Resources
Resources for exploring the area
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Exploring Sarasota
Sarasota is known for its beaches. It has coastal hiking trails that show off Sarasota Bay and the estuaries, and paddling routes to follow along the protected side of the barrier islands.
It also is the northern terminus of the Legacy Trail, which stretches along the former Atlantic Coast Line route that the Ringling Brothers Circus once took to its winter home in Venice.
To its east is a large swath of natural lands protecting the Myakka River floodplain. Foremost among these is Myakka River State Park, a well-established state park with great camping and historic cabins.
Backpackers have one of the state’s longest backpacking loops to explore on the Myakka Hiking Trail amid wide open prairies and oak hammocks.
Trails and Parks near Sarasota
Celery Fields A historic agricultural area transformed into a haven for birders, Celery Fields offers easy walking, running, and biking on paved and unpaved trails built around restored wetlands.
Historic Spanish Point At Spanish Point, scents hang heavy in the morning air: 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.
Joan M. Durante Community Park A bayfront park on Longboat Key with boardwalks meandering through mangrove forests plus wide shell paths traversing a native upland hammock. 
Lake Osprey Trail Circling Lake Osprey, the wheelchair-accessible Lake Osprey Trail at Oscar Scherer State Park offers an exploration of the uplands surrounding the artesian-spring-fed waters.
Myakka Hiking Trail For immersion in the vast central prairies of the Florida peninsula, the 39-mile Myakka Hiking Trail is a serious backpacking destination in South Florida near Sarasota
Myakka River Canopy Walk At Myakka River State Park in Sarasota, the Canopy Walk provides a sky-high view of the Myakka River basin as well as an intimate immersion in the live oak canopy in a beautiful hammock of oaks and palms. 
Myakka River State Park With tall waving grasses, saw palmetto, and the sound of birds, Myakka River State Park is Florida's Big Sky country, blanketing more than 28,000 acres east of Sarasota
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. 
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.
Sleeping Turtles Preserve North Named for a feature on old navigational maps, Sleeping Turtles Preserve North lets you see the Myakka River from its bluffs
South Creek and Lester Finley Trails The South Creek and Lester Finley Trails are part of the South Trail System at Oscar Scherer State Park, focusing on the flow of South Creek towards Little Sarasota Bay. 
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.Articles
Florida’s Best Urban Parks (10/27/2016) When you live in a tightly packed space, you need somewhere green as your go-to place nearby. These are our top picks for parks in Florida's urban areas, chosen for their diversity of outdoor activities and/or their unique green spaces.
Historic Spanish Point (12/7/2013) At Spanish Point, scents hang heavy in the morning air: 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.INCLUDES: Fruitville, Lakewood Ranch, Longboat Key, Siesta Key, St. Armands | NEARBY: Arcadia, Bradenton, Osprey, Venice | PART OF: Southwest Florida