Sarasota County Florida map | Sarasota, Venice, and the Myakka River

Sarasota County Florida map covers a Southwest Florida county that extends from Sarasota Bay and the county seat to Venice, North Port, and the southern county line. Longboat, Lido, Siesta, Casey, and Manasota keys form a broken coastal edge on the west, while I-75 and the Myakka River define much of the inland geography. The relationship among cities, highways, waterways, and islands is therefore more informative than the coastline alone.

Sarasota County Florida map showing Sarasota, Venice, North Port — Sarasota County map centered on Sarasota and Venice

Download the Sarasota County map

Map file: County reference map
File format: ZIP

Download the Sarasota County map

Table of Contents

Quick Facts

State: Florida
County: Sarasota County
County seat: Sarasota
Incorporated municipalities: Sarasota, North Port, Venice, and Longboat Key
Major unincorporated places: Siesta Key, Nokomis, Osprey, Bee Ridge, Fruitville, South Venice, and Englewood
2025 population estimate: 479,958
2020 land area: 556.00 square miles
Primary highways: I-75, U.S. 41, U.S. 301, State Road 72, and State Road 681
Major physical features: Sarasota Bay, Myakka River, Upper and Lower Myakka lakes, and the coastal barrier islands

The U.S. Census Bureau estimated 479,958 residents on July 1, 2025, up 10.6 percent from the 2020 estimates base. The county has 556.00 square miles of land, but its full footprint also includes substantial bay and coastal water. Separating the mainland from the keys—and the northern urban area from inland North Port—gives a more accurate picture of where people and roads are concentrated.

What the Map Shows

The city of Sarasota, the county seat, is on Sarasota Bay in the northwestern part of the county. The Manatee County line and Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport area are to the north, while unincorporated Fruitville, Bee Ridge, and Lake Sarasota extend east toward I-75. Siesta Key is a barrier island southwest of downtown and connects to the mainland by bridges.

Following the mainland coast south leads through Osprey and Nokomis to the city of Venice. South Venice continues beyond the city, while Englewood and Manasota Key occupy the far southwest near the Charlotte County line. Some community names and travel patterns continue across county boundaries, so the boundary line is necessary when determining which county contains a particular location.

North Port covers a broad inland area southeast of Venice. Unlike the narrow coastal settlement pattern, its residential districts and road network spread across a large municipal footprint crossed by the Myakka River and Myakkahatchee Creek systems. Warm Mineral Springs and Wellen Park are additional reference points within this southern part of the county.

County Layout and Location

Sarasota County is on Florida’s southwest Gulf Coast. Manatee County borders it on the north, DeSoto County on the east, and Charlotte County on the south. The Gulf of Mexico lies to the west. Longboat Key deserves special attention because the town and island cross the Manatee–Sarasota county line; the entire key should not be read as belonging to Sarasota County.

U.S. 41 is the near-coastal north-south route connecting the Sarasota, Osprey, Nokomis, Venice, and North Port areas. I-75 runs roughly parallel farther inland, carrying through traffic and serving eastern suburbs. U.S. 301 heads north from Sarasota toward Manatee County. State Road 72 links the Siesta Key approach, U.S. 41, I-75, Myakka River State Park, and the interior along an east-west corridor.

State Road 681 connects I-75 with U.S. 41 near the Nokomis and Laurel area. FDOT’s I-75 exit list identifies River Road, Jacaranda Boulevard, Laurel Road, SR 681, SR 72, Bee Ridge Road, Fruitville Road, and University Parkway as successive major access points in and around the county. Those interchanges clarify how travelers move between the inland freeway and the developed coastal corridor.

Local Context

The western shoreline is a chain of separate landforms rather than one continuous strip. Longboat and Lido keys lie outside Sarasota Bay, Siesta Key fronts the coast between Sarasota and Osprey, and Casey Key and Manasota Key continue the sequence farther south. Each depends on a limited set of bridges, so road access from U.S. 41 matters more than straight-line distance between coastal labels.

The Myakka River is the defining inland feature. It enters from the northeast, passes through Upper and Lower Myakka lakes and Myakka River State Park, and continues south toward the Charlotte Harbor system. Florida State Parks describes more than 37,000 acres of wetlands, dry prairie, hammocks, and pinelands within the park. This large conservation landscape accounts for the wider spacing of roads and settlements east of the urban coast.

The county does not revolve around a single compact center. Sarasota is the administrative seat and northern urban core, Venice anchors the south-central coast, and North Port is an extensive incorporated city in the southeast. Large unincorporated places—including Siesta Key, Nokomis, Osprey, and South Venice—make it important to distinguish a map label from a municipal boundary.

Ways to Use This Map

Classify places: Separate Sarasota, North Port, Venice, and Longboat Key from unincorporated communities and census-designated places.
Compare road corridors: Follow near-coastal U.S. 41 and inland I-75, then locate the SR 72 and SR 681 connections between them.
Read the island sequence: Identify Longboat, Lido, Siesta, Casey, and Manasota keys and the direction of their bridge approaches.
Trace the watershed: Follow the Myakka River through the state park and the eastern side of North Port toward the south.
Check shared border areas: Use county lines when examining places such as Longboat Key and Englewood, whose local geography extends beyond Sarasota County.

Keep the original aspect ratio when placing the downloaded file in a document or print layout; stretching it will distort the narrow keys and coastline. For travel or outdoor use, begin with this regional orientation and then consult current road closures, bridge conditions, park access notices, and weather information from the responsible agencies.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why does North Port look much larger than Sarasota or Venice?

North Port’s municipal boundary includes an extensive inland network of residential subdivisions as well as less-developed and natural land. Sarasota and Venice have more compact urban centers near the coast. Municipal area on the map therefore does not directly represent downtown size or population density.

Can drivers go directly from Siesta Key to I-75?

There is no direct interstate exit on the island. Drivers first cross a bridge to the mainland, then use roads such as Stickney Point Road and Clark Road along the SR 72 corridor, cross U.S. 41, and continue east to I-75. That staged connection explains the separation among Siesta Key, U.S. 41, and I-75 on the map.

Sources

Green Map creates custom-edited map images using open geographic data sources such as geoBoundaries, Natural Earth, OpenStreetMap, and government open data.

These maps are edited visual materials, not raw data files, and are provided for education, documents, presentations, and graphic reference.