Myakka River State Park, Sarasota

here is a video of when i went with my friends. primitive camping. it was great. just go in winter. even then there is mosquitoes. i can't imagine if you went in the summer! p.s. there is no river? lol

Loved the park, trails, whole atmosphere was great. Missed the tree tops walk. It was an extra hot day, reached 104. Not a day to take the boat ride. Super Hot on the boat, much slower than I anticipated. Did get some awsome aligator pictures, lovely ride for early morning. Cute gift shop. I understand there is camping, a great idea for cooler weather. Yes, I would return again.

We canoed on the Myakka River and had a wonderful time. The attendants were very helpful. We saw a lot of alligators while canoeing and pretty flowers on the lily pads. I will admit I thought it was crazy we were out there in the water with the Alligators but they were just busy relaxing and swimming around. They never came towards us and we didn't go towards them. It was a family outing with ages from 7 to 62. The kids were a little frightened by the alligators and for the simple fact that we could fall out of the canoe and be in the same water as the alligators. We had a wonderful time and plan to go back each time we are visiting in Florida. The park is beautiful. While in the park we saw Deer, and many other forms of wildlife and they were so calm and easy to look at or take pictures of. It is a beautiful park and a great place to spend a day away from the hustle and bustle of everyday life.

Let me start by saying that the park itself is very pretty with lots of wildlife. The canopy walk was very enjoyable. The camping was a completely different story. We got there after 5:00 on a Friday and the party was already in full swing. It was completely crowded and all I could see were cars everywhere. We have a pop-up camper and our site was so small that we couldn't even put out our awning...it would have gone over top of the fire ring which was literally 5 feet from our neighbor's tent!! At least we didn't have one of the sites in the middle where it was like camping in an open field. People were up partying in the middle of the night and we were up for the day at 6:30 a.m. due to the loud kids that were allowed to run around the campgrounds screaming and yelling. I will never camp there again!!

Myakka is a huge and beautiful park, but was not my favorite place for camping. It's so big that we had to get in the car and drive 5 min to get to a hiking trail. I was very disapointed by the layout of the campground, as it has no privacy (bushes/plants) between sites, you're all just open and out there looking at everyone. The park was very crowded with visitors at the the Canopy walk and boat rides. I would love to come back to walk the trails/bike/canoe, but not to camp.

This is an absolutely wonderful place to go. We always visit here when we go to Sarasota for our family vacations. The wildlife is unbelievable. We have seen deer, bear, a black panther, armadillos, turtles, birds and of course alligators. As I am a photographer, this is a must for those who love to take pictures. The sunsets are unbelievable. Be sure to take a day and visit, for if you like nature, and just being in God's creation, you will not be disappointed.

We had a fairly large group going and were worried about the size of our spot that we had to share, ended up having plenty of space for our two oversized tents and our 'dining' enclosure. The kids loved the wildlife and riding bikes on trails. Visited by raccoons every night, and up close and personal with alligators on our canoe trip-LOTS OF GATORS, but they do not seem to bother you. Told that it does flood during rainy season in the summer, would not want to go then due to heat and bugs anyway. Was a great experience, the staff was very friendly as well! Be aware that some of the spaces were smaller than others, we made a list of the spaces we liked best for next time.

Neat place to see natural wild Florida. We were able to walk up reasonably close to where gators were doing their thing in the water. Also a lot of different birds to see. Nice drive into the "woods" just to look around. Took the boat ride. Boat captain was informative and fun to listen to. Get there early! If you want to ride the boats, they fill up quickly. Went there on a Wednesday. Quite a few people there at 10AM, place was packed by 1PM. What wildlife you see is pretty much luck of the draw. On the boat ride, we got to see a bald eagle. The captain said that was maybe a once a month occurance for him. Lots of places for good photo ops for the family. Only downsides would be to recommend bringing snacks for the kids if they get hungry at noon. The snack shop/gift store line was L O N G at noon. Also the number of bathrooms for the crowd seemed to be on the small side. Highly recommend a stop out here.

I wouldnt change a thing, was excellent, it was a great time with my 11 children and my wife, i cant wait to come back next year

Trek quietly into this park and you will see an abundance of wildlife. There are boat rides through the river where one can see many alligators sunbathing. There is a canopy walk through the tropical trees. There is hiking, backpacking and camping where one is surrounded by wildlife. This park is a treasure for anyone interested in observing wildlife and enjoying nature.