Travel On The Level

For all of its arts and sophistication, you're never far from a bit of adventure and wildlife encounters in Sarasota county.

Beach It
There are eight islands and 13 public beaches.
Posh - Longboat Key and Lido Key.
Shark's tooth capital of the world - Venice Beach.
Whitest and silkiest sand (some say in the world) - Siesta Key Beach, Dr. Beach's No. 1 best in 2011.
Shelling - Turtle Beach at the south end of Siesta Key, Englewood Beach.
Highest dunes - Turtle Beach,
Most amenities - Lido Key Beach.
Celebrities like resident Stephen King - Casey Key (King owns the northern end).

Venice Beach's pavilion.

Tip: Access to most is very easy, minimal steps if any and short walks from parking lots. Others, like Casey Key, you have to take a boat around. Venice Beach has changing rooms, showers and bathrooms plus a shaded pavilion and snack bar as does Lido Key Beach.  

Casting for bait on Longboat Key.

Catch it
Fishing - fresh and saltwater - is excellent. Cast from shore, drop a line in a lake or river but watch for the alligators or go out on a Gulf fishing charter.

Wait, wait, wait for the green flash.

Cruise it
Sunset cruises go from Sarasota Bay through and by the other islands; don't forget to look for the famous green flash. Rent a Duffy boat, simple to operate small party-style boats, for a do it yourself tour. They are electric, hold eight and run about $80 an hour.

Tip: Access to and from charter boats is as easy as it's possible to get, often just an easy step from the dock.

Paddle past the area's mangroves and costly homes.

Paddle it
Kayaking, canoeing or paddle boarding through Sarasota's calm inland waterways are must-do's, especially through the mangrove tunnels. You'll feel as if you're gliding through a chapel although it's more like a nursery, for this eco-system is the breeding ground for birds, shrimp, fish and a host of other critters.

Canoeing at Myakka State Park.

Tip: Outfitter Bob Nikla at I Kayak Sarasota makes kayaking exceptionally easy. He launched us a few steps from the car, gave instruction and helped us in and out of the kayaks.  I haven't tried stand up paddle boarding yet, my balance isn't what it used to be (which was never great).

Selby Botanical Gardens

Walk it
Selby Botanical Gardens are right in Sarasota proper. Of the 200-plus botanical gardens in the U. S., Selby is the only one that specializes in epiphytes - plants, like orchids, bromeliads and some cacti, that grow on other plants without taking sustenance from them.

Botanists seek out Selby's collection of 90,000 dried plants, but most of us will be happy wandering through the orchid house and seven acres of garden. There's a very nice gift shop.








Tip: It's all flat, no stairs. You'll have to walk but it's not that tiring.

Paths at Myakka are easy and smooth.

Myakka State Park is one of many spots popular with campers, fisherfolk and anyone who wants to get close up with the flora and fauna of the area. There are flat, easy trails and most people will insist you do the canopy walk.

The canopy walk I didn't make; too short for number of steps up.

Tip: There are 34 steps up and down with four platforms so I didn't. From reports, don't think I missed much.

The airboat that takes you on a slow, smooth ride around Myakka Lake.

 There's also a cruise around alligator-filled Myakka Lake in what must be the world's biggest and slowest air boat.

Stand off between alligator and storks observed on way out of Myakka State Park.

If you want a woodsy adventure, I recommend Odyssey Trails. Managing partner Chris Cole works with local guides and naturalists to develop small group adventures for all skill levels. He and naturalist Karen Fraley of Around the Bend Nature Tours gave us a fun sampling.

Shark habitat, Mote Aquarium

Watch it swim
Since 1955, Mote Marine Laboratory has explored the marine environment. Today it includes a 200-acre state-of-the-art Aquaculture Park including an excellent aquarium.  Lots of interactive and touch opportunities and a shark habitat. You can  buy Mote's sustainably harvested sturgeon caviar, too.

Tip: There are steps but most are accompanied by ramps. Take your time.

Warm Mineral Springs, the only one of its kind.

Soak in it
Warm Mineral Springs is a freak of nature: the only warm mineral spring in the state and the largest one in the world. Its many proponents insist the 87-degree water is good for whatever ails you and the natural spring pumps out enough water to refresh the huge "swimming hole" every two hours. There's Cafe Evergreen, a good organic restaurant, and a pretty basic spa.

Crowley Museum

See it the way it was

Crowley Museum

Crowley Museum and Nature Center can fill much of a day with its old Florida buildings and general store-style museum. That will take a lot of walking or you could just go to the "museum" and talk to its tenders to get a wealth of background on what it was like way back when.

View from the first white settlers' home, Spanish Point.

Historic Spanish Point is a gem along Little Sarasota Bay, named not for the Spanish conquistadors but for the Spanish trader who told New Yorkers  John and Eliza Webb about the land in 1867.

See inside a prehistoric shell midden at Spanish Point.

The earliest visitors left behind the largest prehistoric midden site on the Gulf Coast and clever visionaries have developed the world's only exhibition inside a midden.

Mrs. Potter Palmer's sunken garden at Spanish Point.

Mary's Chapel at Spanish Point.

There's a simple but comfortable old Florida house and boat building shed and the state's largest native butterfly garden. A wooden walkway goes through pristine red, white and black mangroves.  Mrs. Potter Palmer of Chicago's Palmer House castle fame once owned 90,000 acres of Sarasota and built a retreat here complete with sunken garden. Don't miss Mary's chapel.

Tip: It will take you 2 hours to see everything along the 1.25 miles of trails but the walking is easy. There also are tour trams.

Walking, driving, paddling or swimming, you can easily access a bit of nature's wild side in Sarasota county.

Fish, swim and camp along Sarasota county's many inland beaches.