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Myakka: The Florida of your dreams
By KAREN HAYMON LONG of The Tampa Tribune
The state's largest park also is one of its most crowded - with alligators, raccoons, deer, birds, bobcats and fish, the way Florida used to be.
MYAKKA RIVER STATE PARK - Few drivers speeding along Interstate 75 in Sarasota County, or shopping around ritzy St. Armand's Circle, could imagine that hundreds of alligators are swimming a half-hour away in the calm, warm waters of the Myakka River and Myakka Lake.
It might be even harder to imagine the white- tailed deer that gracefully romp through thick pine hammocks bordering the river, or the wild hogs that root in the black muck of dense woods.
One of the several rustic cabins available at Myakka River State Park. Tribune photo/KAREN HAYMON LONGPark rangers at Myakka River State Park, just nine miles east of I-75, off State Road 72, greet visitors by boasting of all the wildlife living in the park. They direct travelers to places they can see wild hogs from park roads. They tell them about the raccoons and bobcats, the deer, wading birds and lunker bass that live in the park, which at 28,876 acres is Florida's largest state park.
But visitors to the park will soon see for themselves.
Within the first half-hour of their visit, a Pinellas County couple saw a tawny white-tailed deer eating in the woods, dozens of egrets sailing over a grassy prairie, and six baby alligators peeking up from the Myakka River.
By the end of their two-night stay, they had seen three deer, one a wobbly legged fawn; about 100 alligators, including one 7 to 8 feet long; a wild turkey; a brave raccoon that stole their popcorn in broad daylight; a dozen great blue herons; dozens of squirrels; and a pesky cardinal that adopted their car for its perch.
State park literature welcomes visitors to ``the Real Florida,'' a Florida covered with ancient, moss-draped live oaks, towering palms and thick palmettos. A Florida filled with flocks of birds many Floridians have seen only in photographs. A Florida of few cars but lots of canoes and johnboats. A Florida where people sleep outside in tents, or inside in campers or cabins. A Florida where hikers can walk for miles s without seeing another soul, especially on a weekday in the summer.
And when visitors leave, when they go back to air conditioning and highways and shopping malls, they find that they miss the animals, the umbrella oaks, the hanging moss. They miss Florida's past.
The park's five cabins reveal another side of ``the Real Florida.'' They were built by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the late 1930s and early '40s out of cabbage palm trunks, kept together with thick, black tar.
They are rustic. Spider webs feather across the tar on the walls, the wood floors are creaky and gritty, the kitchen light in one cabin works only when it wants to, and the shower was built for the thin and trim.
But the beds are comfortable. Visitors sitting in lounge chairs on covered back porches are likely to see squirrels and perhaps a raccoon or wild hog. Owls may hoot them awake before dawn, and the pounding of what sounds like deer hoofs may trample outside at daybreak. But this, after all, is ``the Real Florida,'' which even few natives remember.
To see even more of ``the Real Florida,'' visitors can rent canoes for $10 for two hours, $18 for a half day, or $24 for a full day at the park concession at the boat docks. A camp store there sells cold drinks and food, souvenirs and some camp supplies. Bikes can be rented there, too.
That's also where guests can climb aboard two ?passenger boats for a guided ride along Upper Myakka Lake.
Those who rent canoes will see hundreds of alligators of all sizes, dozens of birds - snowy egrets, great blue herons, anhingas, to name just a few - and they will feel like they are paddling back to another era.
Hiking is another great way to get away from it all and to see acres of grassy prairies, some dotted with delicate purple and yellow wildflowers that seem to thrive in the heat.
For it is hot here, hotter than many air conditioning-addicted Floridians ever feel, in the summer months. So a trip here really would be more enjoyable between October and April for many.
It's smart to wear a hat while hiking and to carry plenty of bottled water and insect repellent.
The park's trails are diverse enough that most any hiker will be satisfied. One meanders along the river, where hikers can see alligators and river otters, if they are lucky. Another loops for a 40-minute hike past prairies and pine hammocks and acres of live oaks. Benches are spaced along the
path, which is accessible to those in wheelchairs.More hearty hikers prefer the 38.9-mile Myakka Trail, within the park and maintained by the Florida Trail Association. Along the way are six primitive campgrounds, with three campsites each, shaded by oaks. Day hikers can take those trails, too, but they should ask for trail maps at the ranger station and talk to rangers about the trails they are interested in before setting out. The maps aren't very detailed and the trails are dismally marked, so it is easy to take the wrong trail and wind up miles from parking lots.
That's another reason it's important to take lots of water and a compass.
A 12-mile horse trail is open to riders with their own horses and to hikers.
Fishing for bass and bluegill is good in the park, too, the rangers say. Florida fishing licenses are required, but boats or fancy rods are not. Some people have had luck fishing with cane poles from a bridge across the river, or along the banks of the river from the picnic area near the concession.
(Sarasota County residents fishing in the park's fresh water with cane poles don't need licenses, but all others do, according to the Florida Marine Patrol.
No swimming is permitted in the park. But besides the 76 campsites, the park has picnic shelters, a s playground and a visitors center that isn't staffed but has some interesting exhibits and fine videos that describe the park's wildlife and activities.
Campfire programs, beginner birding classes and nature walks led by rangers are offered on weekends from Thanksgiving through Easter. In the summer, rangers give nature walks at 9 a.m. on Saturdays.
A tram takes visitors on guided tours, available from Dec. 17 through the end of May.
Even in summer, rangers are friendly and helpful, and seem open to answering questions and suggesting hikes and places where visitors are likely to see birds and other wildlife.
Rangers are at the front entrance station until 10 p.m. and are available all night in case of emergencies.
People who like to get away from it all but then see city life, too, will find pleasure here. After all, Sarasota, with its scenic beaches and fine shopping and dining, is nearby.
But then again, some people prefer to stay close to the park and to the wilder side of life, a life that's all but gone in many parts of today's ``Real'' Florida.
