It is a great park to take your dog for a walk. Very pretty! I give it a 4.5…read moreI only gave it a 2 because my dog and my friend's dog , got many ticks! Be careful! Not the parks fault , just be careful with your dog.

If your looking for beautiful blue water, breathtaking sunsets and the possibly of seeing dolphins…read moreand/ or manatee, this is it! Interested in the Lemon Bay ecosystem? The best was to learn about the mangrove and its creatures is through a local on the water tour, like a cruise. I highly recommend "Native Charter Company" -- family owned, native to the area, passionate about the Lemon Bay ecosystem, $25.00pp for one hour. They are licensed and take your safety seriously. Search them on Yelp, read my review plus pictures. TIP: wear sunscreen and shoes!!

Seems to be a new park / preserve still under construction in 2025. Saw some…read morenice fish. Saw and heard some cool birds. The paths are wide country roads and pretty torn up. Sarasota County doesn't seem to be into trails

The Myakkahatchee Environmental Park is my favorite dog friendly park at North Port…read more Beautiful hiking trails,few esy to follow looping trail,through beautiful jungles and grassy pampas. Some of the paths floods after rain. The Live Long and Prosper Trail runs along the Myakkahatchee creek for 3 miles.Lot to see,from alligators to beautiful birds and unique flora and fuana.For that 3 miles it was always walkable because it is on the creek bank much hire than the water level. The trail supposedly loops around,but I was never able to come back on the return loop because it was flooded-even at December-deep swampie water was blocking port of the trail and we had to turn around. However I seen some markings on the return trail,it looks like the park management is working on it. I wish that trail would go farther up by the Myakkahatchee creek,I would love to explore that area more.The trail ends at a barb wire fance..... There is so much to do at that park,you can walk with your dog,ride a horse,fossil hunt at the creek-when the water is low and clear at winter time.There is picnic area, a huge fild. Restrooms at the parking lot.Few boardwalks. Trails are well marked and maintained pretty well. This park keeps growing,I'm so grateful that is near by.

This is such a picturesque park. We went over the holidays, and man... was it packed. The line…read moreto enter went out onto route 72. We waited about 15 minutes to get into the park. That being said, the park didn't feel crowded. We did do the canopy walk... that was a little crowded but moved right along. The swing bridge to cross over sides is always fun. The view from the top... so pretty! There weren't as many alligators the day we went, but still a sight to see. The hikes and drives through the trees is great too!

My grandkids wanted to see alligators while they were visiting, and a friend told us about this…read morepark. We saw numerous alligators, it was great! We went on New Year's Eve and it wasn't overly busy. We were able to park right on the other side of the bridge, and walk back onto the bridge where we could stand to look at the many alligators on the banks of the river. We drove through the park and stopped at a few places where we could park and get out and walk. The kids got to walk on the swinging bridge while this Oma sat on a bench that was conveniently close by. I hope to make visiting this park a tradition for many years to come.

If you like looking for shells on the beach you will love looking for shark teeth! What a great…read moretime for both children and adults! It keeps the hands and mind busy. Remember sunblock! These are little pieces of history because they are actually fossilized shark teeth.

Now the road is closed down after the Hurricane but from Venice you can walk down to this beach and…read moreit's a nice walking and along the way you can definitely find shark teeth and beautiful sea shells. PS: if you come during midday, please be prepared that the sand is extremely hot walking towards the ocean. Especially in the summer!! We came here this past weekend and stayed until sunset it was a beautiful view, and the water was perfect. Probably found about 50 short teeth, sifting, and walking on land. It's a great beach for the kids as long as the water is not too rough.

15 miles paved bike trail at Charlotte County. Restrooms at…read moreboth end,plus bike pump stations. Very civilized. Has numerous rest areas along the path,with extra parking lots,picnic tables and porter potties too. Well traveled,but still quite,peaceful and nature focused. We seen a raccoon,gopher tortoise,several tropical birds on our 2 hour leisure bike ride. Glad we find this! I'm surprised The Pioneer Trail is not advertised more, but I guess others loss is our gain. We'll be back!

This is, I believe, the first rails to trails established in Florida. It is narrower than most…read morerails to trails and sufficiently accommodates foot, bike and skating traffic. Lots of nature to see along this one way 6.5 miles or roundtrip 13 miles from gopher tortoise, gators, fish and fowl to greenery, bridges and the fresh outdoors. Very flat trail. Leads to Boca Grande Gasparilla Trail and beautiful water views. Plenty of shade, benches, rest rooms, parking and some water at various trailheads.

This beach is SO popular there's always a line to get in to park. The parking lot is very small…read more You can park along the main road but be mindful of where - there are no parking signs all around. We finally made it this weekend. We went early and found a spot - but probably only because it was COLD! Didn't matter. We walked the beach anyway on that cold windy day. It's pretty beach with different shells than you can find down the way at Englewood Beach, Blind Pass Beach or Manasota Key Beach. In our 10 min walk I scooped up a bunch of shells and TONS of sharks teeth. Hoping to make it back on a warm sunny day :)

Stump Pass Beach State Park Manasota Key Florida $3 to get in small parking lot well secluded and…read moreso many shells...well worth it! Definitely do-able again and again!! If I lived here I would come here 3-4 times a week! The water was gorgeous and we saw some dolphins playing in the water! There might have been 40 people spread out here at this beach...so gorgeous w my cousin Shari

We tried to go to Casperson beach, but there was zero parking (10:30 AM). So we headed back to…read moreBrohard Beach, where we did find parking. We have never seen these beaches so slammed. We know now to avoid the beach on Easter Friday! That aside, we did find some shark's teeth, which was nice. The sand is not as pretty as other beaches in SWFL, but the water was pretty. The waves were pretty strong, but people were still in the water. The beach was packed, especially when we left around 2:30. We would return, but still prefer Casperson beach while in Venice.

So glad that Shark Frenzy told us to venture out here to search for shark teeth. We left with about…read more30+ shark teeth over about 5 hours of searching in the waves. SO much fun and we adored the fact that this beachside is dog-friendly which made the beach day that more interesting and fun. Clean area and plenty of parking. There is a drive-up water and restroom station too!

This beautiful nature preserve features a raised boardwalk that winds through the slough, passing…read moreseveral scenic ponds along the way. The atmosphere here was incredibly peaceful, and the slow pace made it the perfect way to start the morning. Along the walk, we spotted plenty of wildlife -- including birds, squirrels, lizards, bunnies, and even an otter playing near the water. The boardwalk trail isn't very long and has multiple benches along the way, making it a relaxing spot to take breaks and soak in the surroundings. There's also plenty of shade, which kept it comfortable despite the Florida humidity. We had brought along bug spray, expecting mosquitos, but it turned out to be unnecessary -- we didn't see any the entire time we were there. It was a calm, refreshing start to the day and a great spot for anyone who enjoys nature, wildlife, or just a peaceful walk.

25 February 2026…read more Someone had the idea to visit Six Mile Cypress Slough today. Uufff It was a nice walk ... but ... bring your walking shoes, Sunglasses and a hat. A bottle of water would be a nice addition. This place has a trail that you are compelled to remain on throughout the excursion. It is a wooden trail with wooden guardrails to prevent you from straying. It was a pleasant hike, got my steps in , but I thought it would never end. I thought I was trapped in the movie set of "No Way Out" Finally ! At the end of the trail I managed to find the exit and my car. Adios ... don't think I'll be coming back . Ok ok , it wasn't that bad. I'm prone to exaggerate.

Great area for bird watching!…read more We parked in the free lot, climbed some of the hill, and then crossed the street for a short walk to the water viewing wooden piers. We were able to see some great birds and the water was beautiful. Very peaceful area that we could've easily spent more time in. It was sweltering outside so make sure to bring a sun umbrella, hat, and water.

We visited Celery Fields on a recent Monday morning, with the hope of seeing and photographing…read more sandhill cranes, roseate spoonbills, and other birds. We were partially successful. There are 2 buildings adjacent to the main parking lot at Celery Fields. Each has a purple martin house, and both of these were very active when we were there. One of the buildings houses Audubon Society volunteers who can advise you where to see birds. There's a small garden outside of this building that's worth a visit. The other building, on the opposite side of the parking lot, has rest rooms. There's a crosswalk across Palmer Blvd. near the parking lot, leading to a boardwalk over a marshy area. A recent rain attracted quite a few birds when we were there in mid-March 2026. At the end of the boardwalk there's a gazebo for observing the birds. Another marshy area and gazebo is along Raymond Rd. Parking is available on the grass along the road. There was lots of bird activity. We saw many varieties, including herons, egrets, a caracara, a northern harrier, ibises, wood storks, gallinule, osprey, anhinga, and many others. There are lots of trails near the marshes, in addition to the boardwalks. Celery Fields is a great spot to go hikng and birding. Sunscreen is advisable because most of the areas are not shaded.