Sanford (Florida)

Sanford is a city of 61,000 people (2020) in Seminole County on the northern side of Greater Orlando, known as the "Historic Waterfront Gateway City". Sanford is home to Seminole State College of Florida and the Central Florida Zoo and Botanical Gardens. Its downtown attracts tourists with shops, restaurants, a marina, and a lakefront walking trail.

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.[citation needed] 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.

By car

 * I-4.svg I-4 serves as the main (toll-free) interstate to connect Sanford to Daytona Beach to the east/northeast and Orlando  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.svg US 92.svg US 17 connects Sanford to DeLand at north and to E Colonial Dr (SR-50) east of Orlando  soutgh of town.
 * Toll_Florida_417.svg 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).
 * Toll_Florida 429.svg Florida 46.svg SR-46 goes 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 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 and the  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
 * 33 Debary Sunrail - Dupont Lakes in Deltona

Votrans does not operate cross-county services into Seminole County to the south.

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.svg US 92.svg Seminole_County_15.svg US 17/92 comes into town at its junction with I-4 at exit 104. It goes 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).
 * Florida 15.svg 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.
 * Florida 46.svg 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.

By taxi

 * 24 Hr Taxi of Sanford offers taxi service in Sanford.

Buy
ATMs can be found throughout Sanford. Usually larger hotels and convenience stores will have a "generic" ATM available; however, be forewarned about hidden service fees and the possibly of illegal card skimming devices installed to clone the user's card information & pin number.

Connect
Ten digit dialing is in effect for local calls in Sanford. The local area codes are 407 and 321. For calls within the US or Canada, dial 1+area code+number. There are some public pay phones scattered around the city, but they are becoming increasingly rare with the predominance of cell phones. It is not safe to assume you will be able to find a pay phone at any given time.

All ZIP codes in Sanford begin with 327.

Go next

 * Altamonte Springs
 * Lake Mary
 * Orlando