In Florida’s pioneer days, the Webb family chose this peninsula in Osprey as their home, growing oranges and running a packing house.
In the early 1900s, Chicago socialite Bertha Honore Palmer ventured south from Sarasota and took a liking to the landscape.
Guptill HouseShe settled into a winter home, The Oaks, here while wheeling and dealing real estate across Sarasota County. But the stories at this point go much deeper.
Today, Historic Spanish Point is under the care of Marie Selby Gardens, a perfect match for maintaining its formal garden spaces.
Start of the Jungle WalkResources
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Overview
Location: Osprey
Length: 1.2 mile loop
Trailhead: 27.20367, -82.49537
Address: 401 N Tamiami Trail, Osprey
Fees: $20 adults, $12 ages 5-17; Selby Gardens members free
Restroom: At the visitor center, White Cottage, and Guptill House
Land manager: Marie Selby Gardens
Phone: 941-366-5731
Open 10 AM to 5 PM; closes at 3 PM Christmas Eve and Thanksgiving. Indoor exhibits have more limited hours.
With 30 acres to roam, wear comfortable shoes and bring a water bottle. Food available daily at The White Cottage until 3 PM.
Docent-led tours available. 45-minute boat tours available seasonally for an additional fee.
Directions
Follow US 41 north from Venice or south from Sarasota to reach Osprey. A large sign marks the garden entrance on the west side of the highway.
About the Gardens
At Spanish Point, scents hang heavy in the morning air along Sarasota Bay.
A moonflower in the act of closing for the day, the sweetness of citrus blossoms, the purple morning-glory clambering over mangroves, the brush of salt breezes.
BouganvilleaCrunching along a trail atop a tall midden, watch paddlers in their bright kayaks, color in motion against the wall of mangroves beyond them.
The breeze ruffles the tops of the cedars, makes the leaves of gumbo-limbo and mahogany twitch.
Tropical trees on a terrace at the White CottageSensory immersion provides a strong siren call in this peaceful waterfront peninsula.
Throughout the property, well-shaded footpaths meander through spaces carved into a tropical hammock, one of the northernmost found on the Gulf Coast.
Footpaths through the hammockThe natural setting upstages the stories of humans on the land, including our own. Four years ago, this was the last nature walk Sandra enjoyed with both parents.
Dad died a few days after our visit, a reminder that the beauty of nature will outlive us all. We are grateful for private and public advocates who preserve these gems.
A finale to a lifetime of exploring the outdoors togetherHike
From the parking area, begin your ramble to the point down a walkway past a gazebo through the Palmer Water Garden.
In a tenth of a mile reach a four-way junction. Turn right to visit a waterfront complex that was once the heart of the Webb’s citrus business.
Trail junctionBefore reaching the packing house, pause at the opening in the mangroves to look out into Little Sarasota Bay.
A dock juts out at the packing house. Up a short path nearby, Mary’s Chapel stands beneath the grand live oak canopy, along with a pioneer cemetery.
Mary’s Chapel and cemeteryReturn to the junction and make a right to start a clockwise loop of the peninsula. This narrow spit is always breezy.
A viewing platform provides another fine perspective of the bay. Past the White Cottage, a formal sunken garden graces the hilltop.
Sunken Garden and PergolaFollow the curve, descending to a lower pathway. At 0.3 miles, make a left to visit A Window to the Past, an interpretive display.
In 1961, archaeologists discovered nearly 500 burials from 500 A.D. in this midden, topped with alligator bones and necklaces.
Midden shellsAfter a walk to the loop at the end of the road, with views into the bay, return to a junction. A sign points to Cock’s Footbridge.
Take that left fork for a nice long boardwalk across Webb’s Cove, where the wind ruffles ripples across the oyster beds below.
Webb’s CoveAscend to Guptill House, which sits on a bluff. On our visit, it was open to explore, from the lower floor kitchen to the upper floor bedrooms.
In front of it is the Pioneer Boat Yard. Continue past the front of the house on the bay side for a treat: the Jungle Walk, 0.7 miles into this circuit.
Upstairs bedroomWithin it, a fascinating 1915 aqueduct carries water across the grotto-like garden. A footpath loops within its footprint.
Giant leather ferns wave and bounce in the breeze above a sea of smaller ferns.
Garden aqueduct from 1915Return to the house and make a left, stopping for a peek at the sunken Fern Garden and the Butterfly Garden.
Emerge into a more open area edged by palm plantings. A portion of it contains a grove of lychee trees.
Walkway among the palmsThe pathway curves right, returning along the edge of the tropical hammock through an open area.
The final stop before the next junction is the circa 1915 Classic Portal on the Duchene Lawn. Past it, make a left at 1.1 miles to exit past the gazebo to the parking area.
Classic PortalExplore More!
Slideshow
See our photos from Historic Spanish Point
Nearby Adventures
Oscar Scherer State Park A stronghold for Florida scrub-jays north of Venice, Oscar Scherer State Park is an important island of biodiversity in an increasingly overdeveloped region. 
Marie Selby Gardens Most notable for its collection of more than 6,000 orchids, Marie Selby Gardens is a must-see for those who love tropical plants, especially epiphtyes. 
Urfer Family Park Share nature with the kids along Bee Ridge on 1.4 miles of family-friendly trails in a popular county park with four playgrounds surrounding a 1905 home open for tours.
Phillippi Estate Park A historic mansion and farmhouse anchor this 60-acre county park with paddler access to Phillippi Creek, fishing piers, and shell paths along a coastal hammock.
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