Making Waves at Myakka River State Park

A few weekends ago, we went on another camping adventure; this time to Myakka River State Park.  You may recognize it from my Quik Shade Pet Bed post or my post with the photos from my Collar Camera.

We had such a great time hanging out at the campsite and hiking through the park.  I had a blast making waves (barking at alligators and bull frogs) on Upper Myakka Lake in Uncle Robbie's canoe!

About Myakka River State Park

Myakka (my-ah-kah) River State Park is one of the largest and oldest parks in Florida.  It is located on the West Coast near Sarasota - however, it is not near enough to Sarasota for there to be any cell phone service.  This was our first camping adventure with no contact with the real and virtual worlds!

The Myakka River is designated as a Florida Wild and Scenic River and the Park protects the 34-mile portion of it located in Sarasota County.  The river flows through 58 miles of wetlands, prairies, hammocks, pinelands and two lakes - the Upper and the Lower Myakka Lakes - both of which are located in the Park.

Activities abound at Myakka!  You can hike the prairies, hammocks and pinelands and canoe/kayak the river and lakes.  The park even has guided tours - a lake tour on a airboat and a tram tour through the backcountry of the park.

My Adventures

Since the park is so large, we drove to the boat launch as well as to some of the trailheads.  I got to enjoy every sight and smell from the car including a beautiful view of the Florida prairie.

We hiked a couple of trails, one of which led us to the Canopy Walk.  You may remember the photo I took with my collar camera:

That is the 76 foot observation tower, walkway and platform.  This was the very first Canopy Walk built in Florida and it is modeled after ones used by scientists in the South American rainforests.  Daddy-dog and I stayed below while Ma and Uncle Robbie went up to see the view.

Of course, it is never a State Park adventure if we do not go out in the canoe.  We canoed the Upper Myakka Lake and saw lots of water birds, vultures and native grasses.

We came across lots of these pretty aquatic flowers.  These are water hyacinth and unfortunately, they are another non-native, invasive species here in Florida known to choke rivers and lakes, deplete oxygen from the water and potentially kill fish and turtles.

Of course, no canoe trip would be complete without seeing some alligators and Upper Myakka Lake and the Myakka River did not disappoint!  We saw more alligators here than we have in all the other State Parks combined.  This was the first canoe trip that so many alligators were active too.  As we canoed, we sometimes had to slow down for a gator to swim by.

The Park Ranger was surprised that I went canoeing when so many alligators were out and about.  Ma, Daddy-dog and Uncle Robbie nicknamed me "Gator Snack" for the rest of our trip.  BOL

If you are ever visiting near Sarasota, I highly recommend you go to Myakka River State Park.  You can see so many different animal species in all the different types of Florida habitat.  And you will definitely see plenty of alligators!

Myakka River State Park

13208 State Road 72

Sarasota, Florida

Where have you gone recently?  

What wildlife did you see?