Florida Destinations

These are in Sarasota or not a long drive.

Selby Botanical Gardens

On mornings when Sarasota feels like a luminous shell just lifted from the Gulf, I point my compass toward the bayfront and step into Selby Botanical Gardens the way a man steps into a tidepool—slowly, reverently, ready to be surprised by what the water has been tending all night. Even before the gate closes behind […]

Babcock Ranch Reserve

Nestled in the beating heart of Florida’s wildlands, Babcock Ranch Reserve sprawls across 67,000 acres of pristine wilderness, mere miles from the buzz of Punta Gorda. As a naturalist venturing here in late October, you’re granted a front-row seat to some of Florida’s finest seasonal transformations. The dry air settles in as autumn’s crispness hints […]

Leffis Key (Sarasota, FL)

Leffis Key… for some reason, there are almost always interesting birds that hang out at the preserve and today I saw an American Redstart (in migration), and overhead were a couple of magnificent frigatebirds, which I rarely see this far north. They are common in the keys, and I have also seen them down at […]

Ringling Grounds (Sarasota, FL)

There are days when I walk into a place in Florida and feel—before even seeing anything—that the land has something to show me. Not merely a display or an exhibition, but a conversation, a story waiting in a shadow, a rustle, a shaft of light. The Ringling Museum Grounds in Sarasota—John and Mable Ringling’s sprawling […]

Historic Spanish Point (Sarasota, FL)

Make sure to check out the butterfly tent when you go. I have gone to Spanish Point a few times since it became part of Selby Gardens, and it is definitely fun to visit. Very different from Selby downtown, and I would say that I prefer it. There are places in Florida where the past […]

Red Bug Slough Preserve (Sarasota, FL)

The first thing you notice about Red Bug Slough Preserve is how improbable it feels. One moment you’re on Beneva Road—traffic lights, grocery stores, lawn crews—and the next you’re stepping into a pocket of old Florida, 70-ish acres of hammock, wetland, and water tucked right into the middle of Sarasota. (sarasotacountyparks.com) As a Florida naturalist, […]

Pinecraft Park (Sarasota, FL)

On some days, Pinecraft Park feels less like a city park and more like a tiny rainforest that somebody accidentally dropped into the middle of Sarasota. Tucked along the shady banks of Phillippi Creek and wrapped in the quiet hum of the Amish and Mennonite neighborhood around it, this little 15–20 acre patch of mesic […]

Highlands Hammock State Park (Sebring FL)

Some parks whisper. Highlands Hammock State Park sings. It begins the moment you turn off US-27 onto Hammock Road, the traffic falling away behind you like a shed skin. Before you even see the official sign, the landscape shifts: more oaks, more shadows, more sense that you’re entering an older, wiser Florida—one that existed long […]

Urfer Family Park (Sarasota, FL)

If Sarasota had a beating green heart tucked inside its suburban chest, it would be Urfer Family Park—a 72-acre blend of pine flatwoods, wetlands, history, wildlife, and playful modern comforts, all stitched together in one of the most walkable nature parks in the county. It’s a place where families picnic, runners jog, toddlers conquer playgrounds, […]

Brooker Creek Preserve (Tarpon Springs, FL)

Some places in Florida feel like they’ve been hiding in plain sight, quietly thriving while the world rushes past in a blur of pavement and Publix shopping plazas. Brooker Creek Preserve, tucked into the northeastern corner of Pinellas County near Tarpon Springs, is one of those places—a wild, breathing sanctuary where the land remembers what […]

North Lido Beach (Sarasota, FL)

This is one of the best beaches in Sarasota for seeing plants and birds, and on arrival, we sawa northern harrier hunting in the scrub. There were also a bunch of Sandwich Terns on the beach.

Myakka Hardwood Hammock (Sarasota, FL)

I spent some time in the beautiful hardwood hammock at Myakka River State Park. The hike I went in on is called Fox’s High Trail which is that the north end of the park where there are lots of big oaks and cabbage palms it’s a super wet environment this time of year, wet underfoot, […]

Myakka Pinelands (Sarasota, FL)

I headed out to the mesic flatwoods site reference in Myakka River State Park, which you can get to by going from the main park road to the Ranch House Road trail. Head straight out there all the way to Bee Island Campground and right there is a big stand of longleaf pines, which are […]

Joan M Durante Community Park (Longboat Key, FL)

Bok Tower (Lake Wales, FL)

“Bok Tower — the Taj Mahal of Florida.” With a tag line like that, I didn’t expect much, but the gardens and the estate are beautiful, and well worth the 2+ hour drive to get us there. There are landscapes in Florida that feel like invitations—open-armed gestures from the natural world to slow down, breathe […]

Three Sisters Springs (Crystal River, FL)

There are a handful of places in Florida where the world seems to breathe differently—slower, cleaner, with a kind of crystalline patience that feels almost ancient. Three Sisters Springs in Crystal River is one of these places. It is the closest thing our wild peninsula has to a natural cathedral: clear water glowing like liquid […]

Lemur Foundation (Myakka City, FL)

We spent a few hours visiting the Lemur Conservation Foundation in Myakka City — totally great! There are certain days in the life of a Florida naturalist that sparkle brighter than the rest—days when the wild comes a little closer, when a creature from another hemisphere peers at you with curious golden eyes, and suddenly the world […]