Discover This: Venice Area Parks

Experience natural Florida habitats such as scrub, oak and pine flatwoods, mangrove islands, and estuarine rivers in Sarasota County’s Osprey, Nokomis, Venice and Englewood.

Historic Spanish Point

401 N. Tamiami Trail, Osprey, FL

Activities: Historic tours, native botanicals, holiday festivals and educational seminars
About: Part archeological site, part environmental preserve, and home to all things Intracoastal history, Historic Spanish Point acts as a living museum. Fronting Little Sarasota Bay, the park offers a 30-acre glimpse into the area's beginnings, dating back more than one thousand years. Its outdoor trails wind through exhibits and hands-on activities, exploring what life was like for the Indigenous Manasota people who arrived around 500 C.E., telling the tales of the first homesteaders to come to the area, showcasing socialite landowner Bertha Palmer, highlighting native botany and more.

Oscar Scherer State Park

1843 S. Tamiami Trail, Osprey, FL

Activities: Canoeing, kayaking, hiking, biking, birding and camping
About: The almost 1,400-acre Oscar Scherer State Park is one of the best places in Southwest Florida to view the threatened Florida scrub jay—of which only 10,000 birds remain. To explore such ecological habitat protection, take on the park’s 15 miles of natural trails either by foot, bicycle or paddle. While there, enjoy the park’s picnic pavilions, butterfly garden and more—as well as access to the Legacy Trail, Sarasota’s nearly 20-mile multi-use recreational trail.

Knight Trail Park Pistol & Rifle Range

3435 Rustic Road, Nokomis, FL

Activities: Hiking, camping, archery, picnicking; trap, skeet, sporting clays, pistol and rifle shooting
About: Spilling across 271 acres east of Interstate 75, Knight Trail Park caters primarily to visitors eager to test and hone their skills with firearms, as well as archers looking for a little practice or sporting time. The grounds hold a variety of ranges, from trap fields to full sporting clay courses, with distances from 12 to 100 yards. A 50-acre tract of the park hosts its archery club, with regular activities for members and free introductory lessons for anyone interested. Hiking trails and picnic areas round out the experience.

Jelks Preserve

2300 State Road 777, Venice, FL

Activities: Canoeing, kayaking, paddleboarding, hiking, birding, wildlife watching, fishing, picnicking
About: Alligators and ospreys, bald eagles and gopher tortoises, swallow-tailed kites and swallowtail butterflies are among the natural stars at Jelks Preserve, a 614-acre county-run park in the eastern part of Venice. This park features eight miles of unpaved trails, allowing visitors to meander through an assortment of flatwoods, hammocks and wetlands. At three points, each in the northeastern stretch of the park, the trails roll out to the Myakka River, officially designated as a “Wild and Scenic River” in 1985. Follow a trail or paddle along the river to enjoy unspoiled views of natural Florida.

Venice Beach

Venice Ave. and The Esplanade, Venice, FL

Activities: Swimming, snorkeling, beach-combing, fossil hunting, fishing, volleyball, picnicking
About: The tranquil sand stretches of Venice Beach provide enormous incentive to spend a day there—as well as ample allure to those who would cast a fishing line into the Gulf. But the sands here hold another treasure: shark teeth. The area has become a destination for those seeking out fossils and fragments of prehistoric marine creatures, with the city earning the designation as "Shark Tooth Capital of the World" and the area hosting an annual Shark Tooth Festival.

Shamrock Park and Nature Center

3900 Shamrock Drive, Venice, FL

Activities: Hiking, biking, birding, butterfly garden, basketball, tennis, picnicking
About: Nestled between the Intracoastal Waterway and a sprawl of residential communities, Shamrock Park and Nature Center is one of the few remaining areas of scrub habitat in the area. The park offers visitors a view of native populations of Florida scrub jays and gopher tortoises, from a network of both paved and unpaved trails. Discover an expansive playground, adjacent to a nature center, a great place for children to burn off energy.

Indian Mound Park

210 Winson Ave., Englewood, FL

Activities: Self-guided historical tour, canoeing, kayaking, paddleboarding, hiking, birding, fishing, picnicking
About: Featured on the Trail of Florida's Indian Heritage, Indian Mound Park in southern Sarasota County is a rarity: one of the few spots affording a look at how early inhabitants lived and shaped the landscape. Native peoples were drawn to the site—also known as Paulsen Point—for its wealth of resources, both on the land and in the bay. Today, visitors can stand on the same ground to better understand the site's importance. Additionally, the site offers access to a boat ramp and small vessel launch, as well as a picnic shelter.