PARKS & OUTDOORS
Rye Preserve
Manatee County · Gulf Coast
Five hundred and thirty acres of sand pine scrub, hardwood and river bluff on the Upper Manatee River, northeast of Bradenton near Fort Hamer.
ABOUT THIS PLACE
The land here was settled in the nineteenth century and the town of Rye has gone, but the pioneer cemetery is still in the woods and one of the marked trails leads to it. Five signposted routes cross the preserve. The Red Trail is the easiest, a gentle loop of eight-tenths of a mile around the picnic area and campground; the Yellow, Orange and Cemetery trails together add about another mile and three quarters through the old settlement ground. The habitats are the reason for the variety underfoot: dry scrub on the ridges, hardwood in the hollows, and bluffs dropping to the river. Florida scrub-jays live in the scrub, a bird found nowhere outside this state. A hand launch puts a kayak on the Upper Manatee River. There is a nature center, picnic pavilions, a playground and restrooms, and a seasonal campground open September to May with check-in between three and seven in the afternoon. Day entry is free and gates run sunrise to sunset
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