Many of us come here to live the waterfront life and have our boat at our own dock. How nice is that! A very common question I get is what else is there to do other than waterfront activities. The short answer is we have more fun stuff to do here than you can imagine. Pretty much anything that a big city offers without the big city negatives. Punta Gorda is a very progressive community focused on maintaining the old Florida charm without having a rat race which many of us want to escape from. We have nearly 20 miles of biking and walking trails around town and there are free bikes you can use when you are in town as a small example of offering some fitness alternatives.
We have lots of local festivals that are fun. They are held in 2-3 different locations and go from rock concerts to flower festivals to wine/cheese/jazz festivals, fishing tournaments, sailing regatta’s and this is the short list. This town celebrates just about holiday you can think of and involves people of all ages. For instance, Halloween is a big deal in our town. The have bands playing for the adults to enjoy and kid stuff and haunted houses set up for the kids.
In town, there are bars/restaurants, night spots for music and lots of choices. Not too many chain restaurants, most are family run and of course the food is awesome. There is something for everyone depending on your interests. This is a diverse community and people with all types of interest will find others easily. There are art groups, car clubs, music groups, songwriter clubs, exercise groups, dance, horticulture groups, hiking clubs, kayaking clubs, fishing clubs…..there is no shortage of fun stuff. Over 20 golf courses within a short drive, a local airport with rental planes (lots of pilots live here), sports stuff too and a sports complex for kids that is mind boggling.
Another thing to know is that we are a short drive to Sarasota to the north and Ft. Myers to the south. You can live in paradise but do day trips to these bigger cities to find other fun stuff to do. Add to that you can be in the Florida Keys in 3.5 hours! Wow, you can have an incredible get away with a short drive. Miami, Ft. Lauderdale on the east coast is 2.5 hours away.
For the sailboater or any boater for that fact the exploits on the water are endless! There are many destinations on the water that are perfect for a day trip or in the case of a sailor a few days. Plenty of anchorages not far outside of Charlotte Harbor. There are hotels on the beach with moorage on the bayside (the ICW side). There are countless restaurants to visit by water and some are actually on islands! If the beaches are your thing than you have plenty of them and each provides something a little different. Some beaches are 30 minutes away and some a bit longer. Some have tons of shells, some sharks teeth, some very remote and some even have trees for shade.
Life is never dull in Punta Gorda and Port Charlotte. There is more to do here than many will let on. We try to keep this place a secret!
