Short Trips
Upper Manatee River State Canoe Trail
This is a 5 mile blueway, designated as part of Florida’s statewide system of Greenways and Trails. From Gamble Creek to the Lake Manatee Dam is for everyone with all skill levels to enjoy. Public launch points include Fort Hamer and Braden River boat ramps, Braden River Park and Rye Wilderness Preserve. Ray’s Canoe Hideaway is a fee-based launch.
Ray’s Canoe Hideaway to Rye Preserve
From Ray’s Canoe Hideaway, paddle upriver to cross under the Rye Bridge. Pull ashore after the Rye Bridge to access the Rye Preserve. Picnic areas are located on the south side of the river. Picnic shelters, restrooms and campground facilities are located on the north side of the river within the county-owned preserve.
Braden River
Paddle north from the Braden River boat ramp under the SR 64 bridge to view the historic homesites on the westside of the Manatee River or the new homesites on the eastside. Without too much effort, a crossing to the north side of the Manatee River to explore this shoreline is also possible.
Launch Points
Fort Hamer County Boat Ramp
Located at 1605 Fort Hamer Road, Parrish, Florida. From Sarasota, take I-75 north, Exit 224, go east on US 301 until Old Tampa Road, take a right until it dead ends into Fort Hamer Road. Take a right and go until you reach the river. From Bradenton, head east on US 301 and follow the same directions.
Rye Preserve
Located at 905 Rye Wilderness Trail, Parrish, Florida. From Sarasota, take I-75 north, Exit 220A (SR 64) east to Upper Manatee River Road. Turn left at Rye Road, the first right after bridge. From Bradenton, head east on SR 64 to Upper Manatee River Road. The kayak launch is at the first parking lot on the right and down the trail and stairs, 200 yards.
Braden River (SR 64) Boat Ramp
From Sarasota, take I-75 north, Exit 220B (SR 64) to just over the Braden River Bridge. From Bradenton, head east on SR 64 to just over the Braden River Bridge.
Ray’s Canoe Hideaway on Manatee River
by Sarasota Bay Estuary Program
Ray’s Canoe Hideaway
Located at 1247 Hagle Park Road, Bradenton, Florida. From Sarasota, take I-75 north, Exit 220A (SR 64) east to Upper Manatee River Road, go 4.5 miles to Hagle Park Road, turn north and follow the signs to Ray’s. From Bradenton, head east on SR 64 then north onto Upper Manatee River Road, go 4.5 miles to Hagle Park Road, turn north and follow the signs to Ray’s.
Points of Interest
Manatee River
In Native American Legend, the Manatee River, dividing line between the Calusa and Timucuan peoples, was known as the “Singing River” because of the most beautiful and lovely music it mysteriously made on certain moons.
The river’s headwaters at 136 feet above sea level is the highest point in Manatee County. It flows south, then west through Lake Manatee to Tampa Bay, a total of 46 miles.
Gamble Plantation Historic State Park
by Bradenton Area CVB
Gamble Plantation Historic State Park
This antebellum mansion was home to Major Robert Gamble and headquarters of an extensive sugar plantation. It is the only surviving plantation house in south Florida. It is believed that Confederate Secretary of State, Judah P. Benjamin, took refuge here after the fall of the Confederacy, until his safe passage to England could be secured. In 1925, the house and 16 acres were saved by the United Daughters of the Confederacy and donated to the state. Today, the mansion is furnished in the style of a successful mid-19th century plantation. Guided tours of the house are given six times a day, Thursday through Monday, and there are picnic tables on the grounds. The visitor center is open from 8:00 a.m.- 4:30 p.m., Thursday through Monday; it is closed on Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day, and New Year’s Day. Located in Ellenton on U.S. 301 East. For Information about Gamble Plantation Historic State Park, please call (941) 723-4536.
Christian Retreat
Another landmark on the trail is the Christian Retreat. The Christian Retreat, begun 50 years ago as a campground by Gerald Durstine, a Mennonite missionary to the area, is now a 110‑acre church, residential and vacation complex. The property includes the site of “Maydell,” a grand two‑story home built in 1917 east of Mill Creek by Albert Huyler. He was the owner of the Oak Knoll Grapefruit Company and sponsor of Huyler Boulevard, the first road linking communities to the east, part of which became Upper Manatee River Road. Across the river is an abandoned “Native American” village where missionaries once trained to prepare for missions to Africa.
Rye Preserve
Sea Oxeye Daisy
Rye Preserve is located around and near the Rye Road Bridge. Rye, site of the first bridge built across the Manatee River in 1880, takes its name from Erasmus Rye, a Virginia settler of Scottish descent. The community no longer exists, but from 1875 to the early 1900s at the beginning of navigation on the river, Rye was a thriving logging and farming settlement of 75 families.
The preserve offers paddlers a canoe/skiff launch, several take out points, picnic tables, grills, restrooms, water fountain, and tent camping.
Fort Hamer
Upper Manatee River, Florida State Canoe Trail
by Ray’s Canoe Hideaway
Fort Hamer, named after a brigadier general of the Florida Volunteers, was built in 1849 on the south shore across from the present public boat ramp, as one of several fortifications around Tampa Bay. The garrison of 165 men stood down in 1850 when the suspected Seminole uprising never came about. However, the Fort again saw brief service in the third Seminole War between 1855-1858.
Manatee Dam
Manatee Dam was built in 1966 to create a drinking water reservoir for Manatee County. It is 50 feet high, 4,500 feet long and over 30 feet wide at its crown. Lake Manatee is 9 miles long and about 40 feet above sea level.
General Experience
Osprey
The entire Manatee River Trail offers excellent paddling. The upper portion east of Fort Hamer offers excellent family canoeing because of the ample depth of water, slow‑moving stream and forested banks that can provide shade from the sun and windbreaks on breezy days.
For the trail east of Fort Hamer, the water depth, speed and direction of the current can vary with the tide and the rate of water discharge from the dam, but is usually less than 2 mph. The river canopy is covered, narrow, and winding all the way to the Lake Manatee dam. Hearing a warning siren on the river means that a dam gate is opening or closing. Please keep a safe distance of at least 300 yards from the dam, observing a “no entry” overhead cable line maintained by Manatee County downstream of the spillway.
The lower portion of the river west of Fort Hamer widens to almost a mile in parts and the river becomes more of an urban paddling experience. You’ll paddle under a railroad bridge, I-75, US 41, and US 301 bridges, with great views of downtown Bradenton and Palmetto. Remember, this section is for sea kayaks with spray skirts or sit-a-top kayaks as the wind, waves, and tides can be very tough and changes can occur quickly.
The river opens up west of the Fort Hamer boat ramp as boat traffic, wind, waves, and tides increase in this area. A sea kayak with a spray skirt or sit-a-top kayak is the recommended equipment west of Fort Hamer. Use caution!
Environment
Bobcat
The Manatee River Trail is home to a wide variety of wildlife including reptiles, manatees, dolphins, wading birds, turtles, the endangered Gopher Tortoise, as well as fresh and saltwater fish. Alligators inhabit the river and should be given wide berth, never fed. They are most active during mating season and near dusk and dawn. Avoid heavy brush along the river where alligators and poisonous snakes may live. Manatees and other marine animals use the river as a protected nursery to have and raise their babies, and lay their eggs. Manatees are in the river year round and, like dolphins, the slow moving manatees are protected by the Marine Mammal Protection Act and should not be harassed, fed, given water, or harmed.
As you paddle the river, you will see flashes of brilliant color dance in mid‑air. You may see a wide variety of beautiful butterflies and moths, including the Florida White, the Great Southern White, the bright yellow Southern Dogface, the Monarch‑mimicking Viceroy, or the tiny spotted Cassius Blue. The Palamedes Swallowtail or the distinctive Zebra Longwing, Florida’s State Butterfly, might even make an appearance.
Fishermen will appreciate the ample striped bass, bream, speck, and the area’s largest freshwater catfish. Or drift leisurely along and enjoy the lush scenery and rich wildlife including herons, egrets, hawks, ospreys, otters, bobcats, and turtles.