Honeymoon Island has a big, natural beach where you can get away from people, but also offers a cafe, bikes and kayaks to rent and a playground. Recently, the beautiful sandspit beach that extends miles north split in two! Erosion has connected the Gulf to the Intracoastal, and it’s still shifting. Don’t worry: There are still miles of beach to walk.
Pinellas County
From beach camping on a tropical island to camping on rivers in dense forests, you might be surprised by these Florida state parks with camping in the state’s second largest metropolitan area. (5th in a series)
In Dunedin, we love bicycling the Pinellas Trail, but this charming Tampa Bay area town has more to offer, with eight breweries plus great restaurants and coffee shops in its walkable historic downtown. Twenty minutes away are two excellent state parks with award-winning beaches.
Caladesi Island State Park off Dunedin is a pristine white-powder beach with clear water. It’s a perfect kayak destination & one of the top 10 beaches in the US.
St. Petersburg is full of Old Florida treasures, from a beautiful brick 1927 comfort station next to the new bayfront pier to the Sunken Gardens, a cherished roadside attraction complete with a flock of flamingoes. St. Pete has grown younger and livelier, but it retains much of its original charm.
The Pinellas Trail is a long, well-marked paved bicycle trail that connects St. Petersburg to Tarpon Springs along Florida’s Gulf coast.
Tarpon Springs is best known for its Greek sponge docks. But a boat trip to Anclote Key, one of Florida’s most remote state parks, is even better. Anclote Key is a perfect island beach, perhaps more tantalizing because it’s not easy to visit.