Bradenton Riverwalk

Wonderful place to walk, not a lot of infrastructure. But gorgeous river views, go all the way to the tiki bar & you have a nice 60 mins walk

Last week walked all along this promenade along the Manatee River that goes over a mile. There is a skate park, stone reclining chairs, children’s playground, fishing piers, a bandshell plus historic exhibits and paintings.
Money well spent here for everyone to enjoy. It ends at the downtown marina close to city hall and Old Main Street where several restaurants await after this long refreshing walk that passes under the US 41 bridge. Plenty of free parking and a hotel along the Riverwalk

We really loved the Bradenton Riverwalk. We have been out this way so many times, and finally checked it out. There was so much to see or do that they organized it nicely with pretty directional signs. The playground was huge, and well as a nice grassy area for a picnic. They had a skateboard park, and tons of areas to ref your feet. There were pretty views of the water all around.
This is a perfect spot for the whole family to enjoy the outdoors. Bring your bike, skateboard, rollerblades, or just walk or run. Whatever makes you happy, you will also see it here.
Parking was very easy as well!

Bradenton Riverwalk has definitely breathed life into the downtown area. After living in Bradenton for almost eight years, the Riverwalk is definitely a much needed option to help us locals fee more optimistic about our town. Now, surrounded by multi-​level overpriced condos, I guess that the developers also agree. From the Riverwalk, you get a beautiful view of Palmetto on the other side of the river. That is, if you think Palmetto is beautiful and all.
The Riverwalk starts at the docks and ends near Tarpon Pointe Grill. The entire walkway is said to be 1.5 miles long but does not feel very long. So, if you are looking for a good cardio workout, you will need to make a few laps up and down the Riverwalk to get your exercise.
It is a great area for exercise, but there is not much shade. There are many seating areas, but I do not recommend coming here after dark. It is only because I do not feel safe on the Riverwalk after dark, due to large packs of roaming teenagers with no supervision. The best place to park is over by the docks on the west side of the bridge, near the library.
In a town full of retired folks, it is great to see that there are still young people living in the area. This is primarily seen on and in the vicinity of the skateboard ramps. Bradenton, I wish you the best of luck.
While the Riverwalk is nice, I am so happy that I do not live in Bradenton anymore.

Bradenton Riverwalk is excellent, great views of the river and the skyline and landscape along the river, as well as across the river on the Palmetto side. Great for walking, biking, skateboarding, roller blading, volley ball, napping in the out door living room, concerts, art, kids water playground, its just endless activity and beauty. Parking available long the river walk as well.

I’m from out of state but discovered the Riverwalk two years ago when I visited Bradenton. I was very impressed with what the city had done! It’s a beautiful and easy walk for all ages with convenient and free parking. The first time I walked along the pathway was at sunset and we were amidst lots of other people riding bikes, walking dogs and strolling their children. This past week my husband and I decided to walk at about 7:30 pm after dark. We were very disappointed that many of the streetlights along the way were burnt out leaving us walking along a dimly lit walkway. At one point we counted 6 consecutive lights that were burnt out. I can say that there were a couple of times along the way that I felt uneasy in my surroundings. I urge the city to pay closer attention to this problem. The Riverwalk is an added plus to the City of Bradenton. Please keep it a safe place for families.

I’m amazed this place hasn’t been reviewed more. It is so awesome! We had a wonderful time here! My daughter played on the gorgeous new playground that has interesting features, and in the huge splash pad. And my son enjoyed the skate park, which is lovely and shaded by the bridge above. This is such a great place for teens to hang out! What a nice town to build something like this for its residents:

I would not recommend this Riverwalk to anyone! I parked along the street at one of the parking spots available and coming back from my walk, found that someone had smashed my window and broke into my car. I always see police cars around and I see plenty of families with young kids at the Riverwalk and it scares me that this could happen.

Great place for a walk by downtown Bradenton. Water and bridge views. There are sculpture gardens and art installations along the trail as well as amphitheaters, lots of artsy benches, educational exhibits, a skate park, a fountain play area, playgrounds, interactive features, and a lot of landscape architecture. Corwins will serve you a sundae while you’re out exercising. There’s a museum with planetarium along the way. Fishing. The River walk is a great urban feature. Well worth checking out and enjoying.

Love Riverwalk! Very close to my house so my fiancé and I ride our bikes here often and relax on the cement chairs by the water. Beautiful and peaceful views, and always very clean. They have water fountains too so that’s nice. The only thing I can think of that would be make Riverwalk better is to have some more small restaurants and shops around.

Reading some of the other reviews here and on other sites I’m suspicious that some are by city officials or people from the Chamber of Commerce. People trying to promote the Riverwalk. One thing they forget to mention is this is just a sidewalk, nothing more. Unless there’s a special activity like a concert at the outdoor theater there are no attractions, no activities and very little amenities along the actual walk. There is a skateboard park at one end and it’s quite nice, but lets face it, this activity only appeals to a select few. One thing the city didn’t work into the plan was amenities along the actual walk. On one side is the waterfront which admittedly is the main attraction. On the other side of the walk are parking lots, office building and condo’s. It’s a stark stretch along the land side of the walk without any amenities. If you want a simple refreshment or snack you better plan on leaving the Riverwalk. If someone lives close by I can see them using this the same way locals use a city park. Is this a destination, no, I wouldn’t go out of my way to return but if I happen to find myself near the Riverwalk I might get out and take a stroll for a few minutes. The sidewalk itself is clean and well designed.

The Bradenton Riverwalk is a true gem! My mother took me here on the last night of my recent visit to see her. We parked in downtown Bradenton (for free!) and walked down to the Riverwalk after enjoying a wonderful dinner. We then walked along the Riverwalk all the way to the Tarpon Pointe Tiki Bar. Even though it was late and the sun had set, there were people all along the walk, enjoying all of the great amenities is has to offer. The walk was well lit and had plenty to look at and do, from the awesome HUGE skate park to the abundance of all sorts of chairs/​benches/​swings, to the cool acoustic installations and the super fun playground!

This is a very pleasant and safe feeling public walkway along the river. You can park for free in downtown Bradenton (by City Hall/​police station) and follow the walkway under the bridge to get to the park. The walk basically spans the area between the two bridges and beyond. You can also pick it up on the other end behind Manatee Memorial Hospital. It is approximately 1.5 miles along the river front offering a great biking and walking/​jogging trail along with a skate park, a sand volleyball court and a children’s playground tucked along the route. Dogs on leashes are welcome and the water fountains along the way have doggie water spouts, too. Plastic dog doo bags and specially marked trash bins for dog waste are plentiful. The two times I have visited recently I saw a police officer walking the route. There was a decent crowd on the weekend but everyone was well behaved and having a good time. It’s a great place to get some exercise and if you have a dog, it’s a great place to bring them to socialize with other dogs and enjoy the walk.

Everything you can ask for in an outdoor waterfront venue… and then some!
Words can not do justice to the time, effort and ingenuity that went into constructing the Riverwalk. You must see it to believe it!
The Riverwalk officially opened in October of 2012. It’s a 1−½ mile stretch along the waterfront in downtown Bradenton.
The volunteers and designers left nothing out of the equation. There’s literally something for everyone.
The Riverwalk itself is a meticulously paved pathway with informational signs, mosaics, inlaid designs and cool sculptures along the way. They have lots of «rest» areas with benches, and some really neat concrete «lounge» chairs and concrete chairs that swivel. How cool is that?
Amenities galore! There is an amphitheater where there are frequent concerts and plays, a volleyball court, children’s play area with splash fountains (it has a unique squishy floor that you could drop an egg on and it wouldn’t break), an ESPN sized skate and bike park, fishing pier and kayak-​canoe launch area. All strecthed out along the Riverwalk.
As if this wasn’t enough, we were greeted on our walk by two Manatees and several dolphins dining on the local fish.
The city of Bradenton went all out on this one-​kudos. If you see someone in a yellow Riverwalk shirt, they are the ambassadors/​info people. Let them know you appreciate their efforts; We sure did!