Beaches & Adventure Insider

Siesta Key, while a great place to lounge in the sun – is most certainly not a snooze. On the way home from a recent Tampa Bay Rays and Phillies spring training baseball game in Port Charlotte, my hubby Paul and I stopped on the 8-mile-long barrier island located just outside of Sarasota, on a mission to scope out potential landing zones for our hang gliders on the beach. (It is grand fun to fly courses from Quest Soaring Center in Groveland on our gliders.) The beach looked to be perfect for the purpose, since it wasn’t crowded, was wide as an elephant’s behind and even boasted a windsock fluttering above it all.

The beach, snuggled up against the Gulf of Mexico, looked perfect for plenty of other purposes, too. In the first five minutes, we saw boats racing along out in the gulf, parasails floating high above the water and kiteboarders and windsurfers riding the waves. We even saw one brave soul riding a skateboard-like-contraption on the beach, using a kiteboarding sail for power. There’s plenty more action available there, as well: Here’s a long list of activities from biking to birding to horseback riding and more in locations near Sarasota.

You say you’re a dedicated beach-bunny who prefers to relax on the beach? Siesta Key features sugar-white, baby-powder soft sand and lots of sunshine, too -- so grab your bikini and head on down.