Myakka River State Park Day Trip

Sarasota, Florida: We decided to spend today exploring Myakka River State Park, just a short drive from the house in Eastern Sarasota County. We visited the park a while back and explored some of the popular trails, but today we decided to head back and try a wildlife tour.

When we arrived at the park, we headed to the concession area to reserve a spot on the tour. The tours are operated by Myakka Wildlife Tours, not the state park system and are an independent fee in addition to the park admission. Myakka Wildlife Tours operates an airboat tour and a tram tour. We did not have enough time for both tours and the airboat tours were pretty full so we chose to do the tram tour and were booked on the 1:00 trip.

We had about forty-five minutes to explore the park before our tour begun so we headed out to the area behind the Outpost building where the dam is located. When we got to the water, we found a few wading birds by the water’s edge including a juvenile Yellow-Crowned Night Heron, a few Roseate Spoonbills, a Great White Egret and more. One the way back to the trail head, a Red Shouldered Hawk made a fly-by and grabbed a field mouse out of the underbrush before perching on a tree in front of us.

With a few minutes to spare, we headed to the Birdwalk for a view overlooking the Upper Myakka Lake. The wildlife was rather quiet here with just a few pair of Sandhill Cranes foraging through the muck.

It was then time to board our tour, so we headed back to the concession area to begin the tour. We were delayed for our departure thanks to a trio of inconsiderate people. When you book your tour, they inform you to be at the tram spot at least 5 minutes prior to departure and it is also noted in the brochure for the tour as well. However, they either didn’t have a watch or can’t follow directions or think they are better then everyone else who showed up on time; but the female in the party showed up right as we were ready to depart and told the driver there are two more coming and that he needed to wait so she could go to the bathroom. The driver was nice enough to wait for her to get out of the bathroom but the rest of her party was still rummaging through their car in the parking lot, taking their time like they had no place to be. Finally after about 7 to 10 minutes of this, they finally boarded the tram and we were on our way.

The tour began heading south on the park road while the guide was telling us the history of the Florida cracker settlements and how the Myakka prairies was one of the most popular ranch lands in the country. Along the way, he also pointed out the different types of ecosystems within the park and the vegetation and animals that it is home to.

We then turned off the paved roads and onto the Power Line Road to begin our off-road portion of the trip. The road was once a railroad that ran into Sarasota. Along the sides of the road were ditches that were dry today but the guide said is usually home to a large female gator. But because of the drought conditions, she had relocated to an area with water. The only wildlife we encounter on the road was the Osprey’s located in the large nests on top of the power lines. He also told use the importance of the prescribed burn program in the park and showed us how and why the program was needed to ensure the success of the ecosystem.

Later we turned down another path and we started to head further above sea level resulting in a change in ecosystems. We were now traveling into thick forests of pines and oaks. We had another fly-by from a Red Shouldered Hawk. We also saw a female White Tail Deer at the edge of the trees.

Then we turned down the last leg of our journey, Ranch House Road. This dirt road links us from the trail back to the park drive. Along the way we passed numerous air plants in the trees. The guide also pointed out some trees that appeared to have been painted white and pink but it was actually Lichen on the sides of the tree. Lichen is a organism that grows on trees in areas with no pollution, which was a good sign here because the trees were almost completely covered with it. The finally highlight on the leg of the trip was the area of the Bertha Palmer homestead. While the home and ranch are no longer in existence, this was once the homestead of pioneer Bertha Palmer.

We then returned to the concession area to conclude our tour. Our tour guide Brian did a great job in narrating the trip. While the wildlife was not that active, the historic overview of the park and the insight on the ecosystem was interesting.

Before leaving the park, we browsed the gift shop and took a drive through the campground to take a look at their campsites.

When the weather gets a little cooler, we will come back to Myakka River State Park for a weekend camping trip. Hopefully then we will do an airboat tour and finish up some of the trails we have yet to complete. Maybe then the wildlife will be more abundant.

Check out the slideshow below for photos from today’s tour and be sure to check back later for more about the tour.