Downtown Sarasota is pleasant for running, with streets leading down to the water, some pleasant commercial areas, and some shaded side streets with nice homes. Your best bet is to create your own route. Our recommendation is the area between Fruitville Rd. and US-41 (Mound St.), and east to S. Shade Ave. Main St. gives you a nice sense of downtown, with the Marina at its western end. The Laurel Park Historic District is very pleasant for running, including include the west-east Morrill St., Laurel St. and Oak St. Just north of Fruitville, there’s a nice section along Boulevard of the Arts down to the water and the Performing Arts Center, and a lovely 1/2 mile path north to Centennial Park.
WSLR.org
Features:
Categories:
Essentials
- Create your own route - see map
- Flat
- Anywhere downtown. Fit2Run Store is a great spot to start
- Parking at Nature Ctr. off Palmer Rd.
Current Weather & Forecast
Sarasota, US
4:28 am,
Jun 20, 2026
overcast clouds
27°C
L: 26°
H: 28°
Daily ForecastHourly Forecast
Today
5:00 pm
26° / 28°°C
1 mm
100%
4 mph
91 %
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0 mm/h
Tomorrow
5:00 pm
22° / 29°°C
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0%
8 mph
76 %
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Monday
5:00 pm
21° / 28°°C
0.57 mm
57%
5 mph
86 %
1009 mb
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Tuesday
5:00 pm
22° / 30°°C
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8 mph
68 %
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Wednesday
5:00 pm
21° / 32°°C
0.3 mm
30%
8 mph
68 %
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Today
5:00 am
20° / 20°°C
1 mm
100%
2 mph
90 %
999 mb
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Today
8:00 am
20° / 20°°C
1 mm
100%
4 mph
91 %
1000 mb
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Today
11:00 am
19° / 20°°C
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3 mph
87 %
1002 mb
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Today
2:00 pm
19° / 19°°C
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3 mph
84 %
1006 mb
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Today
5:00 pm
18° / 18°°C
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4 mph
84 %
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Today
8:00 pm
22° / 22°°C
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3 mph
67 %
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Today
11:00 pm
27° / 27°°C
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2 mph
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Other Routes in Sarasota, FL
Former celery fields are now a combination water collection zone, restored wetlands area, birding spot, and recreation area. ~4 miles of perimeter trails around marshlands, ponds, canals, edged by oaks, willows, and pines. Hill running on Observation Hill.
Near the Ringling Museum and the airport, this is an opportunity to run on some pleasant roads, incorporating some interesting Sarasota sites and lovely homes. Bay Shore Rd. is the anchor to this run from the New College of Florida to Indian Beach.
Named one of the best beaches in the United States, it's also great for running, with white, firm sand -- especially at low tide. The overall beach is 8 miles, but the best continuous section is ~3 miles south from Siesta Village. Mainly a beach run.
Pleasant, low traffic road, with good views to the Gulf of Mexico, and some spectacular waterside homes. Straight shot on Casey Key Rd., up to 6 miles one-way from the beach pavilion. It's also possible to run on the beach here.
1,200 acre state park between Venice and Sarasota, with 15 miles of trails. Combination of paved bike trails and more rugged hiking trails. Nice spot for some shaded running. Popular kayaking & birding spot, and a swimmable lake!
A lovely paved trail that runs along both sides of the Intracoastal Waterway, from historic downtown Venice, south to the Shamrock Park Nature Center and Caspersen Beach. Can do a great a 10-mile loop, with good views of the water.
A 10.8 mile former rail line, now a paved recreation trail running from Venice, north toward Sarasota. Some shaded, foliated sections, pastureland, streams and rivers, and some more populated sections. Intersects with Oscar Sherer State Park at halfway point.
Possibly the most dramatic run in the Sarasota area, with great water views and even a bit of elevation! It's ~4 miles over the bridge to St. Armands Circle and back, with numerous add-on options.
600 acre public park that's mainly a rowing facility. But there's a nice path around the lake that makes for a good 5k+ loop. Eastern side of the lake has a dedicated path along a fairly busy road, while the western side is more bucolic.
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