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Venice Beaches
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Fourteen miles of sandy beaches provide almost unlimited Beach combing along the Lemon Bay area's beaches offering a thrilling adventure. Along with shells and driftwood, prehistoric shark's teeth are buried in the sand. Manasota Key Beach, South Venice's barrier islands, has miles of beaches, dunes, sea oats, and nesting turtles! All the beaches consist of a mixture of fine and coarse areas (made up of innumerable shells) whilst further away from the sea is an area of grass (see below) before giving way to residential plots.
Beaches on Manasota Key
There are three main beach access points on Manasota Key. The first, Manasota Beach, is at the north end of the Key, 2 minutes away from the villa, and from where the picture above was taken - and this is about as busy as it gets. Walking along this stretch of beach a wild variety of wildlife can be seen, from Pelicans skimming low across the water, to sea eagles hunting high over the sea searching out fish as they shimmer near the surface of the water. Close in, you can share the shoreline with egrets and herons whilst further up the beach it is not unusual to find tortoises and scattered all along the beach, turtle nests, protected by law and monitored daily by wildlife patrol officers. Wildlife is given a very high priority in this area of outstanding beauty and importance and the key is patrolled regularly by air by officers based at the infamous Venice Airport. As can be seen from the attached sign, interfering with a nest can result in an extended stay in Florida!
Further south, about 10 minutes drive from the northern access point referred to above, is the middle beach, also known as Blind Pass. Whilst the northern beach is quiet, this one is even more so although a short length runs alongside the road running through the middle of the Key. This beach has only been visited by us on a few occasions, but following reports in our guest book that dolphins had been seen from there, we spent a couple of hours there one morning. Sure enough, we did see dolphins, but only briefly. The picture of the sunset below was taken from Blind Pass during one evening during our last visit - but beware - in August, cover your legs if you can. Drive for another five minutes along the key and you will reach Englewood beach.
Manasota Beach
Location - North end of Manasota Key Description: Take a walk and discover
sea shells along the shore of Manasota Beach.
This beautiful setting includes a boardwalk
through mangroves, picnic tables, lifeguards,
shelters and restroom facilities, making it a
favorite for tourists and residents alike. |
Englewood beach
Location - South end of Manasota Key Description: Ample parking, showers,
restrooms and picnic tables make Englewood Beach
a delightful option for families. No lifeguards
are on duty, however. While there are no
concession stands, you'll want to visit the
numerous restaurants and shops just across the
street. |
All three beaches have picnic and barbeque areas and restroom facilities these are the picnic areas at Manasota Beach.
The southernmost beach on the Key is Englewood beach and whilst this is still quiet, it is the most commercialized.
Prehistoric Sharks Teeth
For years, collecting prehistoric shark's teeth has been a favorite pastime of visitors and residents alike. Sharks of all species continually shed their teeth and grow anew. After a nice long life, dead sharks sink to the ocean floor where they're covered by layers of sand and silt. Over time their bodies decompose, while changing tides and storm activity sweep the teeth on shore. Caspersen Beach, the longest beach in the area is located south of Venice Airport on Harbor Drive. It has been left in its natural state, uncultivated, wind swept, and secluded. This is an exceptionally good area to look for and find pre-historic sharks' teeth as well as enjoyable shelling.
