White Sand Beaches
There are many great beaches in the Clearwater and Saint Petersburg
area. When visitors think beaches along the Sun Coast, most will think
of the iconic Clearwater Beach. For about 10 months out of the year,
Clearwater Beach is packed with beachgoers, sunbathers, swimmers,
vacationers and tourists. While sometimes, Clearwater Beach gets a
reputation of being overly touristy, even as local residents, we still
enjoy visiting Clearwater Beach for its vast bleached-white sand
beaches, soft sandy bottom of coastline, and beautiful calm waters. In
addition to the ubiquitous tourist trap restaurants and places that
serve the $20.00 hamburger, we still enjoy a few authentic seafood
restaurants at Clearwater Beach.
The Kids Playground at Pier 60
The
island of Clearwater Beach can actually be divided into three different
sections. The central section adjacent the traffic circle after coming
over the causeway is where Pier 60 is located and a fabulous outdoor
pavilion and children’s playground. This is the focal point of
Clearwater Beach. There are a few curb-side parking spots and pay
parking lots nearby, but overall parking is pretty tight here.
Surrounding the traffic circle and Pier 60 you will find the usual array
of beach curio stores, tee shirt vendors, and other stores catering to
tourists.
Mandalay Drive
The main avenue here is called Mandalay Drive stretching to the north
from the circle and is where the opulent hotels, towering resorts and
high-rise condos are located. As you continue north on Mandalay, you
will come across a large paved parking lot on your left immediately
adjacent the beach flanked on either side by two very popular seafood
restaurants. Frenchy’s Rockaway Grill and the Palm Pavilion are located
on either side of this parking lot right at the edge of the sandy beach,
just steps from the ocean, offering spectacular views of the sunsets,
fresh seafood, and live music most nights., Make sure you come early
because both of these restaurants get packed.
Continuing north, you'll go through another smaller traffic circle and
venture into what looks like a residential area. Although there are no
more towering hotels or condos in sight, there is still plenty of access
to Clearwater Beach on your left hand side that is accessible from any
of the side streets in this neighborhood. This portion of the beach is
called North Beach by most locals and offers a little more quiet and
seclusion than Clearwater Beach proper. North of here is a narrow
waterway that separates Clearwater Beach from the southern portion of
Caladesi Island.
South
of the pier 60 traffic circle are a few more large luxury hotels
including the very recently added Hyatt Resort painted in a pastel pink
color. Continuing south are smaller motels that are located about one
block off of the beach. Along the beach, is a vast paved walkway with a
fair amount of street parking available in addition to several pay
parking lots. The area of the beach immediately south of the pier
offers a sprawling assortment of sand volleyball courts. Continuing
south along the beach is more of the same wide white sandy beach and
calm blue waters. This beach continue south all the way to the rocky
jetty that marks the channel between Clearwater Beach Island and Sand
Key, just to the south and separated by a causeway.
Sand Key
Sand Key is the island immediately to the
south of Clearwater Beach. Although not as popular in name as
Clearwater Beach, Sand Key offers a vast white sand beach which is part
of the Pinellas County park system, on the gulf side and sand beaches as
well on the inter-coastal side. You'll also find various hotels and
vacation rentals on Sand Key. However, this island is not as
overdeveloped, and does not have the concrete jungle of towering luxury
hotels. Just across from the county beach on the inter-coastal side is
the Clearwater Marina and Yacht Club and just to the north of this is a
white sandy beach where you can drive your car up onto the sand itself
and park right on the beach. Additionally, because if your close
proximity to the water from your parking spot, this is a great place to
launch your kayak and either cut through the channel to the gulf side
and Clearwater Beach, or navigate up and down the inter-coastal waterway
investigating the shallow sandbars and uninhabited tropical islands.
