Nice park with a half a mile walking loop that is close to the marina, lots of nice boats. There's…read morea restaurant located on the premises that I didn't get to try. Enjoyed the swing bench and watching the water while exploring Sarasota. There's a lot of art featured here also. The huge parking lot is three hours max I believe.

Tony and I walked around Bay Front Park in Sarasota this evening! Free parking and Free to enjoy…read morethe Sea Air, the people in the park, street musicians and there is even a water splash park for the kiddos! We enjoyed seeing the boats in the marina!

Kind of wish there was a you are here or something on the map but besides that it seems like it…read morewould be better if they showed where all the trails were with a sign. I only found the red trail in the parking lot because I saw someone enter it and then noticed the little white sign that said entrance only. Anyways it was a cute short walk saw a turtle and woodpecker. There's also picnic tables here but I'm unsure if some of them you have to call to reserve a spot for because they had numbers.

A great little spot nearby our home that offers camping, hiking, fishing, horseback riding, Manatee…read moreriver access for kayaks, and clean bathrooms next to the Ranger Station. This 145 acre property located just northwest of the Lake Manatee Dam. The preserve's trail system leads visitors through four distinctive ecosystems, including sand pine scrub, xeric oak scrub, oak hammocks and the river community. The trails are soft underfoot and well traveled. Lovely spot for a sit, a walk or some kayaking!

Doing some research on Long Boat Key, and this park came up. It was perfect for what I was looking…read morefor. It is a dog friendly park, has inter-coastal water views and is perfect if you are looking for a place to walk and take in nature. Since it has been quite windy this week, even with the nicer weather, the wind is too intense for me at the beach. Plus it's not dog friendly. They have a boardwalk and gravel trails so it's easiest to wear gym shoes. There's a number of trails but some entries were closed. The trail that we took took you on the board walk where there were an abundance of benches along the way as well as garbages and poop bags for your fur baby. It was so clean and organized. There are also signs that say to Pavillion and parking lot. So don't think you will get lost bc that will always take you back. There are picnic tables, bathrooms and a playground a a nice adult swing to swing on as well as the kiddy swings. It was super peaceful, and away from the hustle and bustle of the beaches. Definitely check it out for that ideal quiet chill spot with nature and your family and fur babies!

A few years ago, while on my morning walk from White Sand of Longboat, along Gulf of Mexico Drive,…read moreI took a short detour into this park. At the time, I thought it was a small pocket park and that I had seen the whole thing. It was nice, but unimpressive. Well, during our annual week in Longboat Key, we decided to explore the park a little more. Boy, was I wrong with my first impression! The park's 34 acres wrap around homes, utilities, the firehouse, many municipal buildings and a few retail establishments, with paths weaving through dense mangroves to Sarasota Bay. You can drive in to a parking area, adjacent to a pond, Pavilion and playground. Behind the pavilion is a large, well groomed grassy field. There are cleared dirt and gravel paths and in the wetland, mangrove areas, boardwalks weaving through the trees, over ponds and streams. The scenic overlooks on the bay were comfortable. Benches were in many places along the trails. And to my delight, there were birds everywhere. We spent a delightful couple of hours there and will be back.

Such a fun park. The kids like it because they can bounce back and forth between the playground and…read morethe parkour park. 05.02.25

This is the most beautiful and peaceful place to hike in town. Sure you can go to rural areas and…read moreenjoy nature but there is nothing convenient or particularly safe about really remote areas. Rothenbach gives you the feeling of freedom that comes from being immersed in nature. It does that without the typically requisite long drive time to get to a trail head. It also is a place that someone can go enjoy alone, yet one can maintain relative safety. You have to check out Rothenbach. It's about 3 miles of hiking to do one complete revolution around the property.

Beautiful property by the water and a nice walk with docks extending over the creek. Nice signs…read moreabout the history of the park. Downside is that every time I go there, there are huge riding lawn mowers constantly mowing the grass that doesn't appear to need mowed. They are loud and annoying, ruining any peace you might have hoped to achieve there. And then there are edgers edging, similarly unnecessarily. It never stops. Noisy and smelly.

Little walk ways near the water and plenty of areas to sit…read more Nice little park to visit with boats coming in and out of the channel.

We arrived early, and it wasn't too busy at all, but by the time we finished around noon, the area…read morehad become quite crowded. I can only imagine how difficult parking must be during peak season. Thankfully, parking is free, and so are all of the park's facilities. We visited on a Sunday and were greeted by a friendly park employee who was incredibly knowledgeable about the area. She provided us with a laminated trail map, which was a huge help and allowed us to enjoy the experience without constantly checking our phones. The kayak trails were absolutely amazing! The water was crystal clear, making it easy to see fish and other wildlife below. We visited in mid-June and were pleasantly surprised that we didn't encounter any mosquitoes or no-see-ums. It took us about two hours to paddle all of the kayak trails, including a relaxing beach break along the way. There are four main trails to explore, with Trail 3 offering two different exit routes, making it worth paddling twice for two unique experiences. Trail 4 was the most challenging, with several low-hanging branches that required a little extra maneuvering. Overall, this was easily one of the best kayak trail systems we've explored, and we'll definitely be back!

Excellent park to explore by canoe. Ted Sperling Park is famous on mangrove tunnels. The best way…read moreto explore the part is kayak or paddle board. Prefer to visit the park during high tide. Even with low tide, I was able to maneuver the kayak. I would not recommend use the canoe to explore due to shallow depths on certain locations. The park has 4 major tunnel and over 10 brunch tunnels. Tunnel is label 1 to 4. The tunnel 1 and 2 is one way in and out. I was renting the kayak at the locate vendor Surfit. They provide me a map of the mangrove tunnel to explore. They also provide a dry bag for my personal staff. I would said paddle board has a height condition due to mangrove brunch. Many paddle boarder has to kneel or sit through the tunnel. On the non major tunnels, the space is narrow. Some time you do not have room to paddle. Just use the mangrove to push through. I enjoy the most is when I follow the flow direction. Easy paddling. I also like to see a lot of bird in the tunnel. The nature is beautiful. Love the tunnel due to shading from wind. In the tunnel is also blocking the sun and pleasant. I would suggest visit the park in the morning.

This is a very nice preserve / park. We saw lots of dragon flies and many different types of…read morebutterfly March 2020. Also many species of bird. There are some covered picnic table areas and a small playground. Then some woods with wide and narrow trails. Leads to an open area and slough (lakeish feature). Good mix of wilds and park features. Did a pretty wel established tent campsite with two tents despite the no camping signs. There are buckets out to collect air potatoes if you see any. Lots of large vines,, some saw palmetto, and wildflowers. It was pretty dry this spring and not too buggy. Not sure on summer with the water features around. Lovely area to explore for a walk. Saw people fishing. Reccomended for a nice outing. Peeps were friendly. Lots of dog walkers and nature loving folks.

There are dog walkers with the dog not on a leash. There are signs posted to inform dog walkers…read moreaboilut this

Nice park on the water with some shade tries, floating docks, and boat launches for power boats and…read morepaddle craft. Views of Fort Hamer Park. We enjoyed our visit. Worth a stop if you're in the area. The train museum isn't far up the road.. Choo choo. Saw some people kayaking. Some some people resting in the shade with pooches. Nice spot.

A terrific place to have lunch under the Oak trees. Right by the river and a boat launch. Clean…read morerestrooms and neat grounds. A terrific picnic spot for sure.