Off Harbor Dr 1.5 miles south of W Venice Ave, this long, wide beach with a huge parking lot is the most popular, especially for sunset. The adjacent pier, which has a bait shack and fish tables, is well equipped for fishing. Modest surf near the pier encourages bodyboarding; at the pier's base, Sharky's provides food and drink.
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
1.89 MILES
Where W Venice Ave dead-ends you'll find a covered beach pavilion with restrooms and a snack bar. Further south beyond the pier is Casperson Beach.
22.26 MILES
The 66-acre winter estate of railroad, real-estate and circus baron John Ringling and his wife, Mable, is one of the Gulf Coast’s premier attractions and…
15.37 MILES
Florida's oldest resident – the 200-million-year-old American alligator – is the star of this 39,000-acre wildlife preserve. Between 500 and 1000…
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14.57 MILES
At 8 miles long, Siesta Key is the area's most popular beach hangout, with a family-friendly village and a public beach of pure quartz sand so fine it's…
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18.67 MILES
Sarasota's marina is notable for Island Park, an attractive green space poking into the harbor: it has a great playground and play fountain, restrooms,…
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9.16 MILES
Explore layers of history at this environmental and archaeological site, which covers a 30-acre peninsula jutting out into Little Sarasota Bay. Covered in…
18.39 MILES
If you visit just one botanical garden in Florida, choose Selby, which has the world's largest scientific collection of orchids and bromeliads – more than…
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19.5 MILES
The Mote bills itself as a research facility and aquarium, and has a large department dedicated to the study of sharks. Exhibits include a preserved giant…
Nearby attractions
1.28 MILES
One-and-a-half miles south of Venice Pier along Harbor Dr, Caspersen is famous for the fossilized prehistoric sharks' teeth that wash up. Most teeth are…
1.89 MILES
Where W Venice Ave dead-ends you'll find a covered beach pavilion with restrooms and a snack bar. Further south beyond the pier is Casperson Beach.
2.1 MILES
Built in 1927 the historic Venice Train Depot was the last stop on the line for the Seaboard Air Line Railway that extended south from Tampa to Sarasota…
3.77 MILES
North of Venice on Casey Key, Nokomis is yet another attractive, low-key beach. Its 'minimalist'-style beach pavilion is an intriguing architectural…
6.84 MILES
This 1381-acre state park has 15 miles of sandy off-road tracks, lake swimming and a handy campsite ($33 per tent) midway along the Legacy Trail.
8.61 MILES
A 10-acre, dog-friendly park at the east end of Bay St in Osprey that serves as an end point to the 20-mile cycling route, the Legacy Trail. There are…
9.16 MILES
Explore layers of history at this environmental and archaeological site, which covers a 30-acre peninsula jutting out into Little Sarasota Bay. Covered in…
14.57 MILES
At 8 miles long, Siesta Key is the area's most popular beach hangout, with a family-friendly village and a public beach of pure quartz sand so fine it's…