The Charlotte Harbor Preserve State Park is peaceful and tranquil place with lots of hiking…read more trails.The trails are muddy and wet most of the year however definitely worth a great outdoors experience. There were not slot of people our there so if you want hiking with out a lot of people this is the place. There are some dry trails all year that go around lakes with boardwalks , picnic areas and a nature center. Also on Tuesday and Friday they have native plants for sale. Amazing beautiful place.

We visited this nature preserve 2/11/22 while waiting for our plane to leave from the Punta Gorda…read moreAirport and saw turtles, armadillo and fish. No alligator sightings or feral hogs but others out there had recently seen both. This was a very nice hike on a beautiful day before we head home to 12 degree weather.

Fantastic Kayak Launch...prepare for short carry to the slide in ramps…read more Lot's & Lot's of wildlife.... If it EVER reopens after Milton!! Let go Sarasota County, please reopen this very special park!!

Not to be confused with the state park with a similar name, this is a lil park at the end of Laurel…read moreRd past some new developments. It has a kayak, canoe boat launch. Nice paved trail and picnic tables and lots of side trail views of Myakka River. Quite lovely. No animals or dogs allowed. Beware of gators. We saw a lil one. I let it nibble on my toes. The only garbage is by entrance gate. Please take out what you bring in. Take only.photographs. Bathrooms by entrance. Closes at sunset.

A beautiful landscape thanks to a trust fund. The trailhead has a helpful map. Take a photo…read morebefore starting your trek. You have an option for a 3.3 mile loop or a shorter inner loop. I was planning for the larger loop but ended making a haphazard figure eight. The trail has numbered markers. The only problem is the roads often fork, which are not always on the map. Also, I could not find the observation tower because there was no signage. I easily walked five miles, more than I intended. Also, my photo dis not capture that section near 10. Murphy's Law at work. During March, I did not need bug spray but I am glad I brought extra water. The beginning and last half mile offers little shade. Trail section 12-14 is in a wetland area and close to the highway. It was also a bit uneven. A nice array of fauna and wild irises in the wetland area. In order to see the river, you need to take a detour from one of the offshoots. I recommend number six, which also has a picnic table.

Definitely a great hiking or running circuit. Some lovely view spots along the way. Gopher…read moretortoises. Known as gophuses to my lil. There's also a close in wilder narrow river trail for the firdt section. A loop is always a good trail design. This trail includes some nice sandy flatwoods and old wooded.oak sections with lota of air plants.covering the trees. Recommend.

Checking out different off-leash play areas for my giant-breed pup and today's adventure was to…read moreBlue Heron. It's a fairly short ride from my home, and the description sounded nice. The good points: easy access off of River Road, adequate parking, nice sally port setup for both small dog and large dog enclosures, water bowls and fountains for both people and pets, umbrella-shaded seating areas in both enclosures, and waste bags and disposal bins in both areas. As for the not-so-good points, while there are the above-mentioned shaded seating areas for people, there really are none for dogs, nor are there any trees in or near the large dog enclosure at all. (I don't recall seeing any in the small dog enclosure either, but I may just not have looked carefully enough.) If it's anything but early morning or late evening, your dog has no choice but to be in full sun at this park. And the second detractor from this little park is that while the walking paths around the enclosures are wide and well kept, and are paved with shell in areas, they also all traverse pretty dense underbrush on both sides in some areas, and next to perfectly suited gator habitat ponds in others. Don't get me wrong - I'm not an anti-gator person AT ALL: I have always said since I first stepped foot in Florida 16 years ago that alligators (along with Florida's other apex predators, venomous snakes, disease-carriers like armadillos, venomous spiders, and protected species like burrowing owls and gopher tortoises) were in Florida long before I or anyone reading this was, and they belong here. I'm of the opinion that it is up to **US** to stay away from and leave **THEM** alone, not the other way around. That said, though, to see signs warning about gators and snakes along the walking paths is one thing if humans are the most prevalent non-native species to visit it. We take our own risks and unless they're very large, gators are USUALLY not interested in prey as large as a person. It's a different situation, however, when dogs are as likely as humans to be on that path, and that just seems like a very unwise idea to me, especially with all the stories we hear in the news about people walking their dogs too close to alligator habitat and losing their pets to a hungry gator as a result. After letting my puppy explore the large dog enclosure for a bit I started to walk him around the park, but after only a few yards, eyeing up the water (3 separate, large, unfenced ponds that I could see - not that fencing will necessarily stop a gator as they ARE known to climb them), the sluices, and the dense underbrush around, I decided it wasn't really a good idea, and we returned home. So a pretty park, and if it's just you and you want to walk the perimeter as well, probably a good place for those morning or evening laps. If it's you and your dog, probably wiser to stay in one of the enclosures, and with no trees for your dog to lie and relax under between play bouts, avoid high sun hours altogether.

Great walking/ running trails. Nice Florida nature setting with pond views. Plenty of benches to…read moretake in the views, bird watch or rest. Has 2 dog parks for your little friends. I didn't give it 5 stars because there was some construction and parts of the trails were closed.

It costs $3 roundtrip to ride your bike across the Gasparlla Island Causeway and it is worth it to…read moretravel on a dedicated privately owned bike path. The Gulf and harbor views are gorgeous and inviting. The path is flat once you navigate the two draw bridges. It takes you along a shaded trail where you can see armadillo and colorful iguana and lots of birds from ospreys in nests to egrets, herons, ibis and maybe an eagle. Stop and enjoy some island shopping, drinking and eating in the village of Boca Grande. Or ride straight through to the Gasparilla Island State Park and see more of the shoreline and lighthouse. Keep to your side if the trail ad you will be sharing the pavement with electric carts, which are abundant on the island. Dogs welcomed on trail, too.

This is a favorite beach for a lot of locals though the causeway that gets you there has a $6 toll…read more Boca Grande reminded me of a cross between perhaps Key West and Key Biscayne. I'm told it has an attraction for those who don't like to go to the beach then turn around to see a wall of Condominiums staring them in the face. The State Park there is worth a visit $3 parking) and the principle form of local transportation is Golf Carts even though you can arrive by gas powered iron horse...for now. Should you arrive by private jet, the former Rotonda International Airport (now hailing as Coral Creek Airport) is just a short jaunt down the road. Very low profile.

I am so impressed by the Legacy Trail. It crosses major roads with appropriate crosswalks and…read morebridges, there are bathrooms and water and areas to rest, with signs noting all of this and the distance. The trail is wide and beautiful and long enough to spend a day on. Other states should learn from Florida !

The trail starts in old Venice City - at the Historic Venice Train Depot. Plenty of parking…read more There is a short 2-mile trail that goes south and does a loop through town, but you want to go north. The trail is an old train line but it has been paved over. It is Florida flat except for 2 bridges that go over the highways. Both within the first 2 miles. The scenery is actually pretty good for the whole ride. At the halfway mark (almost exactly half way), you can see the original train tracks, with signage to explain. The trail is pretty well marked, with little disks telling you how far you've traveled (or till your back). Pretty nice. The end of the trail is a small park (with parking), but not much there. The whole ride is 10.63 miles (one way) - according to my watch. It looks as though they are working on an additional segment, but when it will be ready - unknown.

Nice little park with a historical marker about early residents and the hotel they established. A…read morenice pier. The other pier was damaged in hurricanes and hasn't been fixed. Larger Indian Mound Park is just up the street around the corner. There is also a veterans memorial Freedom Park along Englewood's shoreline.

Nice little park and bicycle trail access area with covered picnic tables, water and bathrooms…read more There is a playground and dog up the street fl towards 41 at Bay Street Park This park is primarily and access to Legacy Trail with a visitor center (open Thursdays as of 2025) and some gardens, ponds and trails. Oscar Scherer State Park backside is across the street and Scherer Thaxton as well as some ponds too. Nice natural area to explore. Newer. Peeps have done some great improvements and plantings.