Getaways to the authentic Florida
Visiting here, I found myself happy that places like Anna Maria Island survive — a low-rise beach town with quaint cottages and a spectacular beach. Daytrippers will be happy to learn they can skip the weekend traffic and parking hassles with an affordable ferry service from Bradenton.
Lovers Key State Park is a treasure in Fort Myers Beach. You can kayak a mangrove-lined trail and stroll an unspoiled 2.5 mile beach. The park has recovered from Hurricane Milton and its devastating storm surge a year ago.
Discover a less well-known string of islands — Gasparilla Island, Don Pedro Island and Manasota Key. Each holds a spectacular state park with top beaches.
Cayo Costa, a wild island with nine miles of pristine beach, can be reached for day trips and there are two companies that offer cruises. The lucky few who visit can explore a slice of paradise.
There’s no better time for surf fishing than late summer and fall, when the mullet run down the coast. Here’s the gear you need and how to fish from shore.
Secret beaches are the stuff of vacation dreams. But I found one — more than 5 miles of wild, broad unspoiled sandy shore, lined with thick native vegetation and without a condo or T-shirt shop in sight.
This sandy campground near Jacksonville is a beach lover’s dream.
Florida’s underwater parks preserve exceptional bodies of water, from shipwrecks to spring-fed caves. They are among the most unusual parks in the US.
There are 14 miles of fabulous beaches in Venice, including Sarasota County’s only dog beach. The big attraction is ancient shark’s teeth that continuously wash ashore to the delight of beachgoers.
These new Florida Keys parks take refreshing swimming holes popular with locals and upgrade them with picnic tables, kayak launches, restrooms and parking. Both of these new parks are perfect stops along the scenic Overseas Highway.