Along the Myakka River immediately south of Interstate 75, Sleeping Turtles Preserve South protects 212 acres of uplands and wetlands.
Sitting east of River Road and its burgeoning subdivisions, it is one of a chain of preserves dedicated to buffering the river’s floodplain.
It doesn’t focus on the river basin. Instead, its main 1.4 mile loop circles a 20 acre lake, a former quarry.
The lake looks natural now, but was dug nearly fifty years ago when limestone was mined for the roadbed of the interstate.
While the trail network extends as spokes off the main loop and includes a southerly loop, the best hike on its trail system is to circle the lake…