The Return of Midnight Pass: Siesta Key's Wild South End

Closed for 41 years, reopened by two hurricanes in 2024 and now here to stay. The remarkable story of Midnight Pass.

For centuries, Midnight Pass was a natural inlet between the south tip of Siesta Key and Casey Key, letting the tides flow between the Gulf and Little Sarasota Bay. Like many inlets, it wandered, and as it crept north it began threatening homes on the shore.

In December 1983 the pass was filled in to stop the erosion. For the next four decades, the southern bay was cut off from the Gulf, and many locals felt the water quality suffered. Efforts to reopen it came and went for years.

Then nature took over. In the fall of 2024, Hurricanes Helene and Milton carved Midnight Pass open again within a few weeks of each other. Locals turned out to celebrate, and in 2025 Sarasota County decided to keep the pass open. Clearer Gulf water now flows back into the bay.

Today the south end is one of the most peaceful corners of the island. Launch a kayak or paddleboard from Turtle Beach Park, glide through the mangroves and watch for fish, rays, dolphins, manatees, herons and ospreys. Our Siesta Key page has a map and a timeline of the pass.

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