When submitting eBird observations at Myakka River State Park, it is most helpful to start a new checklist for each hotspot in the state park. Use the general hotspot when you have a checklist that includes multiple locations or if no other hotspot or personal location is appropriate for your sightings.

The majestic Myakka River flows through 58 square miles of Myakka River State Park, one of Florida’s oldest and largest parks.

In a scene reminiscent of what early Native Americans and Spanish explorers witnessed, arching palm trees and live oaks are reflected on a winding tea-colored stream. The cries of limpkins and osprey pierce the air while alligators and turtles sun lazily on logs and riverbanks.

This is the Myakka River, Florida’s first state-designated wild and scenic river, and it flows through a vast expanse of unspoiled wetlands, prairies, hammocks, and pinelands that makeup Myakka River State Park. Boating, fishing, canoeing, and kayaking are popular activities on the water while hikers and bicyclists explore miles of trails and backroads.

Before 1850, the Myakka River was the Asternal River on English maps. A Seminole Indian reportedly told a surveyor in the 1850s that the name of the river was Myakka. The translation of the word Myakka is unknown.

Between the 1850s and the 1930s, cattle grazed on the dry prairie, a vast land of grasses, forbs, palmetto, and other low shrubs with thousands of scattered wetlands.

In 1910, Bertha Palmer, a progressive businesswoman from Chicago, came to Sarasota and bought a vast amount of land. A few years later, she purchased acreage farther inland than her initial real estate purchases and tried her hand at cattle and swine ranching. Meadow Sweet Pastures was located very near the Myakka River, where she introduced fencing and dip vats to Florida ranching (Visit the Ranch House Road inside the park for more information about the Palmer Ranch). In 1918, Mrs. Palmer passed away.

Shortly after, the Great Depression struck America. President Roosevelt signed into law the New Deal, a government program intended to boost the economy and spirit of the American population during those dark years. One program funded was the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC). Over 17,000 acres of the Palmer estate were purchased by Florida to develop Myakka River State Park. Myakka is one of eight Florida State Parks developed by the CCC during the 1930s.