Nature & Wildlife

Open sunrise to sunset, Neal Preserve, is a 120-acre ecological gem that overlooks Sarasota Bay. Located on the south side of Manatee Avenue just a few minutes from Anna Maria Island, the preserve features passive outdoor recreation opportunities including a 20 foot tall observation tower, shell trails, and boardwalks that wind through the coastal environment. Neal Preserve is a very historically significant site. As you walk, imagine the active Native… Continue Reading Neal Preserve

Around the Bend Nature Tours offers professional guides to help you discover Native American history, creatures of Sarasota Bay, and the nature around the Gulf Coast! All of the guides are professionally Certified Master Naturalists through the University of Florida or the National Association of Interpretation. They can take you around Emerson Point in Palmetto, the largest remaining temple ground on Tampa Bay, and learn how the first Floridians lived.… Continue Reading Around the Bend Nature Tours

Although Egmont Key is primarily a wildlife refuge, it can be a personal refuge — a place to relax and collect shells along secluded, pristine beaches! Located at the mouth of Tampa Bay and accessible only by private boat, Egmont Key has a unique natural and cultural history. Named for John Perceval, the second Earl of Egmont, the Key has had both Spanish conquistadors and nuclear submarines pass its shores. In the… Continue Reading Egmont Key

Located on U.S. 41, two miles south of Osprey and six miles south of Sarasota, Oscar Scherer State Park consists of more than two square miles of natural Florida landscape. A large acreage of scrubby flatwoods makes this park one of the best places to see Florida scrub-jays, a threatened species found only in Florida. The park protects scrubby and pine flatwoods that were once widespread throughout Sarasota County. Fifteen… Continue Reading Oscar Scherer State Park

Robinson Preserve is a 487-acre coastal preserve located in northwestern Bradenton, just east of Anna Maria Island, in the Palma Sola area, across the street from the Palma Sola Botanical Gardens. The preserve features numerous recreation activities that are low-impact to the environment.  There are miles of hiking and biking trails throughout the preserve, as well as a canoe/kayak launch. In addition, there is over three miles of  waterways throughout the… Continue Reading Robinson Preserve

Sarasota Jungle Gardens is the area’s only zoological gardens featuring 10 acres of tropical vegetation and jungle trails. One of the oldest continuously operating attractions in Florida, Sarasota Jungle Gardens evokes memories of Florida days gone by, full of flora, fauna and fun, yet remains current and exciting for today’s families, locals, and tourists alike. See animals such as endangered exotic birds, prairie dogs, Florida crocodiles and other reptiles. Most of the animals… Continue Reading Sarasota Jungle Gardens

The beautiful Marie Selby Botanical Gardens is located in a brick-laid residential section of Sarasota and is home to thousands of colorful and exotic plants in an open air and glass museum environment. Many of the exotic plants have been collected during scientific expeditions into the rainforest by the Selby Gardens research staff. The Gardens have been noted in numerous magazines, such as named “One of the Top Ten Botanical Gardens” by Country Living Gardener Magazine. The… Continue Reading Marie Selby Botanical Garden

Located across from Walgreen’s off of East Bay Drive in Bradenton, Florida, Grassy Point Preserve is great for the whole family. It includes picnic tables, a shell foot path and a non-motorized watercraft launch for access into the bay. The preserve is open to the public from 7 am to dusk.

Big Cat Habitat is a nonprofit safe haven for exotic cats, bears, primates, birds, and other animals. The Rosaire family is a respected family of animal trainers originally from England from the Rosaire Circus. Now mostly retired, they dedicate themselves to the care and rescue of unwanted big cats and other animals in need. See lions, tigers, ligers, leopards, cougars, bears, monkeys, birds and much more when you visit Big Cat Habitat!… Continue Reading Big Cat Habitat and Gulf Coast Sanctuary