![Clearwater Beach sunset](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c8/Clearwater_Beach_sunset.jpg)
Clearwater Beach includes a resort area and a residential area on a barrier island in the
Gulf of Mexico
The Gulf of Mexico ( es, Golfo de México) is an oceanic basin, ocean basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, largely surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of ...
in
Pinellas County
Pinellas County (, ) is a county located on the west central coast of the U.S. state of Florida. As of the 2020 census, the population was 959,107. The county is part of the Tampa–St. Petersburg– Clearwater, Florida Metropolitan Statistical ...
on the west-central coast of
Florida
Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...
. Located just west over the
Intracoastal Waterway
The Intracoastal Waterway (ICW) is a inland waterway along the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico coasts of the United States, running from Massachusetts southward along the Atlantic Seaboard and around the southern tip of Florida, then following th ...
by way of the
Clearwater Memorial Causeway
The Clearwater Memorial Causeway byway is a six-lane road between downtown Clearwater and Clearwater Beach, Florida, and includes a bi-fixed-span bridge across the Intracoastal Waterway. Constructed out of Concrete coated in bio-degradable Cer ...
from the rest of the city of
Clearwater, Florida
Clearwater is a city located in Pinellas County, Florida, United States, northwest of Tampa and St. Petersburg. To the west of Clearwater lies the Gulf of Mexico and to the southeast lies Tampa Bay. As of the 2020 census, the city had a populat ...
, of which it is part, Clearwater Beach is at a geographic latitude of 27.57 N and longitude 82.48 W.
Clearwater Beach is characterized by white sand
beach
A beach is a landform alongside a body of water which consists of loose particles. The particles composing a beach are typically made from rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle, pebbles, etc., or biological sources, such as mollusc shel ...
es stretching for along the Gulf and sits on a
barrier island
Barrier islands are coastal landforms and a type of Dune, dune system that are exceptionally flat or lumpy areas of sand that form by wave and tidal action parallel to the mainland coast. They usually occur in chains, consisting of anything fro ...
. It has a full
marina
A marina (from Spanish , Portuguese and Italian : ''marina'', "coast" or "shore") is a dock or basin with moorings and supplies for yachts and small boats.
A marina differs from a port in that a marina does not handle large passenger ships o ...
on the Intracoastal Waterway side and is linked on the south by a short bridge to another barrier island called
Sand Key, where ''Sand Key Park'' is located.
The area offers shopping, restaurants, and activities such as parasailing,
jet ski
Jet Ski is the brand name of a personal watercraft (PWC) manufactured by Kawasaki, a Japanese company. The term is often used generically to refer to any type of personal watercraft used mainly for recreation, and it is also used as a verb to ...
rentals, boat tours (with a common sighting of
dolphins
A dolphin is an aquatic mammal within the infraorder Cetacea. Dolphin species belong to the families Delphinidae (the oceanic dolphins), Platanistidae (the Indian river dolphins), Iniidae (the New World river dolphins), Pontoporiidae (t ...
in the Gulf waters), miniature golf, fishing charters, and "pirate ship" cruises.
Clearwater has frequently been ranked one of the best beaches in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
. Its Sandpearl resort was named one of the best beach resorts in the U.S. In January 2013, Clearwater Beach was awarded the designation of Florida's Best Beach Town by a ''
USA Today
''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgini ...
'' reader poll ranking 10 Florida beach destinations. In February 2019, Clearwater Beach was named the best beach in the United States and sixth-best in the world by TripAdvisor.
Climate
With an annual mean temperature of around 73
°F (23
°C
The degree Celsius is the unit of temperature on the Celsius scale (originally known as the centigrade scale outside Sweden), one of two temperature scales used in the International System of Units (SI), the other being the Kelvin scale. The ...
), Clearwater Beach has a climate that borders on
humid subtropical
A humid subtropical climate is a zone of climate characterized by hot and humid summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between latitudes 25° and 40° ...
and
tropical savanna
Tropical and subtropical grasslands, savannas, and shrublands is a terrestrial biome defined by the World Wide Fund for Nature. The biome is dominated by grass and/or shrubs located in semi-arid to semi-humid climate regions of subtropical and t ...
. Clearwater Beach experiences hot and humid
summer
Summer is the hottest of the four temperate seasons, occurring after spring and before autumn. At or centred on the summer solstice, the earliest sunrise and latest sunset occurs, daylight hours are longest and dark hours are shortest, wit ...
s (although somewhat tempered, due to the
sea breeze
A sea breeze or onshore breeze is any wind that blows from a large body of water toward or onto a landmass; it develops due to differences in air pressure created by the differing heat capacities of water and dry land. As such, sea breezes ar ...
off the
Gulf of Mexico
The Gulf of Mexico ( es, Golfo de México) is an oceanic basin, ocean basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, largely surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of ...
) with frequent
thunderstorm
A thunderstorm, also known as an electrical storm or a lightning storm, is a storm characterized by the presence of lightning and its acoustic effect on the Earth's atmosphere, known as thunder. Relatively weak thunderstorms are someti ...
s; and warm, but drier
winter
Winter is the coldest season of the year in polar and temperate climates. It occurs after autumn and before spring. The tilt of Earth's axis causes seasons; winter occurs when a hemisphere is oriented away from the Sun. Different cultures ...
s. The area experiences a significant summer
wet season
The wet season (sometimes called the Rainy season) is the time of year when most of a region's average annual rainfall occurs. It is the time of year where the majority of a country's or region's annual precipitation occurs. Generally, the sea ...
, as nearly two-thirds of the annual
precipitation
In meteorology, precipitation is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that falls under gravitational pull from clouds. The main forms of precipitation include drizzle, rain, sleet, snow, ice pellets, graupel and hail. ...
falls in the months of June through September. The area is listed by the
United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) as being in
hardiness zone 10, which is about the northern limit of where
coconut palm
The coconut tree (''Cocos nucifera'') is a member of the palm tree family (Arecaceae) and the only living species of the genus ''Cocos''. The term "coconut" (or the archaic "cocoanut") can refer to the whole coconut palm, the seed, or the f ...
s and
royal palm
''Roystonea regia'', commonly known as the Cuban royal palm or Florida royal palm, is a species of palm that is native to Mexico, parts of Central America and the Caribbean, and southern Florida. A large and attractive palm, it has been planted ...
s can be grown. Highs usually range between 70 and 90 °F (21 and 32 °C) year-round.
Transportation
![North Clearwater Beach2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/da/North_Clearwater_Beach2.jpg)
Clearwater Beach is approximately from
Tampa International Airport
Tampa International Airport is an international airport west of Downtown Tampa, in Hillsborough County, Florida, United States. The airport is publicly owned by Hillsborough County Aviation Authority (HCAA)., effective December 30, 2021. T ...
and from
downtown Tampa
Downtown Tampa is the central business district of Tampa, Florida, United States, and the chief financial district of the Tampa Bay Area.
It is second only to Westshore regarding employment in the area. Companies with a major presence downtown ...
.
St. Pete-Clearwater International Airport
ST, St, or St. may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* Stanza, in poetry
* Suicidal Tendencies, an American heavy metal/hardcore punk band
* Star Trek, a science-fiction media franchise
* Summa Theologica, a compendium of Catholic philosophy an ...
is also within close proximity of Clearwater Beach.
The Clearwater Jolley Trolley has provided transportation up and down the beach since 1982. It currently runs to North Clearwater Beach and down to Sand Key, including Island Estates. Mandalay Avenue is the main drag on the north end of the beach with Gulfview Boulevard being so on the south. Both areas feature a variety of businesses.
Recreation, entertainment, and shopping
Pier 60, named for
State Road 60 which terminates in Clearwater Beach, is a central spot for beachgoers and has a playground, a snack bar with attached souvenir shop, and a long fishing pier. There are professional entertainers who perform on the pier every day, along with children's acts. It's the site of a daily event called ''Sunsets at Pier 60'', which includes
street performers and musical acts. On the pier itself is a nightly display of goods sold by local artisans such as jewelry, candles, and other gift items.
Numerous restaurants and shops can be found adjacent to the
beach
A beach is a landform alongside a body of water which consists of loose particles. The particles composing a beach are typically made from rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle, pebbles, etc., or biological sources, such as mollusc shel ...
, whose attractiveness was greatly improved in recent years with a beautification project called Beach Walk. The Beach Walk is located just south of Pier 60. There are drinking fountains, shower nozzles for beachcombers to rinse the sand off, and bicycle racks, as part of the upgrade. It also is a great spot for fishing. Beach "renourishment" efforts such as
dune
A dune is a landform composed of wind- or water-driven sand. It typically takes the form of a mound, ridge, or hill. An area with dunes is called a dune system or a dune complex. A large dune complex is called a dune field, while broad, f ...
restoration enhance the area's natural beauty along a wide curving sidewalk. In addition, directly across from the pier is the Clearwater Municipal Marina, which offers deep sea fishing and boating activities for visitors.
In July 2008 the long-anticipated Beach Walk project was completed, featuring a compact pedestrian zone with high-end hotels and condos. The beach is also known for its nightlife scene.
Live Clearwater Beach Video Feed from PIER 60
Shephard's Beach Resort and the Palm Pavilion Inn are two of the area's popular night spots. There are also several Frenchy's restaurant locations and retail stores including Surf Style and Ron Jon Surf Shop
Ron Jon Surf Shop is a surfer-style retail store chain founded in 1959 in Ship Bottom, New Jersey by Ron DiMenna. The store specializes in surfing and bodyboarding equipment, and their Cocoa Beach, Florida, store is currently the largest surfing ...
.
A paved bicycle trail lined by mangrove
A mangrove is a shrub or tree that grows in coastal saline water, saline or brackish water. The term is also used for tropical coastal vegetation consisting of such species. Mangroves are taxonomically diverse, as a result of convergent evoluti ...
trees is available nearby which parallels the Clearwater Memorial Causeway to the city.
Just up the causeway from the Beach, in the Island Estates area, is the Clearwater Marine Aquarium
Clearwater Marine Aquarium is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, and aquarium in Clearwater, Florida. It is dedicated to the rescue, rehabilitation and release of sick and injured marine animals, public education, conservation, and research.
C ...
(home of Winter
Winter is the coldest season of the year in polar and temperate climates. It occurs after autumn and before spring. The tilt of Earth's axis causes seasons; winter occurs when a hemisphere is oriented away from the Sun. Different cultures ...
, the bottlenose dolphin
Bottlenose dolphins are aquatic mammals in the genus ''Tursiops.'' They are common, cosmopolitan members of the family Delphinidae, the family of oceanic dolphins. Molecular studies show the genus definitively contains two species: the common ...
featured in the movie ''Dolphin Tale
''Dolphin Tale'' is a 2011 American 3D family drama film directed by Charles Martin Smith, from a screenplay by Karen Janszen and Noam Dromi and a book of the same name. It stars Harry Connick Jr., Ashley Judd, Nathan Gamble, Kris Kristofferson, ...
''), as well as a grocery store and other amenities.
See also
* St. Pete Beach
* Treasure Island
''Treasure Island'' (originally titled ''The Sea Cook: A Story for Boys''Hammond, J. R. 1984. "Treasure Island." In ''A Robert Louis Stevenson Companion'', Palgrave Macmillan Literary Companions. London: Palgrave Macmillan. .) is an adventure no ...
References
External links
Clearwater Beach webcams
Clearwater Beach Weather Station
{{Coord, 27.979931, -82.827232, format=dms, display=title
Clearwater, Florida
Seaside resorts in Florida
Tourist attractions in Pinellas County, Florida
Populated coastal places in Florida on the Gulf of Mexico
Beaches of Florida