As I write this post, this week marks the first day of spring. Soon my 2025 Florida snowbird stay will come to an end. This was my first winter with my boyfriend E at his Gulf Coast home in Sarasota. It was a busy season with double the amount of family and friends visiting — including his, mine and ours.
While I missed my old stomping grounds in Bonita Springs and Naples, it was enjoyable living in a new Florida city and exploring all that Sarasota has to offer.
My boyfriend E and I spent our snowbird stay 2025 in Sarasota
My 2025 Snowbird Stay in Sarasota –Looking Back on My Fun-filled Days
In this post, I’ll focus on some of Sarasota’s outdoor adventures and cultural attractions. In future posts, I’ll tell you more about the tasty Sarasota foodie establishments I discovered. Ooh, ooh, ooh, I also will be writing about three fav restaurants I dined at during my trips to Naples to see snowbird friends. Thankfully Naples is only about a 2-hour drive south from Sarasota straight down I75.
Fun-filled days in the great outdoors
Beyond my usual pickleball games and morning walks, there was much to see and do in and about Sarasota.
One of the best parts of a snowbird winter is alfresco dining
Relaxing at Siesta Key Beach
Sarasota is known for it’s beautiful beaches. If your a beachy girl like me, you’ll love Siesta Key Beach. Tripadvisor rated Siesta Key Beach No.1 in the U.S. and No. 4 globally among its 2025 Travelers’ Choice Awards Best of the Best Beaches.
“The sand is cool,” said my sister N as we walked down the pathway with our bare feet. We wondered why it wasn’t hot like other beaches. We learned that Siesta sand is composed of nearly 99% quartz, a mineral that reflects the sun’s heat, meaning it doesn’t absorb and retain heat as readily as other beach sands.
The one thing that Siesta Beach does have are crowds. So my reco if you plan to go to the beach — leave early in the morning. Parking is free but lots fill up quickly.
Siesta Key Beach ranks among the best beaches in the U.S. and world
Communing with nature at Marie Selby Botanical Gardens
Another beautiful Sarasota attraction is the Marie Selby Botanical Gardens. We went to the Downtown Campus composed of 15 acres located on Sarasota Bay. As it says on its website “Selby is the only botanical garden in the world dedicated to the display and study of epiphytic orchids, bromeliads, gesneriads and ferns, and other tropical plants.”
This year’s Jean & Alfred Goldstein Exhibition Series features George Harrison: A Gardener’s Life. That’s right, the lead guitarist of The Beatles was an avid gardener. Who knew gardening was one of his favorite pastimes? The exhibition runs through June 29, 2025.
Guitars hang among plants at the George Harrison: A Gardener’s Life exhibition
Climbing to the top of Celery Fields
Looking for a place to hike one cooler afternoon, E and I drove to Celery Fields. The 400+ acre site is a former sawgrass wetland where celery once grew. Today it is a park and also a working facility that provides stormwater management. While it is known for its birds and wildlife, we only saw a couple of birds not anywhere near the 245 species that birdwatchers have identified there.
I hiked to the top of Celery Fields
Spending an evening at Orioles Park
Baseball enthusiasts flock to spring training all over Florida during February and March to see their favorite east coast teams play pre-season games. Sarasota is home to Orioles Spring Training at Ed Smith Stadium. E and I went with Toronto friends to see the Blue Jays/Orioles game last week. It was my first time at the stadium and despite the Blue Jays loss, it was a fun night out.
Baltimore Orioles spring training is held at Ed Smith Park
Taking grandkids to Jungle Gardens
When E’s grandson K came to visit, we lookted for places to take him that young children would like. Jungle Gardens tops the list as a popular family place. The park is privately owned and has been around since 1939.
We spent about 90 minutes meandering the 10 acres of tropical landscaped walking trails to see the 200+ native and exotic animals – many of them rescued or donated – including Florida’s pink flamingos. There are educational shows throughout the day too.
K liked the reptiles, birds and baby goats. It was an expensive day out between the tickets and extras to hold a baby alligator — but priceless to see the joy in K’s eyes when he got to hold the tiny reptile (the mouth was taped shut).
Grandson K admires the baby alligators at Jungle Gardens
World-class art and culture to fill the hours
Sarasota has a vibrant and growing downtown as well as other districts under renewal full of art and culture. It’s one of the reasons that snowbirds (like moi ) find this Southwest Florida city appealing.
Touring The Ringling
One of the most famous places is The Ringling, where John and Mable Ringling housed the circus during off-seasons eons ago. While I didn’t personally visit in 2025, we did send a few of our guests there. I’ve been and written about The Ringling before and highly suggest a visit when in Sarasota. The campus includes a renowned art museum, a magnificent rose garden, and a learning center that houses a 3,800 square foot, 44,000-piece Howard Bros. Circus Model and interactive gallery.
There are all kinds of circus memorabilia at The Ringling
Seeing a performance at Van Wezel
Sarasota has a premier performing arts hall near downtown called the Van Wezel (pronounced Van Wayzull). It hosts a wide variety of performances such as Broadway musicals, national and international performers, and world-class symphony orchestras. The Van Wezel also hosts the Sarasota Orchestra, Sarasota Ballet, the Sarasota Concert Association and the Ringling Library Town Hall Lecture Series.
We took our family guests to see a Whitney Houston Musical Revue and the Broadway musical Funny Girl. Both were excellent. The things I like about the Van Wezel are that ticket prices are very reasonable, parking is free, you can see from almost any seat in the auditorium and the acoustics are superb.
Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall hosts a variety of Broadway shows
Going to Selby Library downtown
As winter residents, E and I are able to get library access to Manatee and Sarasota libraries. One morning we took a ride downtown to see the Selby library and peruse its books. I was like a kid in a candy store. I checked out three cookbooks and a needlepoint primer.
The contemporary building was designed by the prominent architect Eugene Aubry. Its two-story foyer is impressive as is the arch-shaped aquarium that greets children to the youth wing. If you’re looking for a quiet place to cool off and read, you’ll find it is a welcoming spot.
Selby Library in downtown Sarasota has an innovative architectural layout
Viewing murals in Burns Court and Rosemary Districts
As I mentioned, I was primed to go exploring this winter. And when I did I loved finding quaint neighborhoods to walk around. Maybe because I am a former New York City person.
Two historic districts I discovered on my hunts were Burns Court and The Rosemary District. Each has a unique vibe. What unites them both are their colorful murals.
Art is at your footsteps in Burns Court
In Burns Court the murals are down by your feet with elaborate chalk paintings on the sidewalks (NOTE: Sadly the city took the murals away from Burns Court in 2026). In The Rosemary District, also known as RADD (Rosemary Art & Design District), the murals are painted on the side of buildings. The murals honor Rosemary’s diverse heritage (originally called Overtown) where the first African Americans settled in Sarasota in the early 1890s.
Murals in the Rosemary District showcase its African American heritage
As usual, I didn’t get to see and do everything I had planned during winter 2025. The good thing is there’s always more to see and do next year.
Happy Spring!
Judi
P.S. Stay tuned for my recap of my Sarasota culinary adventures coming soon.
BTW: If you want to know about more Sarasota attractions – read about my first visit in 2019 at What To Do On a First Visit to Sarasota and go to VisitSarasota.com.
Reader L said: “Interesting post. I think it makes Sarasota look quite inviting.”
Reader J said: “Looks like you had a memorable stay.”
Hi Judi! As long-time Sarasota visitors, I really enjoyed your blog. Some great ideas. We can get so stuck in a rut
Christine, so glad you stopped by. Enjoy Sarasota! Hopefully I’ll have more to share this winter.