Urfer Family Park Loop

Before entering South Lido County Park, take a left turn on Taft Drive for the kayak launch area. Parking is available at the end of the road. Multiple companies offer kayak and stand up paddle (SUP) rentals and tours at the launch site, but feel free to bring your own. Launch your kayak or SUP between mangroves into Sarasota Bay and continue South along the mangrove tunnels. Visit this website...

Tucked in the Myakka Wilderness, along the Myakka River, is Deep Hole. After hiking through expansive Florida dry prairie and hammocks of ancient trees draped with spanish moss, you come to a large sinkhole, 200 ft across and 130 ft deep. During the dry season it is home to hundreds of american alligators.  To begin this hike, you must first check in at the ranger station to obtain a permit. D...

Leffis Key is a loop trail where you may see beautiful wildflowers located near Bradenton Beach, Florida.

With a 3 miles stretch of fine, delicate sand along the Gulf of Mexico, Holmes Beach is an ideal setting for a shore hike. As you hike, frequent visits from bottlenose dolphins and manatees 20-30 yards offshore along with Great Blue Herons and Snowy Egrets lining the shoreline is commonplace. While the beach can get crowded during the day, the amount of people is much less than many of the surr...

With a pier stretching 100 feet into Tampa Bay, the Rod & Reel Pier is the perfect spot to be for sunrise. Located on the northern tip of Anna Maria island, the Pier itself is quite easy to get to and enjoy.There is a parking lot next to the pier which has plenty of space of park. Another option is to walk the beach from any of the beach access points on North Shore Drive. In walking the be...

Bean Point is the northernmost tip of Anna Maria Island. It is here where the waters of Tampa Bay and the waters of the Gulf of Mexico collide and is also arguably the best place on the island to view the sunset. Additionally, this stretch of beach front is usually less busy and populated than the easier to access beach fronts as you go further south on the island.There are a myriad of options ...