Manasota Key is an 11-mile barrier island on Florida’s Gulf Coast located south of its busier neighbors, Sarasota, and Venice. It’s about halfway between Tampa and Fort Myers.
Stump Pass Beach State Park is one of the four barrier islands that comprise the Barrier Islands Geopark in this area. The other three are Cayo Costa, Don Pedro, Gasparilla.
Englewood Beach is the most popular beach, where you can find beach rentals, volleyball courts and parasailing fun. It’s also near where the Englewood restaurants and bars are.
Blinds Pass Beach is known as Middle Beach and is popular for shark tooth hunting, kayaking, or exploring the trails going in and out of the mangrove forest.
Without trying too hard we found 4 altogether, 2 of them near our beach towels where Savannah was digging up the dry sand. That was lucky as most seem to be found in the wet area where the waves meet the shore.
It is the MAIN event on the Gulf Coast of Florida. Plan your evenings around it, whether it’s enjoying it from a restaurant or bar, or just from sitting on the front row sand seats.