Lake Manatee and the Gulf Coast

As I scheduled this post I realized it will hit just before the Christmas holiday. Let me take a moment to wish you all Happy Holidays and good fortune for the coming year!

12/05 – After an easy 1 hour drive I arrived at Lake Manatee State Park and was pleased to find I had a very nice site for my visit.

Once I set up camp it was time to get the kayak out on the lake!

At just under 4 square miles Lake Manatee is a fun paddle, there are mangroves at the edge to explore and the sky filled with puffy clouds made for a scenic day. Day time temperatures are just about perfect, high 70’s and just barely hitting 80 at the hottest time of the day. It’s great for being out on the water, and if you get to hot you can just splash yourself 😎

When I was visiting Highlands Hammock the first time a camper next door had told me that if I made it over to this area I needed to visit Fort De Soto park and after researching it online it did sound like a great spot. I loaded the bike up and headed to check it out. The morning had started very foggy and on the drive I could tell there was water next to the road but you couldn’t see it! I had to wait for my return trip to be treated to the amazing views of Tampa Bay. As you can see there is a large bridge and Fort De Soto is actually located on a barrier island.

Florida does love their toll roads and your SunPass will get a work out coming here as the bridges and road leading to the park are both tolled. However, the admission for day use at the park itself is only $5 and it truly is a bargain.

Please excuse me while I gush about this park! First of all it is HUGE and has multi use paths running the full length of the park and in between the historic fort, large beaches, piers and boardwalks. Park the car and take the bike. You know by now that I am a sucker for bike paths and this park has them to spare, you can actually get in nearly 30 miles of riding without leaving the park.

Of course I had to visit the historic Fort and museum. Click on the photo below for the whole album.

There is even a Bald Eagle nesting area and I saw more of them here than I have ever seen before.

I spent the entire day here and rode the length of the park on the paved bike path. I also visited the campground and decided to change my plans so that I could camp here. The campground is very popular and I think you can forget about getting a spot (especially a waterfront spot) over the weekend. Luckily, I was able to secure 2 adjoining sites for Tuesday – Thursday of the next week because after an enthusiastic endorsement I was able to convince some of my new #vanlife friends to meet me for a visit.

Returning to Lake Manatee State Park, I enjoyed a day of hanging around camp and riding the bike trails which were pretty challenging with lots of sand and roots. The Sondors did a good job and I didn’t add any new scrapes to my collection.

I managed to catch this little dude hanging around the boat ramp, just munching away on the grass.

12/10 – Time to move again, I had reserved a spot at a Thousand Trails park, Peace River RV park about an hour drive inland, near Wauchula Florida. It turned out to be a great spot right on the Peace river.

I was happy to finally have trees to try out the hammock. I have to say hammock naps are quite addictive! Intrigued by the Peace river I booked a float trip with a local outfitter called Canoe Outpost. It turned out to be a great choice, they are right on the river and have canoes and kayaks and all the gear to search for fossils. This area is known for being rich in fossils from prehistory, mostly shark teeth including the large and amazing Megalodon shark. I had shark tooth fever and checked out a shovel and screen so I could get in on the action.

The river is low since the rainy season hasn’t started it is mostly around 2 feet deep. Not knowing where to search I was mostly skunked on this trip as far as shark teeth go, but I did find some Dugong rib bones and spotted many alligators. This was my first time paddling with ‘gators and it is a bit nerve racking at first, but luckily the ones I saw showed absolutely ZERO interest in me, mostly they just laid on the banks sunning themselves. I did however pick up the pace whenever I spotted one!

I really enjoyed my stay at Peace River and in general I am really liking this area (Gulf coast, Tampa Bay) the most of all the Florida I have seen so far. It is less crowded and more laid back than the Miami or Keys areas and the weather has been great so far which may have something to do with that feeling as well.

Next up, I will return to camp at Fort De Soto and the #Vanlife crew from the Keys will be joining me and Anna and I will be doing a inshore dive charter to really look for shark teeth. I am really looking forward to having some company to share the experiences with.

Stay tuned!