Bradenton

Bradenton Country Club

• Founded in 1924, Bradenton Country Club is known for its robust offering of sports and social activities. The club boasts an award winning Donald Ross designed 18-hole golf course and seven Har-Tru tennis courts. A total of 6 pickleball courts, junior Olympic sized pool, fitness center, and dining facilities round out the club’s amenities.

Tara Golf & Country Club

• The Tara Golf & Country Club is a private golf club and bundled community where membership is equity-owned and remains with the property. Tara employs PGA professionals at its Ted McAnlis designed championship golf course. Also on site to help fine tune your game are the Flightscope, V1 and BodiTrack technologies. Har-Tru Tennis and Pickball courts, fitness center, and pool are other amenities that are offered at Tara. The club has a true community feel and the wide variety of social events like Bridge groups, Mahjong, trivia, dancing, wine tastings, bingo and holiday parties all work to connect the membership of the club.

River Strand Golf & Country Club

• River Strand Golf & Country Club is a community with deeded membership. River Strand features 27-holes of golf spread over three courses designed by famous architect Arthur Hills. A substantial list of onsite amenities continues with two resort style pools, clubhouse, community center, fitness center, aerobics room, resistance pool, heated spa, 9 Har-Tru clay tennis courts, 8 pickleball courts, and a basketball court. Members can enjoy casual or fine dining in the renovated dining room areas.

Bradenton Yacht Club

• With a membership cap of 625 the Bradenton Yacht Club offers a 52-slip basin for members’ boats and a 185 foot long transient dock. Located on the Manatee River with quick access to the Tampa Bay and Gulf of Mexico waters makes this an ideal club for boaters. Fuel and pump out facilities along with a boat launching ramp are available on site. The club also offers both casual and elegant dining, a swimming pool with pool bar, tennis, and pickleball courts.

Bradenton has your typical mix of restaurants from casual quick bites to fine dining opportunities. Seafood and Italian fare dominate in this city like so many others lining the Florida coastline.

If you don’t include the troubled Desoto Square Mall which is currently in a foreclosure battle with future plans to tear it down and replace with new development; Bradenton technically lacks any outlet or indoor shopping malls within its city limits. However, even if you are a heavy shopper this shouldn’t exclude the city from your consideration due to the relatively close location and easy access to both an outlet mall, just seven miles to the north, and the Mall at University Town Center, 15 miles to the south.

Red Barn Flea Market is 600 vendor booths of just about everything. It combines a traditional flea market with plaza shops, food courts, and open air farmers market. Customers treasure hunt through the air conditioned indoor shopping space while enjoying a great selection of prepared foods and entertainment.

Village of the Arts is a thriving art community comprised of very colorful 1920’s bungalows. Here you will find a mixture of art galleries, studios, specialty stores, and restaurants just five blocks from downtown. One can expect to find items like local art, jewelry, music, fashion, wellness products, and gourmet foods.

Ellenton Premium Outlets just seven miles to the north of Bradenton has a collection of over 130 stores from some of the nation’s biggest brands including Saks Fifth Avenue, Polo Ralf Lauren, Coach, Nike, Kate Spade, Lacoste, and many others.

Main Street at Lakewood Ranch is an open air shopping center populated by stylish boutiques and restaurants. The pavilion located in the centers hub hosts special events, concerts, and festivals throughout the year.

The Robinson Preserve is a 682 acre preserve that is home to countless varieties of fish, birds, and other coastal inhabitants. Visitors can explore the preserve on one of the parks many well kept walking trails. For the more adventurous, another option is to rent a kayak or paddleboard and cruise the peaceful waters just off its mangrove covered shorelines. There is also a 53 foot tall observation tower that gives an excellent view of the surrounding park and Tampa Bay.

The Bishop Museum of Science and Nature is a wonderful resource for the community of Bradenton. It is the largest natural and cultural museum on the Gulf Coast of Florida and offers exciting exhibits and educational programs focused on the State of Florida, the planet, and the universe. Also on the museum’s property is the Parker Manatee Rehabilitation Habitat. The Rehabilitation Habitat is a 60,000 gallon pool with public viewing area where guests can watch the manatees swim and feed.

The Bradenton Riverwalk is a great strip of land on the banks of the Manatee River in downtown Brandenton. There is a splash park for children, amphitheater with lawn area for entertainment and festivals, playground, fishing pier, skate park, and other attractions. Many in town use the Riverwalk to get their exercise by walking or jogging the large walkway.

Bradenton has its fair share of attractive beaches. With the likes of Bradenton Beach, Cortez Beach, Coquina Beach, Anna Maria Beach and Bean Point Beach you can’t go wrong. The sand is always soft and white and the sea shells plentiful on Bradenton Beaches. Shallow, gently sloping ocean shorelines make for easy access into the clear waters for the elderly or very young.

The Sarasota Bay, Manatee River and the larger Tampa Bay provide a plethora of boating opportunities for those who call Bradenton home. There are a number of large parks and preserves around the city which protect shorelines from being developed and harbor an abundance of wildlife. If your not lucky enough to live right on the water, plenty of boat ramps are peppered throughout the city for those who trailer a boat.

Numerous piers and rock jetties on the Barrier Island and mainland provide great fishing access for shore based anglers. The southern shorelines of the Tampa Bay, Sarasota Bay, Palma Sola Bay, and the Manatee River give smaller vessels, and kayakers plenty of areas to fish inshore. These anglers will be targeting species like redfish, snook, spotted seatrout, and tarpon to name a few. For the offshore angler, Gulf access can be had though Longboat pass or Passage Key Inlet at the mouth of the Tampa Bay. More often than not, long runs will be required to reach productive fishing grounds and 100 foot depths are found about 27 miles off the coast in this part of the state.

Bradenton public schools are controlled by the School District of Manatee County. The School District of Manatee County has over 48,884 students in grades PK, K-12 with a student-teacher ratio of 11 to 1. According to state test scores, 56% of students are at least proficient in math and 50% in reading. Niche.com gives the school district a B rating and has it as the 32nd best school district in the state. Several notable private schools include Bradenton Christian School (Calvinist), Community Christian School (Baptist), IMG Acadamy, St. Joseph Catholic (Roman Catholic), and Saint Stevens Episcopal School (Episcopal).

The City of Bradenton has a total of 26 golf courses with 2 courses being municipal. Within a short 20 mile drive you will find another 56 courses of which 28 are public and 4 municipal.

One of the Gulf Coasts most visited municipal courses, River Run Golf Links features an 18-hole par 70 layout situated on the banks of the Braden River ideal for golfers of all ages and skill levels.

The Concession Golf Club was designed by Jack Nicklaus and Tony Jacklin to be different. It is a privately owned, championship golf course with no houses lining the course. Also at this club is “The Gimme” short course. It is a 9-hole par 3 opened in November 2019 with holes modeling some of the most famous in the game.

The Links at Greenfield Plantation provides an 18-hole championship golf course at an affordable price. Weaving its way through marshes and wetlands this course provides ample wildlife viewing opportunities for its players. Its unique aqua range has floating targets and is a great place to practice your accuracy.

A Golf Digest four star rated facility, The River Club, is a Ron Garl designed 18-hole championship course with rolling fairways and undulating greens.

The Preserve Golf Club hosts a championship golf course designed by architect Ted McAnlis. It is an 18-hole par 72 classic layout with CHAMPION Dwarf greens. The Preserve’s practice facilities include an aqua target range and PGA Professional instruction.

Peridia Golf & Country Club is home to Manatee County’s premier executive course. It was designed with the goal of challenging both novice and experienced golfers alike. Players appreciate the newly renovated greens and the ability to finish a round in under three hours. Their full service restaurant offers lunch, dinner, and Sunday brunch with entertainment Friday evenings.