The greater Sarasota area offers a wealth of adventures to outdoor enthusiasts and visitors with a special interest in ecology. The Myakka River State Park is the largest state park in Florida, with 45 square miles of wetlands, prairies, and woodlands. The park's soaring Canopy Walkway allows brave visitors to swing among the treetops, and observe epiphytes - rare plants that grow on tree trunks - in the wild. On the northern tip of Lido Key, the Mote Aquarium and Marine Lab offers guided ecological tours of the bay area.

Marie Selby Botanical Gardens
811 South Palm Avenue, Sarasota
(941) 366-5731
www.selby.org

Marie Selby Botanical Gardens is the perfect place for gardening enthusiasts and nature lovers to check out orchids, ferns, bromeliads and heliconias. The garden's biggest claim to fame is that it has more epiphytes than any other exhibit or display in the nation. What's an epiphyte - you ask? A breed of flower that seems to grow out of thin air. Not a big fan of obscure horticulture? No worries - Nine acres of walking paths guide you through scenic gardens full of hibiscus, wildflowers, banyans, and tropical fruit trees.

Mote Marine Aquarium
600 Ken Thompson Parkway, Sarasota
(941) 388-4441
www.mote.org

Mote Aquarium's informative exhibits portray underwater life in grass flats, rivers and artificial reefs. The popular "touch tank" allows little visitors to get up close and personal with a variety of marine life while three working laboratories give budding scientists insight into the world of Mote's research projects. The brand new Sea Cinema allows theatre goers to experience life as a hungry shark, thanks to surround sound, a big screen, and 3D objects. The Sarasota Bay Explorers Cruise, a fascinating extension of the aquarium, travels through the bay with a marine biologist on board to help passengers spot dolphins and manatees. A brief stop on an island rookery allows glimpses of pelicans, herons, ibises and egrets.

Myakka River State Park
13207 State Road 72, Sarasota
(941) 361-6511
www.myakkariver.org

Florida's largest state park gives visitors a sense of what the state was a hundred years ago. Over 9,000 acres of primal wilderness surrounding the Mayakka River teem with alligators, vultures, and herons. Guided tours by foot, canoe, and kayak offer nature lovers an interesting look at wild cypress swamp, mangrove forests, and marshland.