Caspersen Beach

Florida’s Gulf Coast has some of the best white sandy beaches in the world (with the awards to prove it) but Caspersen Beach is rather special. It is known as the “Shark Tooth Capital of the World” for reasons which are explained below.

Close to Venice, Caspersen Beach stretches along the Gulf of Mexico for 1.5 miles and is a great spot for shelling and spotting wading shorebirds and the trails of nesting turtles.

Mostly sandy and backed by protected dunes, it has some limestone rocks near the water’s edge. Due to the convergence of currents, prehistoric sharks’ teeth frequently wash up on the white sand. They are easy to identify being triangular with one long point and two shorter points at the root. You’ll see everyone walking along and sifting sand along the shoreline using a small spade and a sieve on a wooden handle. With a little patience you’ll get a superb souvenir of a fossilized sharks’ tooth, or you can cheat and buy one from the beach shops nearby.

Facilities here include a boardwalk, free car park, toilets, showers, a children’s playground, kayak launch and trails that stretch four miles to Manasota Key. The gentle clear Gulf waters are very shallow and safe, although there are no lifeguards on this busy beach.

Caspersen has Blue Wave Certification, an Environmental Certification ensuring its stays unpolluted and undeveloped. It’s a beautiful beach, ideal for swimming, paddling and snorkelling year-round in the sunny climate.