FLORIDA FRIDAY: Head to the treetops at Myakka River State Park near Sarasota.

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Myakka River State Park near Sarasota is one of the oldest and largest of the state parks. One of Florida's Wild and Scenic rivers, the Myakka River flows through 57 square miles of wetlands, prairies, hammocks, and pinelands. You will get a birds-eye view of the wetlands as you walk a 100 foot long canopy walkway, the first public treetop trail in North America. There is also a Bird Trail on a boardwalk ou to the Myakka River. Then cruise the lake aboard one of two enormous airboats. They are said to be the largest in the world. For the ultimate alligator experience, sign up for a five-mile roundtrip hike to Deep Hole, a sinkhole on the edge of the Lower Myakka Lake. From December to May, park waters dry up, and the sinkhole is one of the few places offering deep water and abundant food to alligators. During dry years, more than 100 alligators may crowd around the small sinkhole.

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Photos

Myakka Canopy Walkway
Photo from Wikimedia Commons.