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Punta Gorda is southwest Florida’s finest waterfront community. Located approximately 28 miles north of Fort Myers, 30 miles south of Venice, and just minutes from exit 29 of Interstate 75 (I-75), it is uniquely situated at the mouth of the Peace and Myakka Rivers and the head of 125 square miles of Charlotte Harbor, which flows into both the Gulf of Mexico and that gunkholder’s and fishermen’s paradise, Pine Island Sound. Punta Gorda offers a unique blend of small town living, unparalled boating opportunities, nature preserves and numerous facilities for golfing and tennis. We have miles of wide, uniformly seawalled residential canals - all maintained by the City, as well as a wide range of choices for the golfer and those interested in greenbelt and/or country estate property. We are the home of many sailors and powerboating enthusiasts, yet because our waters are so extensive, it is very rare that one experiences anything approaching the crowding that unfortunately exists on other recreational bodies of water. Note too, because of sensistave planning and restoration programs, such as our streetscape and brick street projects, the period charm of Punta Gorda’s downtown has been preserved and enhanced as we have grown. This opinion was validated by MONEY magazine in 1996 when their “best place to live” issue named Punta Gorda the best small city in America. Since 1996 Punta Gorda has continued to be ranked among the top few towns on their list of places to live. 
Charlotte Harbor itself is one of the finest sailing bays in the country with plenty of room for hazard free daysailing,
even on days when weather that calls for small craft advisories or warnings make the Gulf of Mexico quite unfriendly.
South of the Harbor, Pine Island Sound features perhaps the finest subtropical island scenery in the continental United
States with many lovely anchorages and entertaining ports of call for both sailors and the powerboaters on such places as
Boca Grande, Captiva, Upper Captiva, Sanibel and Cabbage Key. While on the water, daysailing or cruising in transit to
your destination, you can expect to be treated to the antics of playful porpoises and the aerial beauty of ospreys,
egrets, ibis, herons and pelicans.Fishermen can enjoy productive days catching the likes of snook, redfish, snapper, sea trout, cobia, tarpon, and others in a variety of settings around the Harbor’s natural shoreline. There are times too, when some of the best fishing is available right in the residential canal systems, with snook and redfish often found lurking under docks and moored cruisers. Offshore fishing for grouper is quite good, and seasonally, for Spanish Mackerel and Kingfish as well. From May through July, Boca Grande Pass, at the mouth of the Harbor, becomes the “tarpon fishing capital of the country” due to an incredibly concentrated gathering of these athletic brutes. Fishermen in craft ranging from 18’ flat boats to 50’sedan sportfishermen congrgate in the pass day and night in the hopes that they will be able to match their skill against and endurance of one or more of these beauties. Pilot your vessel a few miles up either the Peace or Myakka Rivers from Punta Gorda and you will be transported into a subtropical paradise much different from that of the lower Harbor. You will find yourself in a world replete with cypress trees and jungle-like foliage, alligators, waterbirds and even an occasional bald eagle. Take a picnic lunch, dine in the quite shade of the shoreline flora and leave the cares of everyday life behind. It would be difficult to find another area that could equal the variety of the boating environment and opportunities that abound here. Add to that the fact our tide changes are minimal, we seldom experience fog, and our waters are unpolluted, with Charlotte Harbor being a state aquatic preserve, one can clearly see why many consider us to be a true boaters’ paradise! |
