2022 Fall Newcomers Guide
Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/1504028
NEWCOMERS GUIDE TO PARADISE 22 Manasota Beach Park 8570 Manasota Key Road, Englewood Blind Pass Beach Park 6725 Manasota Key Road, Englewood Sarasota County operates two beaches on Manasota Key, Manasota Beach Park to the north, and Blind Pass Beach Park, which locals call "Middle Beach," near the middle of the key. Both are easily accessible by car and offer swimming, fishing, shelling and birding opportunities with ample parking and updated restrooms and showers. Manasota Beach has its own boat dock on the Intracoastal Waterway, while Blind Pass has a canoe and kayak launch on its bayside. Blind Pass also has a fun playground for the kids. FILE PHOTO Boca Grande beach, part of Gasparilla Island State Park. FILE PHOTO There is a kayak launch on the bay side of Caspersen Beach. FILE PHOTO The best days to look for shells and sharks' teeth at Caspersen Beach Park is after a series of storms come through. BOCA GRANDE Gasparilla Island State Park 880 Belcher Road, Boca Grande Beaches, boating, canoe/kayak, hiking, picnicking, swimming, snorkeling/diving and fishing. Boca Grande public beaches Third Street and other locations There are 14 public Gulf of Mexico beaches, but they're not always easy to find. Not all have parking, and because of erosion, some offer only a beautiful view of the Gulf of Mexico. If you drive south on Gilchrist Boulevard, which turns into Gulf Boulevard, the Gulf beaches are on your right, at the end of each street. Farther south, there are 14 walking paths from Gulf Boulevard to the beach. There are also 11 bayside access points. On the southern end of the island, Gasparilla Island State Park is on the right, and has a public parking lot, with the larger portion of the park about a quarter mile south. Both parks have swimming and fishing opportunities, and each features its own unique lighthouse. FILE PHOTO This mile marker post, located in the sand at South Beach, Boca Grande, indicates the mileage from that spot to locations across the USA.