Manatee County Day Trip

Manatee County, Florida: My wife had in-service training today for a few hours, so I decided to travel along and visit some of the sites in Manatee County that have been on my list of things to do. Too many times we look to get far away to see attractions in new cities and often forget about the ones in our own backyard, today I took the time to visit some of these places.

Our first stop of the day was Emerson Point Preserve in Palmetto. The preserve is located on Snead Island and is surrounded by Tampa Bay, Terra Ceia Bay and the Manatee River. We started our tour of the preserve from the point parking lot.

We hiked the Beach Walk Trail which was a .36 mile trail that went along the coast of the Tampa Bay and offers great views of the Sunshine Skyway and the City of St. Petersburg across the bay. Next we walked the adjacent Point Replica Mound Trail which had an overlook on top of the mound that gave great views of the Manatee River and Tampa Bay.

We began to run short on time, so we relocated the truck to the canoe launch and began the Terra Ceia trail. We started the trail and took it to where it crossed the Observation Tower Trail and took that trail to the tower. The Terra Ceia trail was very narrow in some places and felt like a wilderness trail. Along the way, it had two docks that went out into the Terra Ceia Bay. Once we switched trails, we arrived at the tower and took the short trip up to the top. The view at the top of the tower was worth the climb, it overlooked the preserve, Terra Ceia Bay, Manatee River and the Tampa Bay.

It was then time to head back to the truck to go and pick my wife up from class. Unfortunately due to time constraints, we did not get to complete the entire park. There were four more complete trails and the second half of the Terra Ceia trail that we were unable to complete. We missed the Indian mound, complex ruins and the visitor center that were located along these trails.

The preserve is on the Great Florida Birding Trail and along the way, we came across a few. During our trip we saw Osprey, the usual shore birds, Great Blue Heron, Great Egret, woodpecker and Roseate Spoonbill. Plus there were many more we could hear but not see due to the thick canopy in some spots.

It was then time to make the journey back to Bradenton to pick up the wife from class. We stopped for a quick lunch and then headed to our next stop, the Manatee Village Historical Park. We have wanted to visit here for a while, but their awkward weekend hours had it difficult to fit it into the schedule. They are open weekdays and only the second and fourth Saturday of the month.

The village is a look back at what Manatee looked like around the late 1800’s. We toured the fifteen points of interest on display here. I found the Stephens House interesting, how they were able to keep the home cool through the hot Florida summers without the use of air-conditioning. Makes you wonder why they don’t incorporate some of these building styles into today’s home building to help keep the homes cooler.

Another item of interest was the courthouse building. It was the first in the county and the oldest one still in existence in the state. Inside the exhibit case in the courthouse is a court docket; it is amazing at how the criminal docket has not changed much. On the docket were cases for murder, robbery and attempted murder to name a few, much like you would see on the Clerk of Courts dockets today.

We completed our tour of the village and then headed home.

Both of these attractions are about an hour drive from the house and provided a great afternoon of exploration. They are also great on the budget as neither one charged an admission fee. So for the cost of a tank of gas and lunch, you can enjoy a great day of discovering our local attractions.

I definitely plan on heading back to Emerson Point Preserve again in the future. I would like to complete the rest of the trails and maybe do some fishing along the bay. Plus there are still more attractions in Manatee County that we would like to visit.

Check back later for photos and detailed reviews of Emerson Point Preserve and the Manatee Village Historical Park.