Beach Parking & Transit Tips

Whether you're road-tripping into town or flying in and renting a car, finding a spot to park at the beach during busy times can prove challenging. 

Here are local tips for getting to and parking at Sarasota County's public beaches to ensure you get the most out of your day in the sun and sand!

Free Public Parking Lots

At the major public beaches, you’ll find shoreside pavilions with public restrooms, outdoor shower stations to wash off, shaded seating areas and concessions for food and refreshments. These beaches will likely be the ones with lifeguard stands helping to keep the beach safe and inform the public about beach conditions. Siesta Key Beach Pavilion, Lido Beach Park & Pavilion, Nokomis Beach Park, Venice Public Beach and Manasota Beach Park are Sarasota County's main beaches and where you'll find free public parking lots, pavilion amenities and lifeguards on duty year-round. 

Siesta Key Public Beach and Pavilion offers 976 spaces to park your car

These beach parks all accommodate free public parking with no time restrictions, but keep in mind that they fill up fast during peak times and peak season (January – April). So plan to arrive as early as possible and beat the crowds to guarantee a convenient spot with a shorter walk when lugging your beach essentials from your car!

Don't be discouraged if you don't find an open spot at one of these main beach lots — there are a number of neighboring beaches and access points on the keys that are just as fabulous and a little less traveled. If in Siesta, try any of the access points (with limited parking spaces at each) north of the main beach along Beach Road, or head south to Turtle Beach, Crescent Beach or Palmer Point Beach. Of the three, Turtle Beach has a convenient parking lot of about 200 spots, plus public restrooms and wash-off stations. 

The pathway from the parking lot at Service Club Park onto Venice Beach

If Nokomis or Venice beaches are too packed for your liking and parking is hard to come by, backtrack a little farther south to Service Club Park near Venice Fishing Pier, where the same amenities are available on a slightly smaller scale — and a bit more hidden from the masses. 

You can also drive farther south down the Gulf Coast to Manasota Key's Manasota Beach. This area tends to be less crowded, and parking shouldn't be a problem at their beach access points.

Metered Street Parking 

On the main incoming and outgoing roads around Sarasota's main beaches, you'll also find metered parking. For designated spots with a green-and-white ParkMobile sign, you can either walk to one of the nearby metered parking payment stations to set an allocated time for your space or download the ParkMobile Metered Parking Payment App and manage your time from your smartphone. 

There, you can easily set up an account with your vehicle make and model and license plate number, add your preferred payment to start a parking session — including easily adding more time in case you're heading back to your car later than expected!

Aerial view of John Ringling Boulevard from St. Armands Circle to Lido Key Beach

Once you’ve set up an account, you can easily find your nearby zone number on a map of your standing location, then set and activate your time. There's a small convenience fee added for each mobile app transaction. You can use the app to notify you when the parking time expires, and it allows you to add time from wherever you are. Depending on your location, parking rates range for the minute, hour and day. 

The app accepts all major credit/debit card providers, PayPal, ApplePay and the ParkMobile Wallet. However, some parking locations may not accept every payment type. Check the signage at the location where you park for your payment options. 

No-Stress Trolleys

Photo courtesy of City of Sarasota

Sarasota County makes it extra-easy for you to get to and around our popular beach towns. If you'd like to ditch the car, hop on the new BayRunner trolley from Main Street in downtown Sarasota for a ride out to Lido Key, including stops around St. Armands Circle, Lido Beach and South Lido Park. It's a lovely, open-air experience that can accommodate your bicycle or beach gear while giving you the chance to take in the sights. The BayRunner is free to use and runs daily every 20-30 minutes, 8 a.m. – noon.

If you prefer to venture to the famous Siesta Key beaches, the 77 Islander Siesta, operated by Sarasota County Breeze Transit, is your free carrier to get you there. This route will take you from Main Street in downtown Sarasota to Siesta Key Village, Siesta Beach, South Village and Turtle Beach and runs daily, roughly every 30 minutes 8-10 a.m.

Photo courtesy of Sarasota County Transit

So should you prefer to ditch the rental car or leave your own vehicle downtown for a beach day, both of these trolleys offer alternative transportation so you don't have to worry about navigation or parking. Just enjoy the scenery and the ride!