Neal Preserve - Bradenton (FL)

2 /5 Nicole Petree: -No Dogs Allowed A bit underwhelming especially considering the amazing nearby preserves available. We had never been and decided to see what it had because we frequent other natural preserves near us. We probably wont go back.. its very small and having the noise from Manatee ave traffic doesnt allow for you to feel like your in nature. It has sand/shell trails and some boardwalk as well. The boardwalk areas definitely need work as we saw(and nearly missed) several holes and chunks missing from the wooden planks. You can tell that this place has not been cared for in a very long time. Its sad to see a preserve like this. Most of the signs showing specific trees or plants didnt actually have those trees or plants there to view which is not typical of a preserve. After all thats why they have the signage.. Overall as local lifetime floridians we were very disappointed in the lack of care and size of this location. I can only hope that the future shows something more for the area.

5 /5 Mike Zito: A small natural area with extensive boardwalks throughout. There is a lookout tower overlooking Sarasota Bay and the surrounding area. Neal preserve is a large prehistoric complex that consisted of shell middens and burial grounds between 3000BC and 1000AD. There are remnants of the mounds throughout. There is wildlife here and you may see eagles and other birds of prey. A very nice area for a 30 minute walk. There is a small parking lot. Highly recommended

5 /5 Glen Button: Nice trail made of shells and wood boardwalk. Plenty of parking at the time of my arrival (apprx. 8:30am). If you walk every trail, you will cover just under 1 mile (I measured .8 mile on my Garmin GPS watch). The lookout tower gives a nice 360° view of Neal Preserve. This preserve is located directly across from the Compass by Margaritaville Hotel. We saw an Osprey, a rabbit, a few common birds, and numerous crabs.

3 /5 Frederick Morgan: Still very damaged by Hurricane Milton. Observatory still nice and accessible. Not a very big park. 20 minute walk.

4 /5 Sky Barrows: Beautiful little preserve with lots of wildlife and interesting history. There are burial mounds that are hundreds of years old which is cool. There is also a 3 story observational tower that gives a pretty good look around the area. The only reason its not a 5 star for me is that its so small. You can walk the entire preserve in about 10 minutes. Still worth checking out!