The best sunset pictures are from North Lido Beach
In Part 1 I covered Ted Sperling Park on the south end of Lido Key. In Part 2 I'll cover North Lido Beach, my personal favorite. After all who doesn't like the sound of the ocean and the beach? Check out the map on Blog 1 if you're unsure of the location.
While you can walk the beach from southern most end of Lido Key to the north end, the south end is very developed as opposed to North Lido Beach Park. It has beautiful sandy beaches, dunes and a number of trails that run through the wooded north end. During the day lifeguards are on duty so it's very safe and they keep an eye on boaters coming in too close and ocean hazards such as riptides.
This is undoubtedly the best spot at the end of the day to watch the gorgeous Florida sunsets and this park provides unique opportunities for visitors to enjoy natural Florida beaches. It's also my favorite beach probably because its closest to where I live. We have viewed sunsets with martinis on the beach a number of times! When's the last time you sat on the beach at night? Maybe we'll see you there.
The south end of North Lido Beach actually starts at the jetty a hundred yards south of the public beach pavilion and public pool which has a spacious parking lot that fills early on weekends (hint: Get there early). As of this writing the pavilion is under renovation but hopefully done by fall 2020. As you walk north with your toes in the sand and water the beach widens, crowds thin out and you'll start to see the dunes on the north end. At low tide beach goers can be seen basking on the on the sand bars or searching for sand dollars in the shallow waters.
Along the way "up island" you'll see lots of shore birds and in the summer months there is a large colony of Black Skimmers that have been coming here for the past several years. In the months of April through August it's also turtle nesting season and you should be able to spot marked off turtle nests as you walk north. The street and building lights near the beach are also turned down this time of year so not to confuse the turtles.
At the very north end (about a mile from the pavilion) the beach forms the southern shore of New Pass Inlet which separates Lido Key from Longboat Key. Near the end of the walk north it's common to see tree branches at the water edge covered in sea shells like a Christmas tree. I'm not sure who does this but it makes me smile every time I see it. The walk north finally ends at a colorful painted seawall which is part of one of the large homes in Lido Shores (also a cool area to walk around).
The north end is a great spot to watch the boats pass by and fishing can be good as the channel runs fairly close to the shore. Because it's a bit remote the north end has also historically been the spot for naturalist beach goers who can be spotted in the dunes sometimes.
Enjoy the park!
Other blogs in this series
Lido Key Parks - Part 1 Ted Sperling Park on the south end Lido Key Parks - Part 2 North Lido Beach in the middle
The iconic Lido Casino used to be at the location of the current pavilion. The Casino was a WPA project that was torn down in controversy to make way for the current pavilion. Some of my current neighbors used to play there growing up and it was the place to be! There's a great video of the casino on the Sarasota History Alive site.