lines of various palms all at different angles.  The palms are threaded with wavy limbs of the various hardwoods that complete the forest canopy.

We arrived and the boat launch early in the morning as folks were launching canoes and kayaks for a day among the Alligators and birds.  As we approached the river outlet from the lake a hawk swooped in picking up a snake for breakfast.   Myakka has a very healthy Alligator population,  We were told that earlier that morning they were like cord wood on the water and you could walk a long ways out into the lake on their backs, if you had a desire to become breakfast.

From here we headed to the Bird walk, where we met Tom and Jan Pafford who volunteer every Wednesday, for four years now with spotting scope and binoculars in tow for the tourist to watch all of the varieties of birds through.  Tom educated up on the various birds in view while Jane some other tourist on the walk way.   Tom told us he’d been coming to the park since the 70’s participating in the Christmas Day bird count and Jane his wife has just begun doing this.  Tom informed us that there are 140 different species of birds that use the park year round.

After the bird watching we head to hiking trails and the canopy walk, which give you a birds eye view over the tree tops.  The Canopy walk is just off of the Boylston Nature Trail.  The walkway is suspended 25 feet above the ground and extends 100 feet through the hammock canopy. A tower soars 74 feet in the air to present a spectacular view of treetops, wetlands and the prairie/hammock interface. You can look down on eagles, hawks, vultures and the tops of live oaks and palm trees.

Myakka River State Park has a lot to offer and is well worth the trip out of the way to spend the day.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This article sponsored by: Be First Inc.