Beaches in St. Pete and Clearwater Beaches
This entire stretch of coast is one long beach. But because hotels, condominiums, and private homes occupy much of it, and those beaches are often roped off for guests and residents, you’ll swim at either your hotel’s swatch of sand, or at one of the public parks. The best are described below, but there's also the fine Pass-a-Grille Public Beach, on the southern end of St. Pete Beach, where you can watch the boats going in and out of Pass-a-Grille Channel and quench your thirst at the Hurricane restaurant. This and all other Pinellas County public beaches have metered parking lots. There are public restrooms along the beach.
Sand Key Park, on the northern tip of Sand Key facing Clearwater Beach, sports a wide beach and gentle surf, and is relatively off the beaten path in this commercial area. It's a great place to go for a morning walk or jog. The park is open from 8am to dark and has restrooms. Admission is free, but the parking lot has meters. For more information, call tel. 727/464-3347.
Clearwater Public Beach (also known as Pier 60) has a 1,080-foot fishing pier, bait house, beach volleyball, watersports rentals, lifeguards, restrooms, showers, and concessions. The swimming is excellent, and the children’s playground is huge. The park also throws a legendary nightly sunset celebration that features local merchants, musicians, and artists starting two hours before sunset and continuing two hours after. There’s a $1 walk-on admission fee to the pier. Daily fishing fees are $10 for adults, $8 for seniors, and $7 for children 15 and under. Rod rental is $10. There’s metered parking in lots across the street from the Clearwater Beach Marina, a prime base for boating, cruises, and other water activities. A less crowded spot in Clearwater Beach is at the Gulf end of Bay Esplanade.
Caladesi Island State Park
Occupying a 3 1/2-mile-long island north of Clearwater Beach, Caladesi Island State Park boasts one of Florida's top beaches -- a lovely, relatively secluded stretch with fine, soft sand edged in sea grass and palmettos. Dolphins often cavort in the waters offshore. In the park is a nature trail, where you might see rattlesnakes, raccoons, armadillos, or rabbits. A concession stand, a ranger station, and bathhouses (with restrooms and showers) are available.
New in 2025: the Caladesi Discovery Center, a three-story, open-air observation tower.
Caladesi Island is accessible only by ferry from Honeymoon Island State Recreation Area which is connected by Causeway Boulevard (Fla. 586) to Dunedin, north of Clearwater. As for the name, well, the pioneers called it Hog Island, but in 1939 when a New York developer built 50 palm-thatched bungalows for honeymooners, its name was forever changed for the better.
You’ll first have to pay the admission to Honeymoon Island: $8 per car for two to 8 people, $4 for single occupant vehicle, $2 pedestrians, bicyclists, and extra passengers. Beginning daily at 10am, the ferry (tel. 727/734-5263) departs Honeymoon Island every hour. Round-trip rides cost $18 for adults, $9 for kids ages 4 to 12.
Neither Caladesi nor Honeymoon allows camping, but pets are permitted in the inland and on South Beach (bring a leash and use it at all times). The two parks are open daily from 8am to sunset and are administered by Gulf Islands Geopark, 1 Causeway Blvd., Dunedin (tel. 727/469-5918).
Fort DeSoto Park
South of St. Pete Beach at the very mouth of Tampa Bay, Fort DeSoto Park encompasses all of Mullet Key, set aside by Pinellas County as a 900-acre bird, animal, and plant sanctuary. Besides the stunning white-sugar sand, it is best known for a Spanish-American War-era fort, which has a museum that's open daily from 9am to 4pm. Other diversions include fishing from piers (7am-11pm), large playgrounds for kids, and 4 miles of trails winding through the park for in-line skaters, bicyclists, and joggers. Park rangers conduct nature and history tours, and you can rent canoes and kayaks to explore the winding mangrove channels along the island's bay side. The park has changing rooms and restrooms as well.
Sitting by itself on a heavily forested island, the park’s campground (tel. 727/582-2100) is one of Florida’s most picturesque (many sites are beside the bay). It’s such great camping that the 236 tent and RV sites usually are sold out, especially on weekends, so it’s best to reserve well in advance. Sites cost $40 to $48. All sites have water and electricity hookups, picnic table, and charcoal grill. There’s WiFi at the camp store and office. Pets are permitted in Area 2 only.