Clearwater Beach, and how to enjoy it without losing the day to parking

Clearwater Beach has taken the top spot in national beach rankings more than once, and the sand deserves it. It is fine, white, and wide, and the Gulf here is shallow and warm for most of the year.

The real problem is access

The beach is on a barrier island, and the main route across is the Clearwater Memorial Causeway. On a good weekend, that causeway is the bottleneck for everyone with the same idea. Parking on the island is finite, metered, and expensive relative to what people expect.

Pier 60 and the sunset

Pier 60 hosts a daily sunset celebration in good weather, with craft vendors, buskers and performers gathering in the couple of hours before sundown. It is genuinely enjoyable and it is genuinely crowded. The playground next to it is one of the better ones on the coast.

If you want quieter sand

Pinellas County has a lot of beach and Clearwater is only one piece of it. Sand Key Park sits just south across the pass and is calmer. Honeymoon Island to the north is a state park with a different character entirely. Fort De Soto, at the southern end of the county, regularly appears on the same national lists.

Going to the famous one is a reasonable choice. Going to the famous one at noon on a holiday weekend is a choice too.

Practical notes

Watch for beach warning flags, which indicate surf and hazard conditions including rip currents. Red means stay out of the water, and it means it. Purple indicates dangerous marine life, which on this coast usually means jellyfish or the effects of red tide.

Cover photo: Michel Rathwell from Cornwall, Canada / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0). Source.