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Resources for exploring the area
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Exploring Sanford
Established in 1870, Sanford was a planned city complete with a grid of streets that included many full blocks as community green space.
It is one of the region’s older cities, with a historic downtown along the St. Johns River which was once a final destination for steamships from Jacksonville.

The extensive marshes just upriver along this north-flowing river proved too shallow for most boat traffic.
The city extends far beyond its original boundaries to encompass a large chunk of Seminole County, from the Wekiva River to the north to Lake Jesup to the east.

Paddlers do ply Lake Monroe, but the Wekiva River is far more popular and reachable from two put-ins at parks off SR 46.
As a great deal of river floodplain has been set aside as natural lands, residents have a surprising variety of destinations to explore on foot and by bike.

A portion of the peninsula-spanning Florida Coast to Coast Trail, a paved bike path, crosses one corner of the city close to the entrance to Lake Monroe.
The Florida Trail, our 1,400 mile National Scenic Trail, also passes through Sanford atop existing bike paths.

Sanford’s Botanical Beauty
The Central Florida Zoo & Botanical Gardens offers a place to enjoy both native floodplain habitats and tropical plantings year-round, but Sanford has a surprise to offer in late summer and early fall: massive fields of wildflower blooms.
From the summer months through early October, the floodplains around the St. Johns River and Lake Jesup bloom, starting with pink swamp hibiscus (Hibiscus grandiflorus), which can grow 15 feet tall, and red swamp mallow (Hibiscus coccineus), which can grow up to eight feet tall.
By October, swamp sunflower (Helianthus angustifolius) takes over and, in perfect conditions, swarms around the edges of Lake Jesup in a delightful show. They are best seen at Lake Jesup Wilderness, where you can walk among wild sunflowers over your head.

Trails and Parks around Sanford

























































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