Deer Prairie Creek Preserve South — Attraction in North Port

This park has a large series of interconnected trails. I was on the section that was closer to 41 and Northport. There's even a separate parking area in that section. I do want to be very clear that this is open wilderness, it's not encircled by civilization or development. This is a great big wildlife area that's connected to an even bigger wildlife area. I do find it cool and interesting to know I am in the wild, but be advised. Here you have hardcore wildlife such as gators, wild pigs, bobcats, deer, and maybe even Panthers (although rare). Being mindful of that, I would recommend carrying a gun for self-defense, only if you have a proper permit and are in compliance with state and local laws. I'm not going to lie, not long after I started walking the trails, I ran into this guy who told me that he just saw several wild hogs which were three times the size of his Pitbull. Being unarmed and as risk-averse as I am, I just turned right around and got back in my car and left. That's the only reason I'm giving it three stars, otherwise I'd give it more than that. I did this back in December 2021 when the weather was good, but I would imagine it gets pretty muggy and buggy...

I tried to like this preserve because it is located close to me and is vast with many trails. However the vast majority of the land is maily flat scrub with interspersed pine trees which was not particularly interesting to me walking or biking the trail. I imagine that kayaking the stream would be much more interesting with tropical foliage and animals. I saw virtually no animals on the trail during the midday. Trail was mainly mowed path with bumpy sand tire tracks between the dried out grass (February). I did not see many large trees although I have biked some of the north side of the preserve toward the west side and seen some beautiful groves of oaks and I suspect there would be interesting tropical foliage near the river but very few of the paths are near the river. I guess I am more inthralled with Florida's lush topical vegitaion and large gnarly oak trees than these scrub grasslands. You do want to have a map with you so you know where you are. I was able to pick on up at the trailhead but it was the last on there and I could have easily gotten lost without it. Print one online to be safe or have a better gps tracking phone...

As you drive in from the entrance road there is a kayak launch for the Myakka River on your left and a very large free parking lot on the right. Straight ahead is a kayak launch for Deer Prairie Creek and some nice benches and covered picnic tables to enjoy the view. I did see a couple of very large gators swimming together in here so be careful. For the trails, be sure to grab a paper map at the sign near the parking lot (thankfully they had many) because while the trails are marked, it’s not as prominent as others and it can be a little confusing back there. There are two main trails: the Short Loop Trail (1.9 m) and Long Loop Trail (3.5 m). I did the long loop and it took me about 1 hour 15 min. The trail felt mostly like a utility road (and sometimes like a grassy utility highway) but there was one stretch in the northwest section that was more primitive and beautiful. I did this walk myself and have to admit it might not have been the best idea as I did feel nervous at moments. Though I didn’t see...