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Casey Key: Hidden treasure is ideal base for bicyclists, beach lovers

Casey Key is a perfect destination for someone who wants to bicycle the nearby Legacy bike trail in the morning, beachcomb amid natural beauty in the afternoon and then head to an authentic waterfront fish house for dinner. 

After three days of exploring Casy Key, we think we’ve found a hidden treasure.

A skinny 8-mile long barrier island between Venice and Sarasota, Casey Key has one road — a narrow twisting lane through a residential neighborhood of spectacular Gulf-front mansions.

Part of what makes Casey Key appealing is what it doesn’t have: tall buildings, commercial development, lots of roads.

Sailboat with sunset on Casey Key.
Sunset view on Casey Key. (Photo: Bonnie Gross)

The southern end of Casey Key has a half dozen mom-and-pop motels on the beach, two public beaches including a popular fishing jetty and a few casual restaurants.

The northern end of the island ends with a private road and some exclusive homes.

Near the top of the island is the road east off the island, Blackburn Road, which is the site of  a small waterfront park that offers a good put-in place for kayaks and power boats. On this street is one of the best seafood restaurants in the area, the Casey Key Fish House.

One thing to love about Blackburn Road is the little one-lane swing bridge that takes you to the island. Its small capacity ensures that those passing through really want to be there because there is often a wait. 

Fisherman at beach on Casey Key.
Uncrowded shoreline is a feature of Casey Key beach. (Photo: Bonnie Gross)

The gorgeous Casey Key beach

There are two public beaches on Casey Key and — how great is this? — parking is free. Make a note to admire the pavilion at Nokomis Beach – it was built in the 1950s, designed by Jack West, of the renowned Sarasota School of Architecture.

Shark teeth embedded in concrete in Venice are easy to find on Casey Key.
Shark teeth, embedded in concrete at Casperson Beach in Venice, are easy to find on Casey Key. (Photo: David Blasco)

The Casey Key beach, which has coarse sand and mounds of broken shells, is one of the best places to hunt for prehistoric shark teeth in the Venice area. There are miles of beach to walk, with few people beyond the public Casey Key beaches.

You’ll see people sitting at the wrack line, sifting through shells looking for shiny black shards that are the teeth of long-extinct sharks.

What do they do with them? I don’t know. In this case, I suspect, the search – sitting in the sand closely examining nature’s bounty at a beautiful beach – may be the point.

Fishermen at sunset on Casey Key.
Fishing at North Jetty Park ar Casey Key beach. (Photo: Bonnie Gross)

At sunset, Casey Key beach is the place to enjoy a long-standing drum circle. The Nokomis Beach Drum Circle occurs every Wednesday and Saturday evening at the main public beach area on Casey Key about two hours before sunset. Drummers, musicians and dancers congregate with an audience that can reach a few hundred.

Just south of the Nokomis Beach is the North Jetty Park, which is popular with fishermen and visitors enjoying the scenery. Dolphins are often seen feeding here as well as manatees in winter.

Road with view of water on Casey Key
The narrow road on Casey Key makes for a picturesque bike trail. (Photo: Bonnie Gross)

Casey Key Road: As scenic as it gets

Casey Key Road is so small and twisty that the speed limit posted in many places is 15 mph. This slow residential road makes a scenic ride by car. 

While a tempting place to bicycle, we don’t recommend it. It requires extreme caution because of the level of traffic and twists in the road. (Don’t worry: There are better, safer places to bicycle nearby.)

Several bicyclists on paved Legacy Trail near Casey Key.
The Legacy Trail is shady in the morning. (Photo: David Blasco)

Bicycling the Legacy Trail, 10 minutes away

For bicyclists the real star in the region is the nearby 18-mile Legacy Trail and its southern connector, the Venetian Waterways Trail. This trail system can be accessed 10 minutes from Casey Key at Laurel Park, 509 Collins Road, Nokomis.

Bicyclists on bridge over water along Legacy Trail. It's 10 minues from Casey Key.
Some of the prettiest scenery comes at the Legacy Trail’s bridges over waterways. It’s 10 minues from Casey Key.
(Photo: Bonnie Gross)

The Legacy Trail is one of the best traffic-free paved trails you will find in Florida. The quality of the trail is outstanding, the route is scenic nearly the whole way and it takes you to appealing destinations along the way.

If you take the Legacy Trail south, at the historic Venice Trail Station, you reach the Venetian Waterways Trail. This trail splits with one paved path on the west side of the Intracoastal Waterway and one bike path on the east side. The western route extends five miles to beautiful Casperson Beach. The eastern route ends in four miles at Shamrock Park and Nature Center.

If you head north on the Legacy Trail, you pass through Oscar Scherer State Park, where you can park your bikes and explore or take a hike. The trail extends 18 miles north from the Venice Trail Station.

We started our days with a bike ride in the cool morning when the trail was in the shade. One day we pedalled north from Laurel Park and one day south. In the warm afternoons, we swam and beach-combed along Casey Key.

Our favorite rides were along Casey Key and the northern section of the Legacy Trail from Laurel Park through Oscar Scherer State Park. The Venetian Waterways Trail was scenic but lacked shade. 

Casey Key Fish House as the sun sets.
Casey Key Fish House as the sun sets. (Photo: Bonnie Gross)

Casey Key restaurants: Dine on local seafood

We enjoyed two Casey Key restaurants that serve fresh local fish. Both are open-air, waterfront, and full of Florida ambience — just the sort of places we seek out in Florida.

On the north end of the island is Casey Key Fish House, 801 Blackburn Point Road, Osprey, which serves only fresh fish, most of it locally caught.

Mermaid sign at Casey Key Fish House.
Sign at Casey Key Fish House. (Photo: David Blasco)

At the south end of the island we dined at Pop’s Sunset Grill, 112 Circuit Road, Nokomis, a large establishment on the Intracoastal with good seasfood and live music, even on a Tuesday night.

Kayaking and boating from Casey Key

Visitors who bring kayaks or power boats will find ample sites to launch and places to explore. Blackburn Park has a kayak launch and a boat ramp for larger boats. From here, you can explore the inland waters.

Pier and clouds
The pier at the kayak launch at Blackburn Park on Casey Key. (Photo: Bonnie Goss)

For kayakers, an appealing destination would be to paddle two miles north to Midnight Pass, or more accurately, what used to be Midnight Pass. This pass was actually filled in in 1983 at the request of local property owners. Now, it is a stretch of beach that is owned by the public but inaccessible by road from either Siesta Key to the north or from the Casey Key to the south. If you zoom in on a Google map, you’ll see a sandy spot where kayakers land and walk over the dunes to this isolated beach.

Kayakers also can put in at Oscar Scherer State Park, where South Creek makes a very scenic short paddle.

White egret on railing at Casey Key Fish House
The view at Casey Key Fish House. (Photo: Bonnie Gross)

Casey Key: A throwback

With all its charms, in some ways, Casey Key is not all that special —  it’s a pretty beach with low-key commercial development. There used to be dozens of beachfront towns like this.

What is special now is that Casey Key is still there, and it hasn’t changed.

Clouds over a beach and jetty on Casey Key.
The North Jetty on Casey Key beach as the afternoon wanes. (Photo: Bonnie Gross)

Related stories from Florida Rambler to plan a Casey Key getaway

The beach at Casey Key. (Photo: David Blasco)
The beach at Casey Key. (Photo: David Blasco)

Links to help you plan your visit to Casey Key


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C Ann

Friday 19th of May 2023

Visited there all my childhood, as my grandparents owned a home and cottages there. Glorious 1950s and 1960’s when the whole area was fairly unknown.

Carla

Saturday 22nd of January 2022

HI We enjoy your articles and are pleased to post them on our Facebook site. Please give the correct address for Friends of The Legacy Trail: https://www.friendsofthelegacytrail.org/

Somehow you got a pirate address instead.

Thank You. Carla Director, Friends of The Legacy Trail

Bonnie Gross

Saturday 22nd of January 2022

Thank you! I'll fix that!

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