Jiggs Landing Boat Ramp

This ramp is gated, which is the thing aggregators leave out. Manatee County 311 article 561 reads: "Boat ramps are open 24 hours except Jiggs Landing which is gated and open sunrise to sunset." Arriving at 9 p.m. without a Gate Access Card means you are not launching.

The dam is the principal physical hazard on this water and there is no way past it. Manatee County's Paddle Manatee guide states "NO PORTAGE OVER DAM" and warns "The low dam is guarded by rocks and is not safe to approach or climb." It is an 838-foot broad-crested weir with a crest 3.82-4.10 ft above sea level (USGS WRI 98-4251) — a low-head dam, the kind that generates recirculating hydraulics. Nothing launched here can legally or safely pass downstream.

Nobody publishes a depth at this ramp, and the county's Boater's Guide does not mark Jiggs Landing usable at all tides — that column is blank in its row. Manatee County has been under SWFWMD's Modified Phase III “Extreme” water shortage order, extended June 23, 2026 to run through October 1, 2026. No agency says the reservoir is drawn down, but on a weir-held pool in a drought year, a call to (941) 748-4501 before hitching up is cheap.

Manatee County's Paddle Manatee guide warns of “many shallow areas, mud flats, and oyster bars in the river to watch out for” and tells paddlers to avoid the upper portions of the river at low tide. The guide does not say which reach of the Braden that covers — treat it as unrestricted as to reach.

The Manatee County Boater's Guide marks Jiggs Landing "Open 24 Hours." That is out of date — the county's current 311 article and ramp detail page both say gated, sunrise to sunset. Same guide, same row: it also lists no restrooms here, which the county's current preserve amenity list contradicts. Treat the Boater's Guide as a stale document with useful map work, not as current operating information.

Storm surge can breach this impoundment from below. USGS WRI 98-4251 documents storms on 13 March 1993 and 7 October 1996 that raised tidal elevations enough to overtop the outfall and push brackish water into Bradenton's supply, with later freshwater flows flushing the system. Historical, not a current condition, but it is why the county watches this structure in a surge event.

1 laneConcrete ramp

5 spotsTrailer parking

Gate open sunrise to sunsetHours

Directions

Craft Access

✓

Motorboat

✓

Kayak / Canoe

✗

Jet Ski / PWC

✓

Large 22ft+

Site Details

Conditions change rapidly due to water levels, prop wash, and weather. Always visually inspect before backing down.

RampConcrete, 1 lane

Water DepthNot published. No agency states a depth at this ramp, and Manatee County's Boater's Guide table does not mark Jiggs Landing usable at all tides — that column is blank in the county's own row.

DockStationary dock at the landing, per Manatee County. FWC's inventory records DockType "Unknown." · ADA

Trailer Parking5 spots · paved — asphalt or concrete, condition "good" (fwc inventory; no county figure to check it against)

Vehicle-Only10 spots

Crowding One lane and five trailer spaces on the only public ramp on a 359-acre reservoir — at a site that is also a cabin resort, a bait shop, a boat-tour dock and a live-music venue. The parking math is the constraint here, not the water. Weekend mornings and any day the Outpost has music booked are the pinch points. The gate shuts at sunset, so the whole day compresses into daylight.

Plan B — if this lot is full There is no second ramp on this water. The hand launch thirty yards away takes a kayak but not a trailered boat. If the lot is full, the alternatives are elsewhere in the county — note that Lake Manatee, the reservoir people confuse this one with, has a 20-horsepower cap. The Jiggs Landing pier is free to fish from if you would rather wait out the crowd.

FeeNo fee to launch; $30 gate card for after-hours

HoursGate open sunrise to sunset

SeasonOpen year-round

PierYes

StaffedNo — concession on site, hours vary

AccessibilityManatee County describes a "Canoe/kayak launch (handicap accessible)" here and the preserve has a boardwalk. For the ramp itself FWC is blank or "Unknown" throughout. Call the preserve at (941) 748-4501 if it is decisive.

Not Available Fish cleaning

Scout's Notes

Ramp Quirks & Etiquette

Free, Behind a Gate

Launching is free in daylight — the county's only free ramp. The gate locks outside sunrise-to-sunset hours, and the way through after dark is a $30 Gate Access Card from the G.T. Bray Recreation Center ($5 replacements; the county calls it a one-time purchase, one news report calls it annual). Cabin guests get a keypad code.

Know Where the Dam Is

The weir downstream is a low-head dam guarded by rocks — “NO PORTAGE OVER DAM,” per the county, and not safe to approach or climb. Nothing launched here passes downstream, legally or otherwise.

Six Miles of River-Lake

The fishable water is the six-mile impounded reach above the weir — narrow, meandering and oxbowed, much more river than lake once you leave the wide section by the landing. Above the backwater the Braden reverts to its free-flowing channel.

One Lane, Five Spaces

FWC records one concrete lane and five trailer spaces — uncorroborated by the county but not contradicted. The site is also a cabin resort, bait shop, tour dock and live-music venue, so the parking maths, not the water, is the constraint. Go weekend-early.

Two Numbers to Know

The preserve (Manatee County) is (941) 748-4501 — conditions, access, accessibility. The Jiggs Landing Outpost concession — cabins, rentals, tours, bait — is (941) 727-4181. The address is 6106 63rd St E, Bradenton; ignore the old “Braden River Rd” address in the county's Boater's Guide.

Accessible Paddle Launch

The county lists the canoe/kayak launch here as handicap accessible, and the preserve has a boardwalk. Restroom ADA status is unpublished either way — call (941) 748-4501 if it is decisive.

Manatee County Jiggs Landing Preserve page and Natural Resources department page, Manatee County ramp detail page, Manatee County 311 knowledgebase article 561, Paddle Manatee guide and Manatee County Boater's Guide; FWC Florida Boat Ramp Inventory layer 4 row MA70016MC; USGS WRI 98-4251; SWFWMD 2026 water shortage releases; Your Observer, 20 November 2025. County preserve page and SWFWMD releases fetched 2026-07-31; FWC row as supplied in the Batch 11 inventory extract.

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