Holmes Beach, Florida

Anna Maria is a city in Manatee County, Florida, United States. The population was 968 at the 2020 census, down from 1,503 in 2010. The city occupies the northern part of Anna Maria Island and is one of three municipalities on the island. The others are Holmes Beach in the center and Bradenton Beach in the south. Anna Maria is part of the Bradenton-Sarasota-Venice, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Neal Preserve is a 120-acre (49 ha) preserve in Manatee County, Florida abutting the southern portion of State Road 64 near the western approach of Anna Maria Island Bridge. The preserve contains one-half-mile (0.80 km) of shell and boardwalk trails and a 20-foot (6.1 m) tall observation tower.

Bradenton Beach is a city on Anna Maria Island in Manatee County, Florida, United States. The population was 908 at the 2020 census, down from 1,171 in 2010. It is part of the Bradenton-Sarasota-Venice, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area. The city occupies the southern part of Anna Maria Island and is one of three municipalities on the island. The others are Holmes Beach in the center and Anna Maria in the north.

SS Regina was a tanker built in Belfast in 1904 that sank on March 8, 1940, near Bradenton Beach, United States. Her wreck is located in the Gulf of Mexico, 75 yards (69 meters) off Bradenton Beach. In April 2005, the wreck became the tenth Florida Underwater Archaeological Preserve. On December 6, 2005, it was added to the United States National Register of Historic Places.

The Cortez Historic District is a U.S. historic district (designated as such on March 16, 1995) located in Cortez, Florida. The district is bounded by Cortez Road, 119th Street W, Sarasota Bay and 124th Street Court W.

The Passage Key National Wildlife Refuge is part of the United States National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) System, located offshore from St. Petersburg. The 64-acre (0.26 km2) refuge was established in 1905 by President Theodore Roosevelt to preserve nesting colonies of native seabirds and wading birds. The Passage Key Wilderness Area is part of the refuge, and consists of 36.37 acres (0.1472 km2) (or 56.9%) of its total area. It was established in 1970, to protect native birds and serve as a breeding ground for them.

The Florida Maritime Museum is a museum, sponsored by Manatee County Clerk of Circuit Courts, located on 4 acres (1.6 ha) of land within the historic fishing village of Cortez, Florida.The museum tells a number of stories pertaining to all aspects of Florida’s maritime history. Exhibits include historic photographs, boat models, tools, instruments, and other historic artifacts. The museum also features a large collection of shells from the Gulf of Mexico. The museum is also home to a folk school that teaches traditional Florida skills and a research library with a variety of books, plans, logs, diaries, periodicals, letters, records and related archival material whose content is relevant to research concerning maritime subjects, with special emphases on Florida’s Gulf Coast.The museum is housed in a 1912 schoolhouse building at the 95-acre (38 ha) Cortez Nature Preserve at 4415 119th Street West. Other historic structures located on the site include the 1890 Burton Store, a wood cistern, and the Pillsbury Boat Shop.

Palma Sola Botanical Park is a botanical garden located at 9800 17th Avenue N.W. Bradenton, Florida, United States. The park showcases collections of rare palms, fruits, and flowering trees, as well as three lakes, a butterfly garden, gazebo, and pavilion. It is open daily without charge.

Cortez, a census-designated place (CDP) in Manatee County, Florida, United States, is a small Gulf Coast commercial fishing village that was founded by settlers from North Carolina in the 1880s. The population was 4,491 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Bradenton–Sarasota–Venice Metropolitan Statistical Area.

The Manatee River is a 36-mile-long (58 km) river in Manatee County, Florida. The river forms in the northeastern corner of Manatee County and flows into the Gulf of Mexico at the southern edge of Tampa Bay. Wildlife in and around the river includes alligators, herons, manatees, dolphins, and fish such as bass, bluegill, catfish, and gar. Bull sharks are occasionally found in the brackish water near its low-lying outlet. The river includes the Upper Manatee River Canoe Trail for paddlers.

Palma Sola Bay is a bay located at the western side of Florida, near Bradenton, Florida. The bay is part of Tampa Bay.

De Soto National Memorial, in Manatee County 5 miles (8.0 km) west of Bradenton, Florida, commemorates the 1539 landing of Hernando de Soto and the first extensive organized exploration by Europeans of what is now the southern United States. The memorial includes 26 acres (11 ha), where the Manatee River joins Tampa Bay. It has 3,000 feet (910 m) of coastline; eighty percent of the area is mangrove swamp.