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Lyons Bay, Venice FL

Venice

Named after the city in Italy when the post office was established in 1888, Venice is one of Florida’s first planned cities, designed by noted architect John Nolan in the 1920s as an Italian renaissance village


Contents

  • 1 Resources
  • 2 Exploring Venice
  • 3 Featured Trails and Parks near Venice
    • 3.1 Caspersen Beach Park
    • 3.2 Ann & Chuck Dever Regional Park
    • 3.3 Myakka State Forest
    • 3.4 Cedar Point Environmental Park
    • 3.5 Myakka State Forest South Loop
    • 3.6 Lake Osprey Trail
    • 3.7 Gordon Smith Memorial Trail
    • 3.8 Manasota Scrub Preserve
    • 3.9 Lemon Bay Park
  • 4 Articles
    • 4.1 Historic Spanish Point
    • 4.2 Oscar Scherer adds second ADA-compliant trail

Resources

South Florida Explorers Guide book cover 50 Hikes in South Florida book cover Hikers Guide to the Sunshine State book cover

Disclosure: As authors and affiliates, we receive earnings when you buy these through our links. This helps us continue to provide public information on this website.


Exploring Venice

Thanks to the Intracoastal Waterway, Venice is on an island and has a broad beachfront right at the end of Venice Avenue. Trails parallel the Intracoastal along a greenway called Venetian Waterway Park.

Both the commercial and residential districts on the island have a 1920s vibe, with heavy tree canopy and planned green spaces, including an arboretum. It is a very walkable community.

Venice is also a favorite of cyclists thanks to both the Venetian Waterway Park and the Legacy Trail, which stretches north to Sarasota from the historic train depot.

The Legacy Trail follows the route which the Ringling Brothers circus trains took to bring the circus to Venice each winter.

Beyond the suburbia that stretches east of the island, a string of natural lands protect much of the waterfront of the Myakka River in the region.

Nearly all of these conservation properties have trail systems, with Myakka River State Forest having the largest at more than 40 miles of hiking, biking, and equestrian trails.


Featured Trails and Parks near Venice

Caspersen Beach Park

Caspersen Beach Park

Caspersen Beach Park
Dever Regional Park

Ann & Chuck Dever Regional Park

Ann & Chuck Dever Regional Park
Trail through open pine flatwoods in palmettos

Myakka State Forest

Myakka State Forest
Cedar Point Englewood

Cedar Point Environmental Park

Cedar Point Environmental Park
Expanse of water across trail in prairie

Myakka State Forest South Loop

Myakka State Forest South Loop
Lake Osprey Trail

Lake Osprey Trail

Lake Osprey Trail
Trail through tall pines

Gordon Smith Memorial Trail

Gordon Smith Memorial Trail
Manasota Scrub Preserve

Manasota Scrub Preserve

Manasota Scrub Preserve
Lemon Bay Park and Environmental Center

Lemon Bay Park

Lemon Bay Park
 
More Trails More Parks


Articles

Historic Spanish Point

December 7, 2013//  by Sandra Friend

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.

Lake Osprey Trail

Oscar Scherer adds second ADA-compliant trail

May 26, 2010//  by Sandra Friend

From our friends at Oscar Scherer State Park: A low-key groundbreaking on April 15 marked the official start of the second ADA-compliant trail at Oscar Scherer State Park, according to Russell Delaney, president of the Friends of Oscar Scherer Park, Inc. One of 100 citizen support organizations (CSO) in Florida’s park system, the Friends are …


NEARBY: Englewood, Osprey, North Port , Port Charlotte, Sarasota | PART OF: Southwest Florida

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