Caspersen Beach — Attraction in Venice

If you like white sandy beaches, this isn't it. Be prepared for a beautiful coastline, but brown sand, a small rocky strip to get out in the water and nature lovers sifting through shells for shark teeth. I LOVE this place and my boys and I proudly join our tribe by sifting through sand for hours when we go. There is a put-in point in the back canals for kayaks and canoes, but you have to bring your own. I haven't noticed a nature center, and I've never seen a staff person there. There is plenty of parking, and clean bathrooms. The bathrooms are wheelchair accessible, and there is a lovely raised walkway (like a small boardwalk) that is also wheelchair accessible, with a ramp leading down to the beach. Naturally, you would need a beach wheelchair to get into the sand and down into the water. Again, it isn't a beach like Siesta - no volley ball, no white sand or picnic areas per se - but great fun for families with kids who want to collect shells and look for shark teeth or for people looking for a more solitary walk along the beach. Bring your own food and water. Don't mess with the wildlife and please don't litter. They have plenty of bins for garbage...

This is one of the cooler beaches you can come across in Florida for its unique nature. Known for its beautiful landscape and the loads of sharks teeth that wash up to shore. We head out at least once a month to do a shark tooth hunt here. The water is beautiful, the sand is nice and you can find cool shells. Now the only reason I did not give 5 stars is the parking is not that great here. Get here early if you don't want to walk a country mile. This beach is not overcrowded at all but that is because there are all of about 75 spots to park and then its a waiting or walking game. Once you park you have to walk to the stairs to go to the water be sure to go left or you will be left hitting a dead end as the stairs to the write have water erosion and have been closed for over a year. The ones on the left shut down for about 2 months for the same reason and since been reopened as of right now. This by no means a reason not to visit. This place is definitely worth your while. The bathrooms here are well...

Probably should not have gone on Presidents Day, we were lucky enough to get one of the last parking spots at 11 A.M. This is a popular beach for finding shark teeth fossils and the shoreline was crowded with people searching and sifting the sand with a variety of mesh devices. Clean restrooms are available in the parking lot and even though the beach was packed you could still find plenty of room to stake an umbrella and enjoy the sun and surf. I found a couple of teeth within 30 minutes, not the best specimens but certainly recognizable as shark teeth. Upon leaving I noted a sign posted in the parking lot that it was against the law to remove anything from the beach but given the hundreds of folks actively looking it did not appear that it was being actively enforced. Two books I bought in Venice promote this beach as one of the best places for finding fossils without any mention of laws...