Skip to content
Myakka River State Park, Sarasota, FL

Photo: Mx. Granger, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons. Cropped and resized.

Sports & OutdoorsOutdoor AdventureFamily Favorite

Myakka River State Park

Watch alligators from the Birdwalk, cross a canopy walkway above the oaks, and paddle or bike through prairie and wetlands east of Sarasota.

13207 State Road 72, Sarasota, FL 34241 · Sarasota, FL

About Myakka River State Park

Myakka is one of Florida's oldest and largest state parks, over 37,000 acres along the Myakka River, the state's first designated wild and scenic river. A 6.5-mile park drive leads to the Birdwalk, a boardwalk where you can watch birds and alligators, and to a canopy walkway hung 25 feet up in the hammock with a 74-foot tower. You can rent bikes and canoes at the Myakka Outpost, hike, camp or fish. Entry is $6 per vehicle.

  • #state park
  • #alligators
  • #birding
  • #canopy walkway
  • #paddling

What's around here?

The closest stops to Myakka River State Park, ordered by straight-line distance. A few more like it, plus some different kinds of fun so you can build a full day.

  • Sports & Outdoors
    Family Favorite

    Siesta Beach

    No admission fee

    Swim and stroll on a very wide Gulf beach of fine white quartz sand that stays cool under bare feet.

    Transit: reachable by public transit

    15 mi awayMore like this

  • Attractions
    Family Favorite

    Sarasota Jungle Gardens

    Under $25

    Hand-feed free-roaming flamingos, watch bird and reptile shows and wander 10 acres of tropical plantings at a Sarasota garden open since the 1930s.

    17 mi awaySwitch it up: Attractions

  • Attractions

    Mote Science Education Aquarium (Mote SEA)

    Check prices

    Public aquarium in Sarasota run by a nonprofit marine research laboratory, showing its scientific work to visitors.

    17 mi awaySwitch it up: Attractions

  • Museums

    John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art

    $25–$50

    Florida's official state art museum in Sarasota, set on the former Ringling estate grounds with gardens and a circus museum nearby.

    Transit: reachable by public transit

    18 mi awaySwitch it up: Museums

  • Sports & Outdoors

    Bradenton Riverwalk

    Check prices

    Waterfront park along the Manatee River offering a riverside walking path, fishing, beach volleyball, and a skatepark.

    24 mi awayMore like this

  • Sports & Outdoors
    Outdoor Adventure

    Egmont Key State Park

    Check prices

    Take a boat to an island at the mouth of Tampa Bay to walk old brick roads past an 1858 lighthouse and the ruins of Fort Dade, then swim off quiet beaches.

    37 mi awayMore like this