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South Lido Beach
190 Taft Dr. and 2201 Ben Franklin Drive, Lido Key, FL 34236
South Lido park is located on Ben Franklin Drive at the southern tip of Lido Key. The 100 acre park interacts with four significant bodies of water; The Gulf of Mexico, Big Pass, Sarasota Bay and Brushy Bayou. The southern, beach portion of the park offers expansive views of the emerging skyline of downtown Sarasota and the Gulf of Mexico. It also has a great picnic area that is shaded by towering Australian Pines. A separate facility at the north end of the park offers its own nature trail which includes scenic overlooks and boardwalks. Also, at the northern portion of the park are rest room facilities, a picnic area, a canoe launch, and a self guided canoe trail.

• 100 acres of land
• 640 linear feet of gulf beach frontage
• 3,500 linear feet of Big Pass frontage
• Designated swimming areas are marked due to very swift currents.
• Canoeing, self-guided trail
• Fishing fitness/jogging trail
• Grills
• Lifeguards on duty during weekends from Memorial Day to Labor Day.
• Multi-purpose field
• Two nature trails
• Parking areas
• Passive recreation area
• Picnicking
• Play equipment
• Observation tower and decks
• Rest rooms
• Swimming
• Undeveloped land
• Volleyball court, one outdoor/beach

History:

• During the nineteenth century, what is now Lido Key consisted of a series of islands separated by shifting channels. An early immigrant pioneer, Otto Schmidt Zoldan, settled on the islands around the turn of the century and acquired the properties in 1910 under the terms of the Homestead Act. Zoldan later sold his property which, after a series of land transfers, was purchased by John Ringling during the early 1920's. Ringling planned an ambitious development of his island properties, greatly manipulating the shapes of the islands through moving millions of cubic feet of sand.

• Because of his interest in Italian culture, Ringling named one of the newly created islands after the Italian word for beach, "lido."

• The great Florida Land bust of 1926, however, led to the collapse of the Ringling Isles project and the temporary abandonment of development plans for the southern part of Lido Key.

• Spurred by a growing environmental awareness, the public approved a referendum by a nine to one margin authorizing the County Government's purchase of the 100-acre parcel for use as a recreational area and public open space.