Myakka River State Park is a

Florida State Park There are 175 state parks and 9 state trails in the U.S. state of Florida which encompass more than , providing recreational opportunities for both residents and tourists. Almost half of the state parks have an associated local 501(c)(3) non-pr ...

, that is located east of

Interstate 75 Interstate 75 (I-75) is a major north–south Interstate Highway in the Great Lakes and Southeastern regions of the United States. As with most Interstates that end in 5, it is a major cross-country, north–south route, traveling from St ...

in Sarasota County and a portion of southeastern Manatee County on the Atlantic coastal plain. This state park consists of , making it one of the state's largest parks. It is also one of the oldest parks in the state. It was delineated in the 1930s by the

Civilian Conservation Corps The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was a voluntary government work relief program that ran from 1933 to 1942 in the United States for unemployed, unmarried men ages 18–25 and eventually expanded to ages 17–28. The CCC was a major part of ...

. A small portion () of the park was the gift of the family of

Bertha Palmer Bertha Matilde Palmer (; May 22, 1849 – May 5, 1918) was an American businesswoman, socialite, and philanthropist. Early life Born as Bertha Matilde Honoré in Louisville, Kentucky, her father was businessman Henry Hamilton Honoré. Known wi ...

to the state. The park is named after the

Myakka River (big water) , image = Myakka River.jpg , image_size = , image_caption = Myakka River in El Jobean , image_alt = , map = Myakkarivermap.png , map_size = 200px , map_caption ...

Environment

Myakka River State Park is in the

southeastern conifer forests The Southeastern conifer forests are a temperate coniferous forest ecoregion of the southeastern United States. It is the largest conifer forest ecoregion east of the Mississippi River. It is also the southernmost instance of temperate coniferous ...

ecoregion An ecoregion (ecological region) or ecozone (ecological zone) is an ecologically and geographically defined area that is smaller than a bioregion, which in turn is smaller than a biogeographic realm. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of ...

. Plant communities in areas of the park with drier soils are a mixture of pine forests, scrubby flatwoods, and dry prairies. Florida longleaf pine flatwoods are

woodland A woodland () is, in the broad sense, land covered with trees, or in a narrow sense, synonymous with wood (or in the U.S., the ''plurale tantum'' woods), a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunlight and limited shade (se ...

s dominated by longleaf pine (''

Pinus palustris The longleaf pine (''Pinus palustris'') is a pine species native to the Southeastern United States, found along the coastal plain from East Texas to southern Virginia, extending into northern and central Florida. In this area it is also known as ...

'').

South Florida pine flatwoods The south Florida pine flatwoods are a flatwoods forest community found in central and southern Florida. These flatwoods have open canopies of slash pine (''Pinus elliottii'' var. ''densa'') above a dense understory of low shrubs and grasses in ...

are open woodlands of ('' Pinus elliottii'' var. ''densa'') with a dense ground cover of grasses and shrubs.

Florida dry prairie The Florida dry prairie is a herbaceous upland plant community found in subtropical southern Florida. It consists of plains covered in Poaceae, grasses, low shrubs, and few widely scattered trees. It was originally found on the plains near the Kiss ...

s are flat, nearly treeless plains with dense cover of grasses, forbs, saw palmetto (''

Serenoa repens ''Serenoa repens'', commonly known as saw palmetto, is the sole species currently classified in the genus ''Serenoa''. It is a small palm, growing to a maximum height around . It is endemic to the subtropical and tropical Southeastern United S ...

'') and other low shrubs . Wetlands in the park include marshes and forested wetlands. Floridian highlands freshwater marshes are depression marshes composed of different herbaceous plant communities that vary based on water depth. Southern coastal plain nonriverine cypress domes are small wetlands of bald cypress (''

Taxodium distichum ''Taxodium distichum'' (bald cypress, swamp cypress; french: cyprès chauve; ''cipre'' in Louisiana) is a deciduous conifer in the family Cupressaceae. It is native to the southeastern United States. Hardy and tough, this tree adapts to a wide r ...

'') notable for their dome-shaped appearance. A karst sinkhole named Deep Hole is located on the northwest bank of the Myakka River in the Wilderness Preserve. The sink is deep though no evidence of a spring was found by a 2011–2012 research team. Rivers in the park support

hammock A hammock (from Spanish , borrowed from Taíno and Arawak ) is a sling made of fabric, rope, or netting, suspended between two or more points, used for swinging, sleeping, or resting. It normally consists of one or more cloth panels, or a wo ...

s and floodplain forests. Near the floodplains of spring-fed rivers grow

southern coastal plain hydric hammock The southern coastal plain hydric hammock is a wetland hammock community found on the flat lowlands of the southern and outermost parts of the Atlantic Coastal Plain in the states of Georgia, Florida, and Alabama. These forests of evergreen and de ...

s, dense forests of evergreen and deciduous hardwood trees.

Blackwater river A blackwater river is a type of river with a slow-moving channel flowing through forested swamps or wetlands. As vegetation decays, tannins leach into the water, making a transparent, acidic water that is darkly stained, resembling black tea ...

s support

southern coastal plain blackwater river floodplain forest The southern coastal plain blackwater river floodplain forest is a forest system found in Alabama, Mississippi, Florida, and Georgia. These forests occur in the drainages of blackwater rivers and streams whose dark water is caused by high levels o ...

s of baldcypress along their banks.

Climate

Things to do

The park is noted for its wildlife and some of the rare birds seen only in Florida, such as the

roseate spoonbill The roseate spoonbill (''Platalea ajaja'') is a gregarious wading bird of the ibis and spoonbill family, Threskiornithidae. It is a resident breeder in both South and North America. Taxonomy The roseate spoonbill is sometimes placed in its own ...

, frequent the park. Native flora flourishes in the park. There are many species of fish, amphibians, reptiles, and mammals to learn about and enjoy watching as well. Myakka River State Park has an excellent system of hiking trails. Walking trails crisscross the eastern side of the park. Six primitive campgrounds are accessible by trail throughout the park: Mossy Hammock, Bee Island, Panther Point, Honore, Oak Grove and Prairie. Horseback riding and biking is permitted on certain designated trails and roads in the park. This part of the park is dominated by expanses of very low vegetation, fields of palmetto, that make a transition to islands, or hammocks, of tall pine and oak trees. A good portion of the park is accessible by automobile. Myakka River State Park's main road, a drive between the north and south ends, leads visitors to a

boardwalk A boardwalk (alternatively board walk, boarded path, or promenade) is an elevated footpath, walkway, or causeway built with wooden planks that enables pedestrians to cross wet, fragile, or marshy land. They are also in effect a low type of brid ...

out to the river and a lake that is excellent for bird watching. The main drive is also popular with cyclists, runners, and skaters. Bicycle traffic can be heavy, especially on weekends and holidays. A short walk from the main road reveals Myakka's

canopy walkway Canopy walkways - also called canopy walks, treetop walks or treetop walkways - provide pedestrian access to a forest canopy. Early walkways consisted of bridges between trees in the canopy of a forest; mostly linked up with platforms inside or ...

, a novel suspension bridge and tower providing researchers and visitors with views of the forest canopy and a spectacular above-the-treetops view of the entire park. Picnic areas, canoeing, boat tours, and developed campsites are available. The park even has five cabins that were built not with logs, but with the trunks of native sabal palms.

References

Gallery

Image:Wood Stork - Myakka River State Park.jpg,

Wood stork The wood stork (''Mycteria americana'') is a large American wading bird in the family Ciconiidae (storks), the only member of the family to breed in North America. It was formerly called the "wood ibis", though it is not an ibis. It is found ...

Image:Myakka River - Great Blue Heron.jpg, A great blue heron Image:Black-necked Stilt - Myakka River State Park.jpg, Black-necked stilt Image:Great Egret - Myakka River State Park.jpg, A

great egret The great egret (''Ardea alba''), also known as the common egret, large egret, or (in the Old World) great white egret or great white heron is a large, widely distributed egret. The four subspecies are found in Asia, Africa, the Americas, and ...

Image:Myakka River SP - Boat Basin.jpg, The Boat Basin with airboats ''Gator Gal'' and ''Myakka Maiden'' Image:Alligator - Myakka River State Park.jpg,

Alligator An alligator is a large reptile in the Crocodilia order in the genus ''Alligator'' of the family Alligatoridae. The two extant species are the American alligator (''A. mississippiensis'') and the Chinese alligator (''A. sinensis''). Additiona ...

s abound Image:Myakka River - Kayaking.jpg, Kayaking on the Myakka River Image:Myakka River Sunset.jpg, Myakka River Sunset Image:Myakka Canopy Walkway.JPG, View walking on the Canopy Walkway Image:Myakka River State Park I.jpg, Trails flooded after heavy rains

Environment

Climate

Things to do

References

Gallery

External links