PARKS & OUTDOORS
Oscar Scherer State Park
Sarasota County · Gulf Coast
Fourteen hundred acres at Osprey protecting Florida scrub-jays, with the only freshwater swimming lake in Sarasota County.
ABOUT THIS PLACE
The park covers 1,400 acres at 1843 South Tamiami Trail in Osprey, hemmed in by development on most sides, which is precisely what makes it matter. The Florida scrub-jay lives nowhere else on earth and needs open sandy scrub to survive, and this park holds one of the populations that is still hanging on. They are curious birds and will come close to people on the trails. Bald eagles nest here in winter. Fifteen miles of trail cross the scrub and flatwoods. Lake Osprey is the only freshwater swimming lake in Sarasota County, and South Creek takes canoes and kayaks down toward the bay. There is camping, including furnished tents, along with picnic pavilions and a nature center. The Legacy Trail runs straight through the park, so cyclists riding from Sarasota to Venice stop here for water and shade. It opens from eight to sundown every day of the year
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