Sarasota County High Point Trip Report
Date: September 6, 2002
Author: Larry Lawton
I read Fred Lobdell's report on this HP, and found it on the map link provided by the cohp website at
Topozone.com. There is a contour of 100-foot elevation in three close spots near the county line with
Manatee County. Fred's directions are accurate, but I was driving from the south, not from the north.
My directions (from south of Sarasota) are as follows: Take I-75 north to the Fruitville Road exit, which is
Florida State Route 780. Driving up from the south, the Fruitville Road exit is the third exit for Sarasota,
after first passing Clark Road, and then after Bee Ridge Road. Go east on Fruitville Road (Route 780) for
about ten miles and it will come to a "T" in the road. Turn left onto Verna Road and travel for just over a mile,
and Singletary Road is on your right. Go for about another mile on Singletary to 284th Street East,
just past the county line. Turn left onto this street, and it goes up a 'hill' to the height of elevation.
The left side of the road is in Sarasota County, the right side is in Manatee County. This is a new housing development,
and many houses now have been fenced in, so there are only a few empty lots to bushwhack in.
On the Sarasota County side, behind the houses on the left, there is an orange grove which is in the full
100-foot contour, and also where there is an empty lot with a small pond is part of the other 100-foot contour
which is divided by the county line. The coordinates for the site is at (27.3585° N, 82.2528° W) on the
OLD MYAKKA quad. The top of the elevation here is difficult to determine since the area is flat once you have
reached the top of the 'hill'. This area, although being the highest in Sarasota County and shared with
Manatee County, is not Manatee's highest point.