Punta Gorda Rest Area

When you need to take a nap in a parking lot rather than falling asleep at the wheel, this is a perfectly fine place to do it. It’s a bit short on shade so I wouldn’t recommend it during the heat of the day but otherwise, Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

I thought that this place was dreadful. I stopped here on Christmas day because we thought other places would be closed. While that turned out to be true for most restaurants and fast food places, it turns out that some gas stations such as Racetrac are open on Christmas. Unlike the previous rest area in Ruskin that was clean and seemed relatively new this one in Punta Gorda seemed very old and dirty. At least they did have vending machines so that we could get a snack. I would not stop here again.

Nice and exceptionally clean rest area with family restrooms, snacks, and pet walk area