One of the girls in the office recently spent an afternoon in Sanford, she and her husband did a walking history tour of the old city. They both came back and said they had a wonderful time. Sanford truly is a Central Florida Treasure, not just for good restaurants and brew pubs, but really does hold an historic place in Florida history from Citrus growing to Celery Farming to Naval Aviation to sports, Sanford is a town with lots of history. Once Walt Disney World Resort was built the economy of Central Florida shifted away from agriculture, defense/aerospace and military installations and moved to tourism, the driver of our economy today. The city has retained a significant collection of older commercial and residential architecture and the old streets in downtown are still shaded by live oak trees. Hard to write a review on Sanford without recalling the sad news in 2012 of the killing of Trayvon Martin and the actions taken by the Sanford Police Department. History has many twists, since that time, Sanford has made positive changes in their policing policies, developed solid relationships with the community, and has completed a multimillion-dollar streetscaping project. City leaders and planners have sought and have successfully attracted new businesses and visitors to downtown. By 2016 downtown Sanford emerged as a safe, friendly city and a center for craft beer production, with multiple microbreweries, a home brewing supplier and lots of pubs focused on craft beers. Not a beer drinker, no worries, Sanford has lots of pubs serving spirits, creative cocktails, and wines. Looking for a more wholesome drink visit the Root’s Raw Juice Bar, seems that Sanford has something for most everyone.
Sanford is the southern terminus of Amtrak’s Auto Train and is served by Florida’s SunRail, a Central Florida commuter train, serving the city from the new station in Sanford off State Road 46. The City also has a trolleybus that provides service between SunRail and the historic downtown. From Solivita you can take the train from the Poinciana Station to Sanford. If you prefer to drive, Sanford is about one hour northeast of Solivita.
Bring or rent a bike and ride the trail, walk, or jog along the Sanford RiverWalk or just relax on a swing and enjoy the sailboat dotted scenery. If you are looking for a laid-back afternoon or evening take a ride on the Rivership Barbara-Lee, the only authentic sternwheeler sailing the river.
If you have the grandchildren with you, visit the Central Florida Zoo and Botanical Gardens, originally started by the Sanford Fire Department. As the firefighters saved folks from burning buildings they also rescued animals and found themselves with quite the collection of monkeys, birds, reptiles, etc., and the Zoo was born. It has grown since its founding and now is quite a large zoo and a nice spot to spend the afternoon. If the kids are a bit older they will love the Zoom Air Adventure Park at the zoo, where they can enjoy rope bridges and zip lines.