Myakka River State Park - Sarasota, FL

 

In November I was searching the bucket lists I have at the top of the page for something new that we could go discover.  I came across the Myakka River State Park Treetop canopy walk and was very intrigued.  It is the only treetop canopy walk in Florida and sounded very interesting.

We drove to Sarasota from our house - only took about 2.5 hours and drove directly to the state park.  Upon entering the area we paid our $6.00 to park and decided to check out the tourist station.  The guide there explained that we had to drive a little further down to get to the canopy walk.

Inside the ranger/tourist station there were different displays regarding the flora and fauna of Florida.  The Myakka River State Park is one of the oldest and largest filled with wetlands, prairies, and woodlands.

We headed out and drove about 2 miles down the street - we crossed over a bridge filled with people fishing and checking out all of the gators sunning themselves - 

 We walked about a half mile through the forest before coming up to the first of the two towers for the canopy walk.

The Myakka Canopy Walkway provides easy access to observe life in the treetops of an oak/palm hammock.  Completed in 2000, the structure became known as the first public treetop trail in North America.

The walkway is suspended 25 feet above the ground and meanders about 100 feet through the canopy.  The second tower soars 74 feet in the air and provides a spectacular view of the treetops, wetlands and surrounding areas.  

looking back towards the first tower staircase

looking down from the 2nd tower at the people walking over the wooden bridge

 

After we walked both towers we decided to continue to walk around - I got some really interesting pictures from the ground up as well - 

Once finished with the walkway - we headed back to the car to continue to explore the state park.  About 3 miles further down we found the main area of the state park.  This is where they have airboat rides, tram safari, and a restaurant.

The airboat tours were in the largest airboat I have ever seen - if you want more information on their schedules - click here - 

another options was to take a Safari Tram and find out more about the surrounding areas - it too looked like it would be very interesting - to read more - click here - 

If you are interested in canoeing, walking around or just appreciating the view - you should definitely come here and check it out - 

Click here to check out all information pertaining to the Myakka River State park - hours, location, attractions, etc