What a great place to bring your family to explore the nature. Very long trails to ride your bike or walk. Great camping grounds for tents or even cabins. Bring your own RV if you have one. You could rent canoes bikes and get fishing bait. Nice place to relax and enjoy family time.

Beautiful state park! Palmetto camping area has large sites. Paved roads & flat. Good bicycle riding & walking. Nice concession area with cafe & gift shop. Birds aplenty for watching. Will be back.

This is a beautiful park, offering different looks with each season! Highly recommended if you have an afternoon to spend hiking and observing nature! This time around I saw a plethora of different birds, an alligator and even a White Tail Deer! Its a jewel in the Florida Parks system!

Being a straight up country girl I can appreciate nature in a genuine state of undisturbed condition. Love the beautiful river and Nature Trails. Lots of land to canvas. You can bike, fish, or visit the Observation Tower 75 ft. In the AIR!!! Yes, I took the Tower on at 10:00 in the morning...I would usually be like too early for heights but I had boo bear there every step of the WAY. I dare you to challenge yourself to a lovely walk and a rewarding experience 75 fy. In the air

It’s an awesome park to hike and kayaking. The lake is calm and easy to row. Great adventures into the river side. Very clean with lots of opportunities to make a full day of fun. Price is very reasonable.

Loved driving thru, stopping. The wild life and picturesque scenery is true something to see. So relaxing. Clean hiking paths. Family friendly. There is alligators. Were we large one so cute. Maybe 8ft. Deer grazing. Native birds swimming and flying. I believe its $6 to get in. They offer maps of the area. Camping on trails. Its truly an experience.

It was my first camping experience in my new-to-me RV. Loved being surrounded by forest & scenic views. Enjoyed the hikes.

Awesome day trip. Loved seeing the deer, gators and large variety of coastal birds in their natural, real Florida environment.

Myakka is a phenomenal natural preserve with so much to do and see. We try to make it here on every visit to Sarasota. On this trip we did the canopy walk and scenic ride through the park. We stopped at a hidden picnic area where we noticed a 6 to 8 foot alligator resting on the bank of the stream. What a sight! Absolutely, take the time to enjoy this wonderful park, its loaded with so much Florida wildlife.

I love this park. I Was sad that parts of the park were closed (bird walk and tower) due to covid. The drive thru the park was beautiful. It has trails to bike, a boat ride and kayaking. Lots of gators!

Loved everything about this place. Seen so many deer, birds and squirrels. A few gators but heard to see more gators go at night. Found cool snail shells and climbed the tower.

Because of flooding, we didnt get to hike many of the trails, but from what little I was able to enjoy on my first visit, I will definitely be back! Short, but cool canopy walk/tower. Long, paved main road. Camping, fishing, gift shop/food, rentals, boat ride and plenty of wildlife.

One of the best parks Ive been to in a long long time. My kids loved the bridge and the nature walk. We didnt do the tours because the prices seemed a little steep for the time length of the tour so we adventured out around the park on our own and had a picnic at one of the many shelters throughout the park

Great place to see nature. Fun for the entire family. March and April are good times to visit if you want to see lots of gators as it is mating season.

Wonderful park for hiking, biking and camping. Tram and boat tours are currently running and lots of fun! Hit the bathrooms when able because they are far apart.

The nature trails are so beautiful. Its peaceful. Take the time to really soak it all in.

Huge park with lots of trails to explore, picnic areas, cabins for rent, RV spots, primitive camping, tram tours, boat tours around the lake, deer, turkey, lots of gators and just about any other wild creature roaming around (just leave them alone, video, pics its fine) restaurant and gift shop by the tran and boat tour with lots of goodies and even ice cream !!Bring bug repellent and plenty of water on hiking trails, some in the rainy season can be flooded do be carefull.

There is so much to see here and I barely scratched the surface! I was on foot so it was impossible to cover this whole park in the middle of the Florida summer, but I will be back this fall to explore further! There is also a cool suspension bridge to walk across

Nice and quite park that have many things to see.

The park is a beauty, you can walk, ride in your car, or on your bicycle, you can find gators, and many deer and take nice photos. I recommend the place, it is super quiet and very well kept. It is the second time that I come in 2 weeks and I am still fascinated with deer. I would definitely go back a thousand times ...

Great day experience. We saw deer, gators, and lots of coastal birds.

Great state park. Nice hikes and seen lots of wildlife including deer, alligators, hogs, and some turkeys. Tram and boat tour were closed due to Covid-19. Fun Geocaching spot as well.

Beautiful park with lots to see and explore for people of all ages. Abundance of wildlife at every turn.

We loved the palm log cabins built in the 30s by the Civil Conservation Corps. Fun, rustic, clean cabins that are set back in a secluded, quiet part of the park. Saw plenty of deer, alligators and various birds. Many of the trails were over grown and difficult to follow with younger children.10 minutes from Sarasota, and 25 minutes from the beaches.

The park is clean and delightful to visit. Captain Reid was an eccentric personality that makes the boat trip both entertaining and intellectual.

It was very flooded when I went but their are some awesome trails here! Definitely will be returning soon.

Nice park. Obviously very well taken care of. I found it a bit boring for more adventurous people

High water but the trails were well maintained. Lots of wildlife including gators to see. Great casual biking park.

Loved this state park but especially the large, full hook up campsites in Palmetto Ridge Campground!

Very beautiful trail, the bridge walk was fun. Our 8 month old dachshund girls made it all the way to the top and did the canopy loop trail.

Beautiful scenery! Lots of wildlife to see throughout the park. Great park to ride bike and enjoy nature. We would definetly be back.

There is such an abundance of wildlife in this park you just have to stop and take the time to look around. Its a great place to walk, ride a bike, fish, and take pictures of Wildlife. Or you can just drive through and see all kinds of Wildlife.

The bathroom at the campground was very unclean and the sites were small. The park itself was quite enjoyable. I stayed a week and enjoyed kayaking and biking in the park.

Good park with lot of trees, wildlife . Canopy walk was good and the tower was closed . Bird walk was closed too . So we couldn’t explore much about this park . The camping sites are looking promising and we will give it a try . The boating here will be exciting only for kids . Not a go for Floridians as it’s nothing new other than alligators watch . They charge 20$ per adult . This park is a nice place to have a family day picnic at this point of covid time as I haven’t seen many people here .

Wonderful place to spend time with the family and enjoy the nature.Highly recommended!!!

Tons of biking and hiking options. Paddling options too although maybe not when the alligators are out. Great time at Floridas first state park

Awesome Place to Visit and explore!!! Awesome tower to climb to see some amazing views. You will see lots of wild life on your visit. Birds, Gators, squirrels, rabbits, snakes, and more. Amazing hikes. fishing, canoeing, kayaking, they have a gift store and a small diner. Camping is always available as well! MUST SEE!

I had a great experience at this state park and loved the nature trills

Beautiful place to enjoy nature! We loved the canopy walk and observation tower. We saw all kinds of plant life, particularly oaks, palms, lichens, and epiphytes. We saw eagles and other birds, boars, deer, and gators. Plenty of shaded trails for walking. We got the gator stew and seafood gumbo in the cafe, and I was disappointed by the serving size. For $9 a bowl, I was expecting more than a tiny (about 8 oz) serving. It was not listed as an appetizer, so I thought it would be more of a meal-size portion. Also, it would be nice if the restrooms were cleaner and stocked with soap and paper towels.

Pretty nifty place. The walkway is cool, but it is only one short walkway in the middle of the woods. I originally thought it was going to be a series of walkways leaving from one area to the next. Unfortunately, that is not the case. It is just a single structure off on its own.As for the rest of the park, I cant say much about it. Because of covid, the bird walk was closed, which was disappointing. The boat and tram tours did not seem worth the price. There are no discounts for either of them.Overall, the nature is great, but it seems like there is not much else to do right now.

Beautiful park with so much nature. We saw a half dozen deer, a raccoon jumping out of a dumpster, and a gator in just a day! Cell phone reception was just about non existent. So much more to explore, we will have to go back.

Great family state park very clean bathrooms friendly staff lots of things to do, some of the older camp sites can use an uplift, lots of wild life.

Great place to view real Florida foliage and wildlife. Visited right after Tropical Storm Cristobel and a lot of days of rain so the trails were all flooded and closed but we still were able to drive and take in all the beauty. Definitely worth the visit.

Good place to spend the day with family! We enjoyed ourselves. Glad we finally visited. If its alligators youre wanting to see theyre definitely here! However we did learn that if its too hot outside (it was over 100 degrees when we went) the alligators will not come to the surface until dusk which is when we seen them. Theres certainly other types of animals and wildlife to see! I highly recommend the canopy walk as well!

Lots of beautiful things to see while exploring nature in this park.

I just returned home after staying at this park in my RV during a road trip. We loved it so much that we actually ended up staying an additional day. I recommend staying at palmetto ridge vs old prairie, as it has sewer hookup in addition to water and electric and is nicer and more private. As someone who lives in the northeast, I found the trees and foliage very enchanting. It was so different than what we were used to and it was beautiful. I recommend the Canopy trail where after a brief walk into the woods, you can walk up a wooden tower that has a rope bridge to another tower, allowing you to be eye level with the trees. My only disappointments were no cable, no free WiFi (could be purchased at the outpost I believe). Next time, I would be sure to bring or rent a bike because from where we stayed to the outpost (gift shop/cafe/boat rides/etc) was probably about 3 miles. With the heat and humidity, the walk was not possible for us. Staff was friendly and would highly recommend

Beautiful park! Boat tour was great

Absolutely beautiful and the canopy walk was super cool. The kids loved getting to walk across in the tree tops

Great, friendly staff and volunteers. Unfortunately the river boat tours were cancelled due to wind, and we didnt see ANY gators due to the unseasonal cold weather. But the trails were nice and there were lots of birds to see. We even got to taste some Gator bites at the snack counter (tastes like deep fried chicken, but is chewy like calamari!). Gift shop had lots of Florida stuff, but also patches etc for the park itself.

One of the best parks. Do to the tropical storm water levels are up into the walking trails.

About $7 dollars entrance fee there is loads to see beyond the ranger station. lovely winding roads with large oaks arching to form tunnels of branches overhead. Plenty of Gators and abundant bird life. If you like man made amenities there is a large gift shop and an impressive cafe overlooking a large body of water. There is also a 70 tower and below a suspension bridge that takes a path through the tree canopy. A great family adventure!

Took a picnic lunch! Storm blew in but still lovely! White caps on lake!!! Great parking right at the water.

I have been going to Myakka for years. Most times I walk my dog there, but my parents came to visit recently and we went and took the airboat ride. It was a great experience, definitely a nice way to learn more about the park and the alligators that live there. The canopy walk is so cool- you climb up a staircase to see above the canopy of the forest. It had a bridge high above the trail below as well. Great for adults and kids. Many trails for walking, and you’re likely going to see some wildlife- alligators for sure, deer, tons of birds etc. If you’re on vacation it’s a great place to go that doesn’t cost a lot of money.

Wonderful natural Florida park. Really great place to see alligators, snakes, turtles, fish, deer, and tons of birds.

I had so much fun exploring here. I didnt expect to see as much as I did since its not a zoo. There was a lot to see. Its important to remember that you are in the wild so you have to be careful. I saw alligators, wild pigs, roseate spoonbills, a bald eagle, osprey and lots of other birds. I will go back again and take my family and friends. It is a beautiful place. Just remember, its called wildlife for a reason.

Was a surprise experience - walking thru nature trails and driving through the park was relaxing and fun!

I only saw a little of the park, but what I saw I liked. I walked on the swaying bridge. It was a beautiful day!

Great park to canoe and hike, however bring water because you can get lost out there on these trails.Explorationflorida.netInstagram @explorationflorida

Been here several times and just scratched the surface, lots to offer. Great park,saw turkeys on Sunday. That was a first

Beautiful place to visit. Easy 40 min nature walk. Canopy walk with observation tower. Plenty of Gators and you can get as close as you dare. Campsites, places for barbeques, tram tours, boat tours and on site snack bar.

Amazing place. Bring a camera, water and enjoy

Loved the place. The ranger just let me through because it was 6pm. Saw a couple of Gators. Take one of the trails..all of them are easy trails. Also go up the viewing tower for sunset views. Carry a bug spray. Lot of flies at the top of the observation tower. Hidden gem in all sense. I went back to pay the ranger because it was worth it

Nice park, lots of hiking and biking trails. Saw lots of alligators

Very nice state park. $6 to get in during February when we went. Loads of trails, great dining area with refreshments and surprisingly good food. Classic Florida state park. Amazing canopy walk thats above tree level. You must check that out. Long boardwalk with observation area and shaded roof. Visitors center thats kind of outdated but still informative.

Another couple and my husband and I were vacationing in Sarasota for a week. We had researched different things to do and as this was highly rated we decided to check it out. So glad we did!Though the canopy walk was way shorter in length then we had imagined it was still cool to get up to the top of the tower and view the surroundings from a different perspective. The nature trails surrounding the canopy trail were very pleasant.We took the boat tour and were lucky enough to be entertained by “captain” Matt who is very knowledgeable about the animals and plants that inhabit the park having spent his whole life in the area and is the great-grandson of the woman who originally owned the land.We saw many gators, many kinds of birds including eagles, ospreys, and white pelicans. We also saw wild boar.

Truly old Florida. A seven mile slow drive with an opportunity to see every animal you could imagine. This park offers an off road tram ride and a large tour boat alone the banks of the famous myakka lake. There is many hiking trails and camping of any style. There is a well stocked gift shop with some food and drinks.

The park was great. My three children loved it. The tram ride was very informative and it historical sense. However my three children did not find it as entertaining as we came in summer and wildlife was scarce and they got bored of the history quickly. next we did the boat ride it was very nice much cooler than the tram or hiking. However also being summer we only saw a few alligators and it was suggested that winter is best to do this trip. The canopy tower is awesome and only takes about 5 to 10 minutes. If I came back I would definitely do canoeing or kayaking.

Great place. Plenty of good fishing spots. Lots of nature trails. Lots of wildlife to see. Plenty of parking. Very family friendly.

We did see some alligators and lots of pretty deer and birds.

Myakka River State Park was a great time! It was really cool to see the real Florida. The car ride through the park back to the boat tour area almost felt like you were driving through Jurassic Park or something with all the different vegetation and wild life. The boat tour was fun and educational. Our Captain spent most of his time explaining the various wildlife, and the history of the park while trying to find alligators for us to look at. I definitely recommend the boat tour to families or anyone looks for a relaxing and informative nature tour. The boat for the tour moves slowly, has high walls and bench seating making it safe for kids.

Beautiful place for camping and biking

If youre looking for real Florida, well maintained trails and multiple wildlife sightings, this is the park.Couple reminders that made my camping experience better:• if going to Deep Hole, be at the Ranger station when it opens. Only 30 permits are given per day, regardless of the party size. Scout troop of 17 and a family of 10 leaves only 3 permits left.• take your time and be still. Watched a long legged bobcat saunter down the Myakka trail, wild hogs, turkeys, spoonbills in pink...etc• camp if you can. Nothing like hearing a deer walk past your tent...

I saw many animals such as alligators, an assortment of bird and even a few snakes. Gift shop was great although not everything has a price tag on it. I enjoyed the controlled and well-managed trails and the wooden canopy was a lot of fun. One concern I do have is the sign in front of the canopy bridge, does not draw any attention to it. I think this might be a safety hazard because only four people can be on that bridge at once. If someone does not see the sign, it could be risking the life of others. Is he nature was beautiful and I loved the boat ride I got to take. Chris was a great with nature. He knew the facts and was able to provide information about everything except the water temperature. I suggest having a battery operated, handheld, digital, non-contact, laser thermometer. They can be found at Home Depot, Lowes, Amazon, Walmart and Bed Bath & Beyond. They also had a cafe so theres no need to bring lunch. Bring a camera and binoculars for best experience.Please tell me what you think about my review by leaving me a like.

An amazing place for anyone willing to be surrounded by nature ancient oak trees and wildlife. We visited a cabin, had the camouflage ice cream and gator bites !! Followed by filming a 12 foot !! We say deer herons eating fish, it was all so amazing. Make sure you visit soon !

Really nice park with lots of trails and wildlife. Today we saw wild boar and birds. Last trip we saw alligators, but the water levels were too high this trip.

This place was so breathe taking. They do not have air boats but they do have kayaking, canoeing and pontoon boat rides. Really nice to enjoy a day in nature. We saw a few gators and a ton of cranes. It was very hot because we went in the middle of summer, August. So make sure you bring plenty of water. The trails were nice and the tree bridge as well as the lookout which is I believe is 80 feet up was super nice with some great views.

Great weather in the park today. Watching the gator stalk the great blue heron with the fish to big to swallow. Wild turkeys, roseate spoonbills many birds and yummy gator bites for lunch️

This is such a pretty park to drive through. There are places you can get out to search for the alligators. We found them out by the lake. Saw some birds and deer as well

We went Here with the Famly May 19th Enjoyed the Tour guide on the Boat vary Educational!! Saw lots of Gators some Deer a Wild Bore Great Place Highly Recommend

Nice park with trails and a canopy walk. The trail to the canopy walk is short (awesome because it was sweltering out) and the bridge was fun to walk over. This is a fishing spot, many picnic areas, trails, wildlife, tours, gift shop and restaurant.

Its quiet and serene. The lake in the park is nice. Just watch out for the gators, of which there are plenty.

Beautiful way to spend the day and experience the natural side of Florida. Bring plenty of water to stay hydrated and good shoes for adventure

Paid 6$ entrance fee and enjoyed the pontoon boat ride on the river. Was able to see many alligators and bird species including American Bald Eagle. Spent only a few hours, but could probably spend an entire day there.

Myakka River is a great State Park. We stayed in the Old Prairie Campground and each site there has full shade and only a short walk from any site to the bath house. The sites are not graveled, but hard packed sand. The camp host rakes each site after a camper leaves so it looks neat and clean. The bath house is tile on the wall and floors and kept very clean. There were only two showers on the mens side, but both were spacious and the water was hot with plenty of pressure. The dressing area is a common dressing area and I believe my wife said the womens side was the same. I dropped 1 star, since showers without doors and common dressing areas seem less safe to my wife.Theres plenty to do at the park, with walking trails, a birdwalk, a tram tour, and a boat tour. They also have bike and canoe rentals. This is a beautiful park and we will definitely come back here!

Very nice....watch for gators!

It was a nice park but the canopy walk is way short. Not worth the hour drive

Great Park! We camp here at least twice a year. The park is huge and a great place to ride bikes. There is wildlife everywhere. If you like the outdoors you will enjoy this park.

This is such a beautiful place to walk and hike. Lots of wildlife!

Huge park.. lots of wildlife.. quite a drive. Be prepared with water, snacks and bug spray.

Every time I visit, I see something new. From deer to alligators, hawks to dragonflies, theres just so much to see! You can take a shuttle tour around the park, or sit back and take the boat tour down the river. The gift shop is lovely and the food is wonderful. Its a place sure to have something for everyone.

Our camp site is full hookup. Several hiking paths and things to see. Some sites are quite big.There is a store / gift shop and tours.

Must visit state park. Beautiful scenery and wildlife. You have options to walk, ride on your bike or in your car. You can also avail tram service or go for boat tour.

Great park! Be careful though, the boat rides sell out VERY fast! The boat rides take about an hour and take you all around the lake. The canopy and nature walks are very pretty! In all, a great experience!

One of my favorite locations for portraits photography.

Love being with nature and seeing all the wildlife. Worth the $6.

Really fun state park. Unfortunately the skywalk access trail was flooded along with a lot of the side trails. Walked to boat tours area from entrance, 3 miles each way. Food and drinks were excellent, especially the beer! Boat ride or tram rides available, $20-25 each. Saw alligator, deer, armadillo, and lots of birds. You can also rent bikes.

Absolutley lovely park. We did the Nature trail which is an easy 45 min hike. Along the trail there is a canopy walkway and a 76 ft tower. This was a truly wonderful experience as the tower takes you above the tree top canopy for a breathtaking view. (Pets are not allowed on the tower, but are allowed on the nature trail). We also did another very short trail that ran along the waters edge. During this walk we saw about 5 alligators sunbathing on the river banks. We found a quite spot with a picnic table and had a peaceful lunch. We did not get cell phone reception in the park, so this is the perfect outing if your family is screen addicted since they will have no choice but to put down their phones and enjoying being in nature. The park is large and we didnt even get to explore everything in our visit, so we will definitely be returning. The park has a $6 entrance fee.

So happy we found this gem. Admission is $6 for the car. We brought a picnic, found lots of playgrounds . Walking trails are easy, I brought the stroller. Beautiful canopy bridge, easy for kids to climb and walk over. Saw 6 gators in the lake, and lots of other wildlife. Totally worth the drive!

Our family experience here was awesome and was during covid times so we expected the unexpected. That was farthest from the truth. From the gate we were greeted by Amy, with respect and courtesy and all of our questions were answered without attitude or issues, which nowadays is hard to come by. We ate at the on site restaurant and we’re treated kindly with great food and service. We bought the pass for the boat tour along with the wooded trolly tour. Our boat tour was the best, we had the luxury of a private tour by the best, Captain Matt, as we were the last tickets of the day. We expected to get our tickets postponed for lack of guests aboard. Nope, we got a very happy, kind, and eager to teach captain Matt. He was very knowledgeable and made our journey on the boat amazing. Honestly,with what’s going on in today’s world we expected a hostile environment considering past experiences with other establishments. Not here, it was the opposite. We felt at home here and will continue to go back and recommend this park. Thank you for the proper treatment of your guests!

It was awsome there if you really like going to nature walks and thinks like that without cellular data this place is for you the have bicycling trains to give you a tour and they also have a boat tour as well as canoeing it is really fun especially the boat tour oh and tip if you are going pn a boat tpur ask for Captain Matt Reed he is really good at giving boat tours and gives a great tour