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When you visit Myakka River State Park — and you should — the last thing you think of may be high society, but that’s part of the reason this wild piece of Florida remains wild today.

Bertha Honoré Palmer and Florida Cowboys

Bertha Honoré Palmer moved to Florida in 1910. She came with money, class, and ideas. She left an indelible mark on the Sarasota area.

In 2007, Hope Black wrote her masters thesis for USF’s Florida Studies Program about Palmer. When the Sarasota-Herald Tribune asked Black why she chose Palmer as a topic, she replied:

“It just intrigued me that this was a woman who had played golf with the king of England, had known the king and queen of Belgium, had traveled all over the world, and met with royalty, and was the grande dame of Chicago, traveled within the Newport, Rhode Island set, wore diamonds and rubies, had her gowns custom-made for her in Paris – and here at this point in her life, which was nine years after her husband died and left her $8 million, she suddenly, and no one knows why, she suddenly made the decision to come down to Sarasota, Florida,” Black replied.

“Refreshingly Quaint”

Palmer described Sarasota as “refreshingly quaint” – but she made money here. She came to Sarasota in 1910 with $8 million; she lived there until her death in 1918, at which time she had grown her wealth to $20 million. During her tenure in Sarasota, bought 70,000 acres of land, helped bring electricity to the area, and her influence started Sarasota on its transformative path from fishing village to the more elegant city it is today.

And while it’s easy to see how such a woman could steer nascent Sarasota to the arts and culture center we enjoy today, one of Palmer’s most enduring gifts is the land she posthumously protected.

Among her contributions were practical ones for cattle ranchers, such as the practice of dipping cattle for ticks. She, too, had a cattle ranch: Meadow Sweet Pastures, along the Myakka River.

Roosevelt’s Tree Army, Jim Crow, and Myakka

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Palmer died in 1918, and shortly after that, Florida plunged — well ahead of the rest of the country — into the Great Depression. When Franklin Roosevelt’s Works Progress Administration came to Florida, one of its agencies, the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), bought 17,000 acres of Palmer’s land near the river. This became one of Florida’s first state parks: Myakka River State Park. Before it was a park, it was a work camp. Here, most of the Black men who joined the CCC — called “Roosevelt’s Tree Army” — worked at Myakka, because Jim Crow laws meant they could not work alongside white men.

Myakka River State Park

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Those young men left behind a glorious state park, one that tempts travelers from across the country. People come here to hike, bike, and paddle the park. Hiking trails range from slightly more than 2 miles to almost 40, and offer unvarnished wild Florida experiences. Cyclists can pedal the length of the park, but a ride between Myakka and T. Mabry Carlton Jr. Memorial Reserve park in Venice offers a two-hour round-trip ride through some of Sarasota’s protected wilderness.

Paddlers will revel at the Myakka River, the first designated by the state as a “Wild and Scenic River” (not to be confused with the national designation). Of the river’s 66 miles, 14 run through the state park.

If you’re not a hardcore paddler or hiker, don’t despair. Myakka has plenty on offer for the more casual adventurer. To learn about the water without dipping a paddle, ask a ranger to tell you about Deep Hole, one of the more unusual water features in the park.

Wildlife Viewing

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Wildlife viewing — including birding — is abundant here, and if you want to show off some real-sized gators to out-of-town visitors, Myakka’s a solid choice. Pack a lunch and eat under the shelters by the water, or arrive early and explore the shorter hiking trails. And don’t simply drive by the markers that tell you about the park’s history; park and walk to the stone monument by the front of the park. Myakka history is Black history, women’s history, and Florida history, rolled into a wild and scenic package.

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But when you want something off the cultured path, Myakka River State Park offers proof that, not so far from the city, wild Florida endures.

Visit Myakka River State Park

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Myakka River State Park, 13207 State Road 72, Sarasota. 8 a.m.-sunset. $6, day visitors; $26, camping; $70, WPA cabins. 941-361-6511, FloridaStateParks.org or FriendsOfMyakkaRiver.org. And if you want to know more about Bertha Honoré Palmer, check out Hope’s Black history of her. Please note the park suffered damage from Hurricane Milton and some amenities are not available. And, if you’re heading home via the Skyway, stop at Woody’s River Roo for a bite.

Looking for more Florida adventure? Check out past Florida Bucket List adventures or my other Sarasota Bucket List post.

This article originally appeared in The Gabber Newspaper in October 2025.