Oscar Scherer State Park is located in Osprey FL. Other campers have said this is one of their favorite parks and we found out why. We paddled, hiked, and biked. The launch for South Creek is in the park and we kayked the creek and then went out to the Intracoastal. Hiking the park and saw numerous Scrub Jays and a Bald Eeagle and it’s nest. We also biked the The Legacy Trail which runs right through the park. We rode from the park to Caspersen Beach. The Legacy Trail is an old railroad track that has been turned into a bike trail. There are many of these Rail-to-Trails around the state of Florida. This is the first one we have been on. The trail is definately well used by bikers, runners and walkers. We not only did we get in our exercise and learn about the local history, we saw wildlife along the trail (snakes, Scrub Jays, Gopher Tortiose and even a Bald Eagle on its nest). I was looking forward to shelling and finding shark teeth on the beach, but unfortunately Caspersen Beach and park was closed when we got there, due to the 2024 hurricane damage. Seeing the wildlife on that segment of the trail was well worth the effort to cross the East Venice Avenue bridge. Even though we saw our first coral snake, I think we have put Oscar Scherer on our favorite list of state parks.
One afternoon we drove around trying to get to a beach, but most were closed still due to the area being hit by 3 hurricanes in 2 months (Debbie, Helene, Milton). Driving around we were just saddened by all the damage and loss of old florida. The area is rebuilding but with so much damange in such a wide area it will take years to get back to normal. I am glad we came to assist in boosting up the economy of the area. We did find a public parking lot on Nokomis Beach and walked a bit where I finally did find a shark tooth.
Wildlife Sightings: Scrub Jays, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Mouring Dove, Blue Jays, Cardinals, Anhinga, Yellow Rat Snake, Brown Pelicans, Rudy Turnstone, Gopher Tortoise, Bald Eagle, Osprey, Black Racer, Spoonbill, White morph of Little Blue Heron, Yellow-crowned Night Heron, Black Vulture, Coral snake.
Nature Moments
Scrub Jays foraging for food
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