Sanford, Done Properly: The River Town Orlando Forgot It Had
Brick streets rebuilt after an 1887 fire, a five-mile lakefront trail, a German beer hall and a zoo that glows after dark — how to do Sanford slowly and well.
3 minute read
Sanford is the Orlando day trip that does not feel like Orlando at all. About 25 miles north of downtown, on the south shore of Lake Monroe where the St. Johns River widens into one of Central Florida’s biggest lakes, sits one of the state’s oldest incorporated cities — brick streets, a working marina, a German beer hall, a cluster of breweries and a main street that was rebuilt in brick after fire took the wooden original. This is how to do Sanford well. If you are orienting yourself first, start with our Top Spots Map, then read our wider day trips from Orlando guide for how Sanford compares with the region’s other escapes.
Start on First Street, always
Everything in Sanford radiates from East First Street. The city was founded in 1877 by Henry Shelton Sanford, and after an 1887 fire destroyed the wooden commercial district, downtown was rebuilt in brick — much of that brick is still standing, and the commercial district has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1976. Today those blocks hold independent restaurants, galleries, antique shops and bars in a compact, genuinely walkable grid. Walk it slowly once before you commit to anything: the street rewards a full lap.
Then give the lake its hour
Two blocks north, the land simply ends at Lake Monroe. The Sanford RiverWalk runs nearly five miles along the shore, past the downtown marina, Veterans Memorial Park and Fort Mellon Park, with gazebos and swinging benches built for doing nothing at all. Go early for the light, or time it for sunset, when the lake — wide enough to pass for open water — turns gold. Boaters tie up at the city’s free marina day slips and walk straight into downtown, which tells you everything about how this town is arranged: the water and the main street are one system.
Eat like the town eats
Sanford punches far above its size at the table. On First Street itself, Hollerbach’s has been serving schnitzel and Gemütlichkeit since 2001, and The Tennessee Truffle does its Southern cooking in a small room that fills fast. At the west end of the street, Henry’s Depot turned the city’s original train-station site into a food hall. A few blocks south on Sanford Avenue, Wop’s Hops — the town’s first microbrewery — anchors a beer scene dense enough to crawl on foot. Our full rundown is in where to eat in Sanford.
The other Sanford: the zoo
Ten minutes west on Seminole Boulevard, the Central Florida Zoo & Botanical Gardens spreads across 116 acres — a nonprofit, AZA-accredited zoo with roots as Sanford’s city zoo going back to 1923. It is a full half-day on its own, and in lantern season it reopens after dark for one of the region’s best evening walks. Pair it with a downtown morning rather than trying to rush both into one afternoon.
Getting there without the drive
The local’s trick is SunRail. The Sanford station sits on State Road 46, and the city’s free trolley covers the roughly 2.7 miles between the platform and historic downtown in minutes, running Monday through Saturday. Arrive by train, walk First Street, eat, walk the lake, and ride home — no parking, no I-4. Drivers will find downtown compact enough that one parking spot serves the whole day.
The rhythm to plan around
Saturday is Sanford’s big morning: a farmers market sets up on East First Street, brunch rooms fill, and the RiverWalk gets its crowd. Monthly, the Alive After 5 street parties turn downtown into an evening festival. In summer, do the lake first and the museums and beer halls in the heat of the day. In winter — lantern season at the zoo, patio season everywhere else — Sanford is at its absolute best. However you sequence it, keep the town’s own pace: this is a place built for the second unhurried hour.
Best for: Orlando locals who think they have done every day trip, out-of-town guests who need a break from the parks, and anyone who believes a main street should still be a main street.
Photo: Ebyabe, CC BY 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons.
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