Sanford

Understand

Sanford sits on the southern shore of Lake Monroe at the head of navigation on the St. Johns River.

History

Native Americans first settled the area thousands of years before the city was formed. The Seminoles arrived in the area in the 18th century. During the Second Seminole War in 1836, the United States Army established Camp Monroe and built a road now known as Mellonville Avenue. Sanford is about 20 miles (32 km) northeast of Orlando.

Climate

Sanford has a humid subtropical climate, with mild weather during winters and hot weather during summers. High temperatures average 64 to 91 °F (18-33 °C) throughout the year. High heat indices are not uncommon for the summer months in the Sanford area. High temperatures can reach mid to high 90s with heat index ranges of 105-115 °F. The highest recorded temperature in Sanford was 103°F in July 1998. It is common for daily thunderstorms to erupt during a standard summer afternoon. These are caused by the heating of the land and water, combined with extremely high humidity.

During winter, the area can experience hard freezes during the night. Such cold weather is usually short lived, as the city averages only 15 nights below freezing. The coldest temperature recorded in Sanford was 19 °F on January 21, 1985, a day that still holds the record cold for many locations in the eastern half of the US. Even rarer in Sanford than freezing temperatures is snow. When snow does fall, it usually melts before touching the ground, or upon making contact with the ground.

Sanford has suffered less damage from hurricanes than most East Coast cities. Sanford has experienced hurricane or near-hurricane conditions more than a dozen times due to storms passing through the state from the Gulf of Mexico to the Atlantic Ocean, or passing to the north or south in the Atlantic and brushing the area. Rainfall averages around 50 inches a year, with the wettest months being June through September.

Get in

By plane

By car

• I-4 serves as the main (toll-free) interstate to connect Sanford to Daytona Beach 39 mi to the east/northeast and Orlando 26 mi west/southwest. From I-4 there are 3 exits into Sanford (exit 101 - 104). I-4 goes along the western shores of Lake Monroe which divides Sanford (southshore) from Deltona (northshore).
• US 17 connects Sanford to DeLand at 21 mi north and to E Colonial Dr (SR-50) east of Orlando 19 mi south of town.
• Central Florida Greenway goes from I-4 along the southside of Sanford (exit 101A), around the Greater Orlando Metropolitan Area as an eastern loop/beltway, and rejoins I-4 south of Celebration (exit 62).
• SR-46 goes 19 mi west to Sorrento. SR-46 ends at the toll booths of SR-429. Going east it follows US 17-92 and then on E 25th St out towards US 1 north of Titusville.

By train

Sanford is the southern terminus of the Sanford Auto Train Station which carries passengers and automobiles directly between Sanford and Lorton, Virginia, effectively serving as a car-rail link from Florida to the Washington, D.C. Metro Area. The train does not make intermediary stops between Lorton and Sanford. The Sanford station is not as elaborate as its Lorton counterpart: passengers board the train on two tracks in Sanford. However, Amtrak and the State of Florida are working to replace the older station with a new terminal that can accommodate a larger numbers of passengers more comfortably.

By bus

for a list of intercity bus companies serving the Orlando Metropolitan area from all parts of the state.

The Sanford Sunrail (Bus) Station and the Seminole Centre serve as bus stations for Lynx with the following serving as intercity routes: * Link 45 International Pkwy/H.E. Thomas Jr Pkwy in Lake Mary - Lake Mary Sunrail Station - Seminole Centre south of town. Lake Mary is the next city/town south of Sanford. * Link 103 Seminole Centre - Seminole State College - Fern Park Super Stop on Orlando Ave (US Hwy 17/92). From the Fern Park SuperStop passengers can transfer to the 102 bus which continues towards Orlando on US Hwy 17/92 via Winter Park. Bus 436S towards Orlando International Airport or 436N towards Apopka. Greyhound/Flixbus no longer stop into Sanford. See 'By bus' under get around for an additional list of local bus routes in Sanford. Lynx does not operate cross-county services to Deltona in Volusia County to the north.

* 31 Debary Sunrail - Orange City - DeLand on Volusia Ave (US Hwy 17-92). Passengers transfer to the #60 bus in DeLand to continue towards Daytona Beach. * 32 Debary Sunrail - Deltona Plaza in Deltona * 33 Debary Sunrail - Dupont Lakes in Deltona Votrans does not operate cross-county services into Seminole County to the south.

Get around

By car

Locally Park Ave goes north-south and it divides east from west. SR-46/1st Ave goes east-west and it divides north from south. Lake Monroe separates Sanford from Deltona.

• US 17/92 comes into town at its junction with I-4 at exit 104. It goes south on Monroe Blvd (County Road 15) to W SR-46. It then follows concurrently on SR-46 into downtown as W 1st St. From 1st Ave in downtown, US 17 goes north-south along French Ave/US 17-92 which is concurrent with SR-46 (see below).
• W Seminole Blvd comes in from its junction with US 17, N/NW of town, along the southern shores of Lake Monroe and into town as N French Ave.
• W SR-46 goes east-west between its junction with I-4 and Monroe St. East of Monroe St it goes concurrently on US 17 (but road is named 'W SR-46') into downtown. Going east, SR-46 follows US 17 on French Ave/US 17-92 to E 25th St where it turn east towards Titusville

By bus

• Lynx offers public transportation for Sanford and the Greater Orlando Metropolitan Area with the following local routes:

* Link 34 Seminole Center - Downtown - Sanford Sunrail Station * Link 45 International Pkwy/H.E. Thomas Jr Pkwy in Lake Mary - Lake Mary Sunrail Station - Seminole Centre south of town * Link 46E Sanford Sunrail - Downtown - True Health * Link 46W Seminole Towne Center - Sanford Sunrail on W SR-46 * Link 851 NeighborLink (shuttle). Door to door service, appointment required.

• Sanford 'Trolley' is operated by City of Sanford to shuttle visitors and locals between the Sanford Sunrail Station to Downtown and around downtown. Free.

Learn

Go next

• Altamonte Springs is another suburb of Orlando to the southwest of Sanford on I-4.
• Lake Mary is a well-to-do suburb southwest of Sanford.
• Orlando is the main city of the region. Historically, farms (and particularly orange groves) separated Orlando from Sanford but the growth of both cities has caused Sanford to become part of the Orlando metropolitan area.
• Winter Park, to the south of Sanford, has a historic commercial district with shops and restaurants.