Little Manatee River State Park

Trail Description

Little Manatee River State Park is very diverse and wild. The hiking trails are on the north side of the river, but the main features of the park are on the south side. You must register at the Ranger Station in order to get the combination to the lock on the gate to the hiking trailhead. This process adds at least 10 minutes to the hike time because the trailhead is located about 2.5 miles from the ranger station, back out north on 301. The total trail is 6.2 miles, plus the 0.1mi spur to the trailhead, and is broken up into 12 sections by 12 numbered posts. I have included waypoints for all 12 posts along the trail. There is also a cross trail near the middle to reduce the length of the loop from 6.2mi to only 2.5mi. On the first weekend, I hike the short loop. The whole short loop from the gate totaled 2.8 Miles of walking, taking 1 hr and 50 minutes at a kid friendly pace with stops and breaks. Between Marker #6 and #7 the trail turns away from the river. Just before #9 is the spur to the primitive campsite, which is about 0.22mi long each way. The campsites looked very nice-- good space between the campsites, fire rings and picnic tables. The hike took 2 hours and 40 minutes for a total of 6.8 miles (2.55 mph including a 10-15min stop at the campsites to empty boots). We started the hike around 9:30am and finished after 1:00pm. Children would certainly increase the time, but dry conditions would improve them. Each of the hikers consumed 3L of water and could have used a bit more, so make sure you bring at least that much water. The back side or the trail is in the sun more so we were very hot and thirsty the last hour. - kurtisk

Trail Statistics

Map Length: 19.11 miles / 30.75 km

Real Length: 19.32 miles / 31.09 km

Elevation Range: -238 - 52 feet / -73 - 15 meters

Elevation Traveled: 5934 feet (2942 up, 2991 down)

1808 meters (896 up, 911 down)

Elevation per Mile: 307 feet / 93 meters

Activities: Hiking

Elevation Profile