- Parking
- Paid lot
- Typical crowd
- Steady
- Best for
- Avoiding crowds, Families, Picnics, Easy parking
- Facilities
- Restrooms, Showers, Lifeguards seasonally, Picnic shelters, Cafe, Dog park nearby
Sand Key Park sits directly across Clearwater Pass from Clearwater Beach. It is a Pinellas County park rather than a city beach, and the difference in atmosphere over that short distance is remarkable.
The sand is the same sand. The water is the same water. What is missing is the boardwalk, the crowds and the queue for parking, and for a lot of residents that trade is obvious.
There is a dune system here that the developed beaches lost long ago, plus a shaded picnic area and a separate dog park just inland.
What makes it worth the trip
The dunes
Sea oats and a real dune line, protected and fenced. Most of the developed beaches on this coast do not have this any more.
The pass
Clearwater Pass at the north end is a good spot to watch boat traffic and fish the moving water, though the current there is strong and not for swimming.
Parking that works
The single most underrated feature of this beach.
Parking
Large county lot with a per-vehicle fee, paid at the machine. It very rarely fills, which is the main practical argument for coming here.
Rates and hours change. Confirm the current cost with the city, the county or the state park before you go rather than trusting any published figure, including ours.
Crowds
Steady but never overwhelming. Weekday mornings are close to empty.
Rules
- Dogs are not permitted on the beach, but the adjacent Paw Playground is.
- Alcohol is prohibited in county parks.
- Glass is banned on every beach in the county. Cans and plastic only.
- Sea turtle nesting runs 1 May to 31 October. Fill in holes, knock down sandcastles, take gear home at night and keep lights off the sand after dark.
- Shorebird nesting areas are roped off in spring and summer. The nests sit on open sand and are nearly invisible, so stay outside the posted zones.
- Beach warning flags are not advisory decoration. Double red means the water is closed. Purple means dangerous marine life, usually jellyfish or red tide.
- Most beach towns clear unattended chairs, tents and umbrellas overnight. Take it with you.
Getting there
South from Clearwater Beach over the Clearwater Pass bridge, or north up Gulf Boulevard from the Belleair area.
Good for
Photo: No machine-readable author provided. Philipp Michel Reichold assumed (based on copyright claims). / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.5). Source