On Day 1 we walked to Ted Sperling Park for Sunrise and Day 2 we walked the Lido Shores neighborhood where the Umbrella House is. On Day 3 we will see mermaids, yes actual mermaids on North Lido Beach!
As with the previous route we are starting at the directional sign in south Lido Key in the vicinity of South Boulevard of the Presidents and Garfield Drive (see day 1 route). For the route I've provided a MyPacer link when I did the route which shows you the route details, time, steps, calories and pictures I took along the way. You can download the route and follow it or make your own.
Day 3 - The Mermaids on North Lido Beach
If you like walking on the beach then walking the beach 3.3 miles to "the wall" and back is the route to take. You can blast through the walk in less than 45 minutes or take your time and enjoy the wildlife, gulf and other interesting sites along the way. Once you get to the end you will see the mermaids - I promise! If you want to duplicate, or see all the details of this route, it can be viewed and downloaded from MyPacer by clicking on the route picture below.
Starting at the public pavilion instead of the directional sign will make this a walk just short of 3 miles RT. A good time to do this walk is in the morning as the beach is not crowded and it's easy to socially distance. That gets a bit harder in the afternoon as the beach is busy with people now that it has reopened.
Heading north from the pavilion there's a good chance you'll see tracks from turtles that have come to Lido Key to lay eggs. Volunteers from Mote Marine comb the beach in the morning and mark off the new nests so they can be protected.
There are also colonies of Black Skimmers & Least Terns that nest on the beach in the summer and those areas will be marked off. In the mornings is very common to see photographers and birders on the beach. You can walk closer to get a better view but be careful. I've been dive bombed by some of the birds more than once.
Keep walking and if you see shells pick them up so you can add them to the shell trees almost at the turnaround point where you will see the mermaids. Someone started adding the shells to the trees along the beach years ago and it makes for a nice photo opportunity.
Finally you'll see them - yes, the mermaids at the end of North Lido Beach. I'm guessing the property owner wanted to soften the No Trespassing verbiage. I think they accomplished that and made it a whimsical destination. Be sure to touch the wall before you head back to make the trip official.
To learn more about North Lido Beach check out my previous blog on Lido Key parks. The picture gallery is just a few photos from the route.
Send me your favorite routes and I'll put together another blog in the future. Get ready for the next two walks which are 5 miles each. Enjoy the island!