Our week here in Sarasota is coming to a close. A couple of the days have been decidedly cool, even chilly by Florida standards, and cloudy. Those days were certainly less than welcomed by us. We have taken a few walks along the beach and done some other little exploration. However, today was our first foray into new territory: The Deep Hole of Myakka River State Park.
This is just above a 5-mile roundtrip hike thorough prairie in a 7,500 acre nature preserve that includes Lower Myakka Lake. It’s certainly a different kind of area than anything I have seen before in Florida. It isn’t beach, urban sidewalks or parks, certainly not wetlands. The greatest amount of sound was probably, sadly, the rumble of traffic which grew fainter as we traveled farther from the trailhead. Now and then I heard birds but they were few and far between. Perhaps that’s because trees were few and far between too. At the shore of Lower Myakka Lake I certainly heard more. If the alligators made any sound it went unnoticed.
There were certainly quite a few alligators soaking up warmth from the sun as it rose through a clear blue sky and the air temperature steadily increased throughout the upper 50s. People have counted upwards of 200 alligators but the number we saw was considerably less. If you hope to capture photos of them bring a good really long zoom lens. I count myself lucky my snapshots are as good as they are with the 5x zoom on my iPhone 15 Pro Max. Viewing them with my 10x monocular was certainly more impressive.
This is a hike I recommend taking. But you should arrive at the park as early as you can manage because they limit access to 30 people per day. You are provided with a permit and instructions on how to enter the nature preserve. They appear to be serious about this and do require you return your permit so they can be sure everyone that goes in comes out again. I was a bit surprised they didn’t have a ranger checking out permits along the way but perhaps they do just not all the time.
I hope you enjoy the photos and 3D “fly over” you will find below.
A 3D flyover of our hike through the prairie which lead us to Lower Myakka Lake and its Deep Hole.
Photos
I think there have been on average 7 alligator attacks per year on humans throughout Florida since records have been kept by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission since 1948. Over that time 26 fatalities were counted. Here in Myakka River State Park has had none and only a small number of incidents.
--January 9, 2025 at 10:21 AM.
Maps are centered on the photo: Google map, Apple map, OpenTopoMap map
The trail to Deep Hole travels through prairie. It’s a dry prairie that I think they burn every couple years. The park limits access to Deep Hole to 30 people per day on a first-come-first-served basis.
--January 9, 2025 at 10:27 AM.
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We have walked about a half mile. The trail is generally made of packed sand though soft spots like incomplete beach sand pop up now and then. Now and then a tree pops up too.
--January 9, 2025 at 10:33 AM.
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We were all expecting a deep hole with some water at the bottom. If I had looked at a map perhaps I would not have been misled. The deep hole is a 130 feet deep section of Lower Myakka Lake. Here, looking south, we see alligators.
--January 9, 2025 at 11:22 AM.
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Looking to the east a couple hundred feet away are numerous alligators warming up in the sun.
--January 9, 2025 at 11:22 AM.
Maps are centered on the photo: Google map, Apple map, OpenTopoMap map
Look closely for the white bird standing at the water’s edge in front of all those alligators.
--January 9, 2025 at 11:22 AM.
Maps are centered on the photo: Google map, Apple map, OpenTopoMap map
A close-up view.
--January 9, 2025 at 11:22 AM.
Maps are centered on the photo: Google map, Apple map, OpenTopoMap map
Alligators aren’t the only critters here. These vultures aren’t moving much. In fact, until one did we did not notice them.
--January 9, 2025 at 11:33 AM.
Maps are centered on the photo: Google map, Apple map, OpenTopoMap map
No idea what this bird in the tree next to the vultures is.
--January 9, 2025 at 11:34 AM.
Maps are centered on the photo: Google map, Apple map, OpenTopoMap map
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