A small but significant national park where the Manatee River flows into Tampa Bay, De Soto National Memorial interprets Hernando De Soto’s landing and its impacts.
The explorer and conquistador sailed into Tampa Bay in 1539 to claim this shoreline for the King of Spain. His actual landing site is unknown.
Chasing rumors of gold, De Soto brought an army from Spain and enough men to start a settlement. The clash of cultures that ensued put a permanent mark on history.
The park explores the impact of the Spanish conquistadors on native culturesResources
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Overview
Location: Bradenton
Length: 1.2 miles
Trailhead: 27.520350, -82.644483
Address: 8300 DeSoto Memorial Hwy, Bradenton
Fees: Free
Restroom: At the visitor center
Land manager: National Park Service
Phone: 941-792-0458
Walk-in visitors may enter dawn to dusk except New Years Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and when hurricanes threaten. The gates open 8 AM. Visitor center open 9 to 5 daily.
Cars must leave the parking area by 5 PM. Alternative parking is available at adjoining Riverview Pointe Preserve.
Leashed dogs welcome, but keep them off the beaches and clean up after your pet. Mosquitoes can be problematic at certain times of year. Bicycles are not permitted.
Directions
From US 41 (9th St SW) in downtown Bradenton, take Manatee Ave (SR 64) west 4 miles. Turn right on 75th St W and drive 2 miles. A small parking area for Riverview Pointe Preserve is on the right just before the entrance gate. Continue through the gate to the parking area near the visitor center.
About the Park
In 1939, a committee to celebrate the 400th anniversary of the landing “near here” seized on this spot to place a stone monument.
It was starting point of a new De Soto Trail, a driving route of interpretive stops with kiosks roughly following US 41 north and US 90 east in the Panhandle.
The De Soto Trail MonumentEstablished in 1948, this national park encompasses a sweep of natural mangrove swamp, tropical hammock, and waterfront along the Manatee River.
A seawall not far from the massive monument has benches positioned for visitors to savor the expanse of Tampa Bay.
Visitor Center and bayfrontThe Visitor Center hosts an overview movie and exhibits, and contains a gift shop. Designed for living history programs, Camp Uzita has a Spanish encampment and a native village.
Each April, a reenactment of Hernando De Soto’s landing is held along the shoreline of the park, closing their winter season.
Camp UzitaThe park’s trails and waterfront remain open year-round. The graded shell portions of the pathway and the boardwalk are accessible.
The coastal path around the point is not, as it is a natural stretch of sandy shoreline along the Manatee River.
Bench overlooking Emerson PointHike
Walk past the small picnic area corral to the Visitor Center via the sidewalk. Stop in to learn the specifics of De Soto’s landing and its impact on the native peoples they interacted with.
That theme continues along the De Soto Expedition Trail. Follow the broad graded crushed shell path to the seawall and turn right to reach the kiosk at its start.
Trailhead kioskEnter a bower of coastal hammock under a low canopy. Expedition details are creatively expressed through quotes from journals.
Look for markers such as the tombstone-shaped tablets near a sandy beach beneath the mangroves, and life-sized cutouts of both Spaniards and Indians.
Inobtrusive markers along the footpathMost of this hike is in a mangrove forest. To start the loop, turn left at the sword-wielding Spaniard onto the boardwalk.
This lengthy, broad boardwalk zigzags through a gradient of mangrove species, passing platforms with park benches.
Follow the SpaniardStanding atop a tangle of prop roots, red mangroves make up the forest closest to the Manatee River.
Emerge at the river’s edge, the boardwalk ending on a white sand beach. A bench faces the watery expanse.
On the far shoreline is Emerson Point Preserve. Beneath that leafy canopy, a collection of earthen temple mounds reveals an ancient culture’s handiwork.
The boardwalk’s conclusion at the beachFollow the sweep of the footpath, passing salt-loving species like sea oxeye growing at the base of the ubiquitous mangroves.
A traditional interpretive sign points out the ruins of a tabby house dating to the 1840s and explains how tabby is made.
Tabby House ruinsCurving through dense vegetation, reach the river again. Benches provide waterfront perches and a picnic table is tucked in the shade.
A low rock wall buffers gentle waves from washing away the sandy shoreline path a quarter mile into the hike. Circle the tip of an an obvious peninsula along the water’s edge.
Shoreline nearing the pointMaking the turn, note the massive cross on the shoreline ahead. That sits just across the boundary with adjacent Riverview Pointe Preserve.
For the King of Spain to bless his expedition, De Soto promised they would “conquer and pacify” the peoples of La Florida under the Catholic faith. A dozen priests and friars accompanied the expedition.
Large cross on the far shoreLimestone riprap serves as a breakwater against waves along this shallow shoreline, red mangroves gaining a toehold among the rocks among gumbo-limbo trees.
Sea grapes arch over the waterfront walkway. The graded shell surface of the footpath resumes past this breezy point, dappled by shade under mangroves and sea grapes.
Gumbo-limbo with peeling red barkWalk past more interpretive tablets and cutouts of a wary native and a pair of expedition members. Benches are provided at frequent intervals.
Winding through the mangroves and tropical trees, the broad path reaches a T intersection at a half mile.
Along the mangrove-lined pathThe turn to the right is a direct route back to the trailhead for a 0.7 mile loop. Turn left.
A picnic table sits along the riverfront at a beachfront landing with a trailhead marker. Turning to parallel the river, the path broadens and is graded again.
On our visit an abandoned sailboat was beached at the landingA straightaway is followed by a sharp curve, the surrounding vegetation a jumble of tropical trees edged by mangroves.
A side path ends at a split rail fence protecting what is left of a midden, an ancient trash heap full of clues about past cultures. The main path narrows, passing another set of cutouts.
Side path to middenAt 0.7 mile, the De Soto Expedition Trail ends at a clearing with a monument surrounded by an iron fence.
A well-worn path to a sandy riverside beach tempts a walk to the waterfront, rewarded with views upriver and along the riverfront.
Beach at the end of this trailThe monument is the Hernando de Soto Catholic Memorial. Paired with the massive cross across the bridge over the mangrove creek, these are within Riverview Pointe Preserve.
This adjoining preserve has a half-mile loop of its own plus access to the drive into De Soto National Monument by foot. Tackle both for a continuous 1.7 mile hike.
Riverview Pointe Preserve Protecting eleven acres of waterfront adjacent to De Soto National Memorial, this dog-friendly coastal park features a beach on the Manatee River.This is your turnaround point for the De Soto Expedition Trail. Proceed along the shell path through the thicket of riverfront vegetation to the sharp turn away from the river landing.
Walk straight ahead at this junction, following the curving shell rock path through walls of mangroves.
Return corridor from the landingA concluding interpretive panel explains what became of Hernando De Soto and his expedition. On its opposite side is the start of the boardwalk.
Pass it by and stroll out from under the shady canopy of trees to the seawall facing Emerson Point and beyond it, Tampa Bay.
Walk past the massive De Soto Monument from 1939 on the return to the parking area, concluding this informative 1.2 mile hike.
Seawall along Tampa BayTrail Map
Explore More!
Video
A walk through De Soto National Memorial
Slideshow
See our photos from De Soto National Memorial
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Emerson Point Preserve Where the Manatee River meets Tampa Bay, Emerson Point Preserve has a network of trails around a complex centered on one of Florida's most ancient temple mounds, the Portavant Mound, near Bradenton.
Leffis Key Preserve Discover the spectacular beauty of a coastal mangrove forest on a network of boardwalks along Sarasota Bay at the base of a 26-foot-hill with an outstanding view.
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