LEISURE & RECREATION

With something like 361 days of sunshine each year in Sarasota, it’s hard to stay indoors.  Fortunately, you don’t have to. This coastal community offers plenty of opportunity for boating, fishing, canoeing and swimming. You’ll also find more than 60 golf courses and hundreds of tennis facilities. Numerous parks offer hiking, biking, bird-watching and eco-activities. Sporting activities include major-league baseball spring training games, polo, professional volleyball and ice hockey.

Golf, Tennis, Boating, Parks,
Area Attractions, Fishing

GOLF

Golf in Sarasota traces its roots back to the late 1880s, when Sir John Hamilton Gillespie traveled from Scotland to the hinterlands of "Sara Sota" with his clubs in hand and a vision of what this land of natural beauty could become.  Now the region boasts more than 100 golf courses between Tampa Bay and south Sarasota, many in Audubon-protected areas or along the Gulf of Mexico. Visit our Interactive Golf Map where we feature the area's top 50 courses.

BRADENTON

El Conquistador Country Club -- Private
The Links at Greenfield Plantation – Semi Private
Manatee County Golf Course -- Public
Peridia Golf and Country Club – Semi Private
Pinebrook / Ironwood Golf Club – Semi Private
The Preserve Golf Club at Tara – Semi Private
River Run Golf Links -- Public
The River Club – Semi Private
Rosedale Golf & Country Club – Semi Private
Stoneybrook Golf Club At Heritage Harbour -- Public
Waterlefe Golf & River Club – Semi Private

ENGLEWOOD

Boca Royale Golf & Country Club -- Private
Duffy's Golf Center – Public
Lemon Bay Golf Club – Semi Private
Myakka Pines Golf Club – Semi Private
Oyster Creek Golf Club -- Public
Wildflower Country Club -- Public

NOKOMIS

Calusa Lakes Golf Club – Semi Private
Sorrento Par 3 -- Public

LONGBOAT KEY 

Resort at Longboat Key -- Private

NORTH PORT 

Bobcat Trail Golf Club -- Public
Heron Creek Golf & Country Club – Semi Private
Sabal Trace Golf & Country Club – Semi Private

OSPREY 

The Oaks -- Private

PALMETTO 

Buffalo Creek -- Public
Imperial Lakewoods – Semi Private 

PORT CHARLOTTE 

Deep Creek Golf Club -- Public 
Maple Leaf Golf and Country Club – Semi Private
Riverwood Golf Club – Semi Private

SARASOTA / LAKEWOOD RANCH

Bent Tree Country Club -- Private
Bobby Jones Golf Complex – Public 
The Concession
Forest Lakes Golf & Country Club – Semi Private 
Founders Club -- Private
Foxfire Golf Club -- Public
http://www.golf-foxfire.com 
Heritage Oaks Golf & Country Club -- Public
Lakewood Ranch Golf and Country Club -- Private
The Legacy, Lakewood Ranch -- Public
The Meadows Country Club -- Private
Misty Creek Country Club -- Private
Oak Ford Golf Club -- Public
Palm-Aire Country Club -- Private
Rolling Green Golf Club -- Public
Sarasota Golf Club -- Public
Serenoa Golf Club – Semi-Private 
Suncoast Golf Center -- Public
Sunrise Golf Club -- Public
Tatum Ridge Golf Links -- Public 
TPC at Prestancia -- Private
University Park Country Club -- Private
Village Green -- Public

VENICE 

The Golf Club at Capri Isles – Semi Private
Jacaranda West Country Club -- Private
Lake Venice Golf Club -- Public
Pelican Pointe Golf & Country – Semi Private 
Venetian Golf & River Club – Semi Private
The Venice Golf and Country Club -- Private
Waterford Golf Club – Semi Private

TENNIS

The Sarasota region boasts literally hundreds of tennis facilities, racquet clubs and tennis resorts.  Just north of Sarasota, in the city of Bradenton, you’ll find IMG Academies, the world’s largest sports center and the proving ground of Andre Agassi, the Williams sisters and 2004 Wimbledon Champion Maria Sharapova.  Here are a few of the more noteworthy tennis facilities in the area. 

Bath and Racquet Club, Sarasota
Cedars Tennis Club & Resort, Longboat Key
Colony Beach & Tennis Resort, Longboat Key
Bollettieri Tennis Academy/IMG Academies, Bradenton
Longboat Key Public Tennis Center, Longboat Key
Longwood Athletic Club, Sarasota
The Racquet Club at El Conquistador, Bradenton
Resort at Longboat Key Club, Longboat Key
Serendipity Racquet Club at the Country Club of Sarasota, Sarasota

BOATING

Whether you prefer to be your own Master and Commander or would rather let someone else take the helm, your maritime choices in the Sarasota region are legion.  From dolphin runs and scientific eco-cruises to deep-sea fishing and just plain sightseeing, Sarasota has it all.  Just don’t forget your sun block.

Cannon's Marina
Enterprise Sailing Charters
LeBarge Tropical Cruises
Sarasota Bay Explorers

FISHING

The possession of fresh and saltwater fish is regulated in the state of Florida, with certain exemptions.  This includes shellfish and crabs.  Tackle shops can provide current rules and licenses.  You may also visit the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission website at www.myfwc.com, where you can purchase a fishing license online.

ANNA MARIA ISLAND

Anna Maria City Pier
Rod and Reel Pier

CITY ISLAND

New Pass Grill & Bait Shop

PALMETTO

Sunshine Skyway State Fishing Pier

SARASOTA

Flying Fish Fleet
 

PARKS & RECREATION

Steeped in history and natural beauty, this southwestern corner of Florida features many wilderness conservation areas and interesting ports-of-call for the purpose of enhancing the spirit and elucidating the mind. 

For the shell collector, there’s the boat ride to historic Egmont Key, home to once-proud Fort Dade from the Spanish American War, Florida's sixth brightest lighthouse and the endangered gopher tortoise. 

For bird-watchers, there’s the stroll on Coquina Bay Walk at Leffis Key, where you'll find great blue herons, white egrets, night herons, brown and white pelicans, osprey, an occasional frigate bird, as well as an abundance of marine life. 

For the adventurous, there is Myakka River State Park, Florida's largest and most diverse natural wilderness, where activities include not only bird-watching, canoeing, fishing, wildlife observation and biking into the remote interior, but also treetop-exploration on a canopy walkway, rides on the Tram Safari, climbs into a 70-foot tower for spectacular views, and cruises on Upper Myakka Lake aboard one of the world's two largest airboats, the Myakka Maiden or the Gator Gal. 

Then there is Historic Spanish Point overlooking Sarasota Bay, a fascinating window into 5,000 years of human history, with Native American shell middens, preserved pioneer structures, aqueduct, nature trails and formal gardens.  There is much more, of course, but these examples finely represent the types of adventures that can be had here.

Myakka River State Park
Historic Spanish Point

AREA ATTRACTIONS

With its Gulf Coast location and subtropical climate, Sarasota is a natural center for the study of avian and marine life and tropical plants.  Mote Marine Aquarium combines real research with opportunities to learn about sharks, pet stingrays in the touch pool, and view manatees, sea turtles and other marine life. Plants and birds are on display at Sarasota Jungle Gardens, which also holds regular reptile and bird shows.  Marie Selby Botanical Gardens showcases tropical plants and more than 6,000 orchids. 

Bishop Planetarium
Ed Smith Stadium 
Gulfcoast Wonder and Imagination Zone 
Mote Marine Laboratory
Marie Selby Botanical Gardens
Museum of Cars and Music
The Parker Manatee Aquarium
Sarasota Convention & Visitor's Bureau
Sarasota Jungle Gardens
Sarasota Red Sox
South Florida Museum