John Ringling Causeway, aka, the Ringling Bridge is named after John Ringling of the Ringling Brothers Circus. It spans across Sarasota Bay and provides stunning panoramic vistas of Sarasota and the keys.
Though the 65-foot tall bridge extends from Sarasota Bay to St. Armands Circle (about 2.6 miles), we only walked the first portion to Bird Key Park and back for a roundtrip hike of 4.25 miles.
We parked at the Bayfront grateful for the cloud cover. On hot sunny days the bridge walk can be scorching, the only shade provided by the turnaround tunnel at Bird Key. We passed the controversial stature Unconditional Surrender. City residents are divided on whether the “kissing statue” should remain in the Marina.
On the approach to the bridge, we passed Cedar Point, which was home to Sarasota’s first jail. Because of the beautiful sunsets from the location, it became known as “Sunset Park.” With the intentions of building a causeway to connect mainland Sarasota with the keys, John Ringling purchased property on Cedar Point.
Though the vistas from the bridge are spectacular, this is not an ideal hike. The traffic makes it too noisy and the diesel-fueled trucks make it smelly. Additionally, there are no facilities.
At the Eloise Werlin Park, located on the eastern base of the John Ringling Causeway Bridge, there is a walkway under the bridge that provides access to the opposite side of the bridge. There is such a turnaround at the other end of the bridge at Bird Key Park.
At Bird Key Park, there are picnic tables, benches for watching the wildlife and bird watching, and a canoe launch. There is also a whimsical bike sculpture. I wonder if it is one of “Dr. Nik‘s” who has more than 36 decorated bikes around Sarasota.
