Old Prairie Campground — Myakka River State Park

There are 3 separate campgrounds in Myakka State Park. This review is for Old Prairie Campground.  It's a small loop with a host on site.  One washer and one dryer is available at the campground, as well as clean free hot showers.  There's a garbage dumpster and a recycling bin.  There are no sewer hookups at the sites but there is a dump station.  The sites have a simple fence between them and nothing else for privacy, but the campground is so beautiful and lush that it didn't bother us.

Good cell reception.

This state park is great because there are so many things to do here.  You can rent a canoe or a kayak, there are hiking trails throughout, you can bike through the park, there is a canopy walkway and a bird watching boardwalk.  There's also a store with souvenirs and basic snacks and a food truck.  We rented a canoe for the day (reasonably priced at $20 for the first hour and $5/hr after that) and saw many alligators, turtles, wild pigs, and so many birds.  There's also a boat tour that was in operation when we stayed there in January.

This is kind of our go to Florida State Park as we live very close and really enjoy the hiking, biking and paddling the river and lake. We typically book last minute as“In-Season” campsites are often difficult to find. In addition, the lower campground is sometimes flooded out or closed for repairs putting even more pressure on the two campgrounds closer to the main park entrance which is further from the lake and general store. 

I may have reviewed this park before but always find different things to share. Their are three main campgrounds:

(1) Old Prairie where we usually stay. This is an older campground with a more rustic, state park vibe. Maybe 20 sites typically hosting smaller trailers, vans and tents etc.

(2) Palmetto Ridge is more more or less across from Old Prairie with a more open and modern looking vibe and where you will see more of your typical RV crowd of Big Rigs and larger trailers

(3) Big Flats is about 3 miles down the road from the entrance close to Lake Myakka where the tour boat, boat ramp, general store etc is found. We have never stayed here as it has been closed for repairs, maintenance and flooding on numerous occasions. Perhaps something to consider if you are booking way in advance. 

The reason Myakka is so popular to Florida visitors is it has outstanding beauty, a real Jurassic Park feel but is very near Sarasota with all the beaches, museums, restaurants and activities literally less than 1/2 hour away. Lots of people vacationing Florida on the cheap like to set up home here“in-season” and jump from site to site and stay as long as they can. Summers are much easier to find a site. 

We are lucky to live so close. We are here more in the summer and swing seasons. This park makes an excellent 2 or 3 day adventure or a great Basecamp for your Florida vacation. You won’t be disappointed. 

NOTE: Some of the public facilities have been closed due to COVID including the “Canopy Walk” which is very cool so you may want to check if that sort of thing interests you.

It is always interesting to me how all the Florida State Parks are a little different as the park manager seems to have some autonomy. Certain parks have public facilities closed like the Canopy Walk here at Myakka but another Florida State Park might have their observation tower open even though the structures are similar. Go figure.

Lovely and hugs state park with a mix of prairie and forest (palm, oak with Spanish moss and other epiphytes). We stayed at Old Prairie Campground site 38 and it was a lovely spot at back of the loop. The OP. Amp hound is a bit tighter than the Palmetto campground in terms of space, but I really liked the feel of the campground and people were all friendly. Clean bath house and laundry facilities (bring quarters). Weather was in the 80s in early February. We did the nature trail (short), the canopy walk, and also got permits for the wilderness preserve. The hike there is beautiful - about five miles round trip. Feels like the Serengeti - wide open prairie with occasional trees. There’s a lake with TONS of alligators and lots of amazing birds. You have to get a permit from the ranger station at 8 am and they only give out enough for 30 people each day. Well worth it. The only bummer with this campground is that there isn’t trail access from the campgrounds themselves (at least not from Old Prairie or Palmetto). I like state parks where you can access the trail network straight from the campsite. Other than that it was beautiful.

Perhaps the most ecologically diverse state park in Florida, Myakka River State Park has lots of nature viewing opportunities. Located just east of Sarasota you’ll find lots to do without having to leave the park. However, because of the age and condition of the campsites, for an exceptional camping experience, you'll want to choose your campsie carefully.

There are 3 separate and distinct campgrounds at Myakka River State Park. Depending on whether your tent camping or have an RV, you really want to pay attention here. Old Prairie Campground(sites 27– 48) and Big Flats Campground(sites 1– 26) are the oldest. These sites were not necessarily built for large RV’s although you can get into some of them with an RV up to 30 feet. Palmetto Ridge Campground(sites 49– 90) is the newest and will accommodate RV’s of any size and has sewer hookups. The other 2 campgrounds do not. 

We can’t imagine going to another Florida State Park and seeing more of nature than we did here. While riding our bikes along Park and North Drive, and taking a drive early one morning to the Outpost to get some cell service, it was a Florida safari! I’ve never seen so many alligators in the wild. From babies to big daddies, they lined the river and the edge of the lake. We saw black vultures by the dozens, turkey vultures, turkeys, and deer. There was a family of raccoons that visited each night to see what we might have left out for them. They had no luck. And the variety of birds in and around the lake was amazing. There were several that we hadn’t seen before.

To read our complete review visit https://lifestyleover50.com/myakka-river-state-park-campground-review/