Walking out into the wide open prairie, you follow the narrow trail between the orange-tipped fence posts. Off to the left, a vast sea of saw palmetto stretches into the distance, the palmetto prairie, once the most common habitat blanketing this part of Florida. Unless you need to stop and pump water from the pitcher pump, continue along the orange blazed trail, following the line of oak trees out into the open prairie. Immediately after crossing a road that leads out into the prairie, you reach the sign for the Mossy Hammock campsite. As you will see from this and other vistas, the prairies rebounded. Prairie restoration efforts began in the 1980s. Myakka’s grassy prairies, once used as cattle grazing land, nearly vanished under an onslaught of tall shrubs and palmettos.Īfter years of carefully preventing forest fires, park managers realized that fire was necessary to maintain the habitat. Home to many unique creatures, including the burrowing owl and Bachman’s sparrow, these dry expanses of grass and palmetto require frequent fires to rejuvenate the land.
Rounding a bend in the creek, you walk beneath a jungle-like canopy of ferns and air plants blanketing the live oak limbs.Īfter 2.4 miles, you catch your first glimpse of the vast prairies that Myakka River State Park preserves. In the wet season, it overflows across vast stretches of the trail. Remnants of that era are sprinkled throughout the prairies and hammocks, from the remains of the old ranch house to cattle dip vats used for removing ticks from cattle.Īfter making a sharp turn to the right and climbing up a small rise, the trail swings right to follow Mossy Island Slough, a sluggish blackwater stream with high banks. These are the foundations of silos from the former ranch that occupied this land. If you need to exit the trail system in a hurry, you can also use the roads as a high and dry route to get back out to the main park road- pick up a “Hiking and Biking” brochure at the ranger station for details on the road system.ĭeep in an oak hammock, several round structures invite inspection. You will run into bikepackers at the campsites. After 1.1 miles, you cross Fox’s High Road, a popular bicycling route.īicycles are permitted on all of the old roads crisscrossing the park, but are not allowed on the hiking trail. Scrubby flatwoods give way to hammocks of bluejack oaks.
Around each corner, you encounter new habitats.įrom dense hardwood hammocks, you see marshlands. Constant humidity makes the forest lush and green.Īs the habitat transitions into a palm hammock, the footpath gets mushy as it circles a willow marsh.Īfter 0.5 mile, you see a hard-packed limestone road paralleling the trail on the right. Turn left to hike to Mossy Hammock, heading down a corridor outlined by saw palmetto. A directional sign at the trail junction gives mileages to the various campsites. Skirting a floodplain forest, the blue-blazed trail ends at the main orange-blazed loop after 0.3 mile. Winding through a hammock of ancient live oaks, a blue-blazed trail leads you to the main loop. Day Oneįrom the parking area, the trail system starts at the FT sign. This enables you to plan numerous routes, from a lengthy day hike on the Bee Island Loop to a four-day experience exploring all four loops.
Designed and maintained by the Suncoast chapter of the Florida Trail Association, the trail system has nearly 39 miles of trail broken into four loops. HikeĮxtensive and well-engineered: that’s the Myakka Hiking Trail. Unlock the gate and drive up the entrance road to the parking area. Follow the park entrance road for 5.1 miles, keeping to the right at the fork. From I-75 exit 205, drive 9 miles east on SR 72 to the park entrance on the left.
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