Sarasota To-Do

Places to Go (Sarasota area)

With Your Kids or Parents

• Siesta Beach
• Lido Beach
• Ken Thompson Park
• Urfer Park
• Downtown Skate Park / Payne Park

With Your Dogs

• Paw Park on 17th Street
• Ken Thompson Park*
• Bird Key Park*
• Brohard Beach and Paw Park in Venice*

*Dogs can swim at these parks!

Places to Run

• Rothenbach Park
  Rothenbach has asphalt paved 0.9 mile and 2.6 mile loops, with some shade on the longer loop. Between the loops, you'll find a bathroom, picnic area, playground and water fountain. We'll often have the kids ride bikes while we run, and then they get playground time afterward, while we're cooling off.
• Payne Park
  Payne Park features a 0.5 mile loop with sidewalk and red pebble path. The lighting here is bad at night. It's placed low on the path, which is pretty, but makes it difficult to see objects at a distance. As such, I wouldn't recommend running here at night.
• Sarasota Recreational Trail (see link for description, location)
• Ringling Bridge Repeats
  If you run under the bridge on both ends (to switch sides), you can get around one-mile per repeat.
• Island Park to Ken Thompson Park and back
• The Legacy Trail *Not recommended: long, straight, and offers little shade
• Celery Fields and Bickel Mountain
  Bickel Mountain is a big, artificial hill that you can use to bust your butt, as much as necessary. The gravel paths on the hill make for a rough ride for strollers.
• Myakka River State Park
  Piece together bits of road, trail, and service road into almost any length; best in winter.
• Manasota Track Club | Events | Training Runs
• Daily Mile Sarasota, FL routes

Places to Cycle/Ride

• The Legacy Trail (pics | map)
  Ride from Sarasota to Venice on the Legacy Trail, a wide, straight rail-to-trail.
• Longboat Key
  Park at Ken Thompson Park or Island Park / Marina Jacks (requires riding out to the key) and jam out 20 to 40 miles in the bike lane of a semi-busy road, winding along the coast.
• Myakka River State Park
  Myakka has a park drive that's about 6 miles long. Unless it's a holiday, the traffic is light and slow. There are frequent opportunities to stop, see wildlife, and enjoy the park.
• Rothenbach Park *Not recommended: the path is narrow, constantly curving, and packed with families (kids)
• Village Bike Shop Local Rides (you should call)
• Sarasota-Manatee Bicycle Club Rides
• See our 2012 Spring Break Bike Tour Blog

Things to Do (Events)

January

February

March

April

Summer

• Summer Beach Run Series, Siesta Key Beach, June through August
• Suncoast Offshore Grand Prix, end of June, early July

November