Beaches

The St. Petersburg area is home to some of the best beaches in the United States.  Fort De Soto and Caladesi Island beaches are currently ranked in the top 10 according to Dr. Beach.  Clearwater Beach was voted best city beach in 1999.  These beaches and Honeymoon Island State park are all within a few miles of each other so we had to check them all out.  

Clearwater Beach

We stayed in Clearwater Beach for 6 nights.  The picture at right is the view we had from our room's balcony at the Days Inn.  We went to this beach everyday we were there, even on days we went to other beaches.  In the end, this was probably our favorite beach.

Pier 60 at Clearwater Beach is a popular local hangout.  Every day they have "Sunset at the Pier" festival where street vendors sell handcrafted items and display their talents.  We went there every night to see the sunset, listen to the live music and see what vendors had for sale that night.  It was very convenient being located so close to our hotel.

Fort De Soto Beach

Fort De Soto is a county run park with beaches, picnic areas, a nature trail and a fort. There are two main beach areas.  The one we went to was pretty nice.  A backwater area was mostly separated from the ocean by a large sandbar.  Out on the sandbar, the water was a little rougher, but it was still a nice place to be.

The fort was built during the Spanish-American War in the 1890s.  You can walk around the grounds of the fort complex and see pictures of what the buildings looked like that once stood where the foundations still remain.  Some of the fort is still there though, along with a few cannons used during the era.  There is a small museum there also, but we did not take time to check it out.  

We found this to be a good park for seeing birds too.  We even had a raccoon snoop through our camera bag while we were sitting on a swing.   

Honeymoon Island State Park

We had a really good time Honeymoon Island State Park.  It is a pretty small park and cost $4.00 to drive the car in, but it was definitely worth it.  The beach is currently undergoing a reclamation project - trying to reclaim some beach from the ocean, but other than the huge pipe running down the beach, it wasn't bad.

We really enjoyed the 1.2 mile nature trail.  We saw over 40 osprey, many with young in their nests.  That was really cool!  We also saw many other life birds to add to our list including tri-colored heron, black-bellied plover, ruddy turnstone and several other birds.  Without trying real hard we saw over 30 species that morning.  They have a real nice picnic area there and after a picnic lunch, we spent some time down on the beach and collected some shells.  The beach was busy, but not super crowded like some of the public beaches closer to the city areas.  

Caladesi Island State Park

This state park is accessible only by boat.  Ferries leave from Clearwater and Honeymoon Island State Park about once an hour at a cost of $7 per person and you can stay for 4 hours.  It is a beautiful beach and island and is worth the money to check it out.  Because access is limited, it is a very quiet beach and the shelling can be pretty good too.

We didn't see too much on the nature trail, but part of that could have been due to the fact it was super hot and late in the morning.  If we ever get a chance to go back, we'll probably spend the whole time on the beach.  They have bathrooms, showers and a food stand available also.

Thoughts and Recommendations

• There are many other beaches in the area.  If you stay for a few days, try to visit several of them.  Last year we went to Indian Rocks Beach, which is between Clearwater Beach and Fort DeSoto Beach.  We really enjoyed that beach also.  
• Watch for dolphins.  They are seen in the areas of these beaches.  We didn't see any here, but they are frequent. 
• Check out the different types of shore birds in the area.  They are a natural part of area and being aware of them can help you appreciate the beauty of the beaches.