Travel Tips

A charming town with a great view of the water

Nokomis has the charm of a small fishing town where local residents know one another and send a wave to even strangers walking or driving by. A small city bordering the Northern side of Venice and the Southern side of Casey Key, Nokomis offers a wonderful place to spend a day on the water. It is hard to believe that at one time Nokomis was considered a farm town because now it definitely makes its name as a place where life bends and curves with the water that surrounds it. Spend the afternoon at Nokomis Beach Park that houses a place to launch your boat, a wonderful area to bask in the sun and at the very end of the park is the North Jetties which is a great place for fishing, watching the sunset, or just enjoying the view of boats hustling in and out of the bay.

The town of Nokomis was actually part of the original city named Venice. The original Venice post office was even located in Nokomis. Jessie and Rebecca Knight first settled the area soon after the 1860s Homestead Act, bringing 15 children and 300 cattle to the area. A wealthy widow named Mrs. Potter arrived to the south of Roberts Bay from Chicago soon after and quickly had advantage over the establishment for the area. She requested that the name Venice be relocated to the area south of Roberts Bay, where most of her land was located, because she had part of the land turned into a railroad depot and wanted the main post office to be located there under the name of Venice. So Nokomis residents had to change their name. Unfortunately, unlike Venice, the City of Nokomis has not kept many of their original historical buildings, but instead this area has grown into a residential establishment. This doesn’t take away from the peaceful, quiet small town feel of the area, but actually adds to it as many residents take pride in knowing those who live nearby. Since the area of Nokomis is so small, most of the town is on or near the water and this is a great place to visit if you love activities that bring you closer to the water.

To find Nokomis from Venice, just take Tamiami Trail (US-41) north and you will run right into the city of Nokomis. If you take a right onto Albee Street, you will see signs for Nokomis Beach and the North Jetties and this will lead you around the curves of the Nokomis residential area until you end up at the wonderful Nokomis Beach.