Bayfront Park Sarasota: Statue, Fountain, Fireworks

Danielle Gladding has lived downtown and on Golden Gate Point, the peninsula just across the basin from this park, and is a member of the Sarasota Yacht Club. She arrived in Sarasota in 1976, has been a licensed Florida Realtor since 1981 and a broker since 1987, and runs Danielle Gladding & Co. Realty with her daughter Alison Kanter, who was born and raised here.

Bayfront Park is the City of Sarasota's waterfront park at 5 Bayfront Drive, where Ringling Boulevard meets the bay, wrapped around Marina Jack and the Island Park peninsula. It is free, open daily from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m., and packed with things to do that cost nothing: a 26-foot sailor sweeping a woman into a kiss, a fountain full of leaping dolphins, a pirate-shipwreck playground guarded by a Kraken, and the best seat in town for the Fourth of July fireworks.

One clarification before we start, because the name trips people up: this is the Bayfront Park in downtown Sarasota. Longboat Key has its own Bayfront Park, with tennis and pickleball courts and a dog park, and we wrote about that one's court and seawall rebuild separately.

Where is Bayfront Park in downtown Sarasota?

Bayfront Park sits on the bay side of US 41 at the foot of Ringling Boulevard. It takes in the green along Bayfront Drive and Island Park, the eleven-acre peninsula that curls out into Sarasota Bay around the Marina Jack basin. The Bay, the city's newer 53-acre park, continues north along the same waterfront, so you can walk from one into the other.

Almost none of this ground existed before the late 1950s. The city dredged and filled its own bayfront to build Bayfront Drive and then Island Park, and our story on Marina Jack and the making of the Sarasota bayfront tells how.

What free things can you do at Bayfront Park?

Stand under Unconditional Surrender

The giant statue of a sailor sweeping a woman in white into a kiss is Seward Johnson's Unconditional Surrender, based on the famous photograph taken in Times Square on V-J Day in 1945. It stands 26 feet tall, and it is hard to walk past without taking a picture. It used to stand where US 41 meets Gulfstream Avenue. When the roundabout there was built, the City Commission voted 4–1 on November 16, 2020 to keep the statue on the bayfront, and it moved into Bayfront Park, between O'Leary's and Marina Jack. Stand between its feet and look up. Everyone does.

Watch the dolphins at the fountain

Out toward the point, a pod of sculpted dolphins leaps through the spray of the Dolphin Fountain, a Delta Fountains design whose water shoots up to about 40 feet. It has become a symbol of the Sarasota bayfront, and at sunset, with the boats coming in behind it, it is one of the classic views of the city.

Let loose at the shipwreck playground and splash pad

The playground and splash pad reopened after a City of Sarasota renovation that replaced the old Allen Playground and Steigerwalt-Jockey Children's Fountain. The new version has a pirate-shipwreck theme, complete with a Kraken, plus climbing structures, shade sails, lighting and plenty of seating. On the splash pad, the water runs when someone presses a button rather than all day, so it's interactive. The sculptures from the old fountain were refurbished and set into the new landscaping, so look for them. The whole area is ADA-compatible.

Walk the Island Park loop

The path around Island Park is one of the easiest good walks in Sarasota. It is flat, the bay is on both sides, and the Marina Jack basin is full of boats to look at. Keep going north along the bayfront and you are into The Bay's mangrove walkway and lawns.

Fish, picnic and watch the boats

The city lists fishing, picnic tables and walking paths among the park's amenities, and the open green is a favorite spot for a morning stretch or yoga. Sit on a bench by the basin and you will see everything from paddleboards to the Marina Jack II heading out for an evening cruise.

Catch the sunset

The point of Island Park faces west across Sarasota Bay toward Bird Key and the Ringling Bridge. It is one of the best free seats downtown for a sunset. Bring something to sit on.

What free events happen at Bayfront Park?

Fourth of July fireworks. Sarasota's July 4 fireworks go up over Sarasota Bay from the bayfront. In 2026 they started at 9 p.m. and ran about half an hour. Bayfront Park and Island Park are front-row seats. Come early; the lawn fills by sunset
Holiday Boat Parade of Lights. Every December, decorated boats parade past Marina Jack and Bayfront Park. The 39th parade, on December 13, 2025, brought about 30 boats. Bayfront Park, Marina Jack and Bird Key Park are the standard viewing spots, and it's free
Everything at The Bay. The bigger park next door runs hundreds of free events a year, including yoga, kayak tours, concerts and movies, all a short walk north

When is Bayfront Park open, and what should you know?

Cost: free
Park hours: 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily, per the City of Sarasota
Playground: 9 a.m. to 11 p.m.; splash pad: 9 a.m. to dusk. Hours can change, so check the City's parks site before a special trip
Restrooms: public restrooms on site
Dogs: the City lists dog-friendly areas; keep dogs leashed and follow the posted rules
Food: O'Leary's Tiki Bar & Grill on the park side and Marina Jack on the water. Those cost money, but everything else here doesn't
Address: 5 Bayfront Drive, Sarasota

What does Bayfront Park mean for living downtown?

For anyone living on the downtown bayfront, this park and The Bay together are the front yard: a morning walk around Island Park, the fountain at sunset, fireworks from the lawn. The towers along Gulfstream Avenue, including VUE Sarasota Bay, look out over the bay and the marina, and Golden Gate Point sits just across the basin.

Danielle lived on Golden Gate Point, just across the basin, and she still talks about the walk. "What was so great about it was that you could walk downtown," she says. "Before The Quay was there, we still used to walk over to that area because it was so beautiful." Her take on the two parks now: "You've got Bayfront Park if you want to go toward the Marina Jack area, or The Bay if you want to go kayaking. They both have yoga. There's more entertainment at The Bay, but together they make downtown that much better."

The ground is public and the marina runs on a city lease, which is why this waterfront is a park instead of a row of towers. Our guides to Sarasota bayfront condominiums and the downtown Sarasota neighborhood cover the buildings, and the Sarasota Yacht Club's first hundred years tells the story of the other club on this water.

Danielle Gladding is a member of the Sarasota Yacht Club and has lived downtown and on Golden Gate Point. She has been a licensed Florida Realtor since 1981 and a broker since 1987, and runs Danielle Gladding & Co. Realty with Alison Kanter. Both are in Sarasota, at DanielleGladdingCo.com and (941) 539-8535.