Sand Key is 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 ...

Florida's Gulf Coast 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 th ...

that stretches from Madeira Beach through Redington Beach, North Redington Beach,

Redington Shores Redington Shores is a town in Pinellas County, Florida, United States. The county is part of the Tampa–St. Petersburg– Clearwater, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 2,121 at the 2010 census. Geography Redington Shor ...

, Indian Shores,

Indian Rocks Beach Indian Rocks Beach, or IRB, is a city in Pinellas County, Florida, United States. The population was 4,286 at the 2018 census. Indian Rocks Beach is part of the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL Metropolitan Statistical Area. Located on the ba ...

, Belleair Shore, and Belleair Beach into

Clearwater Clearwater or Clear Water may refer to: Places Canada * Clear Water Academy, a private Catholic school located in Calgary, Alberta * Clearwater (provincial electoral district), a former provincial electoral district in Alberta * Clearwater, Briti ...

. The Clearwater portion of the island includes Sand Key Park (a

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 ...

park south of Clearwater Beach). It closes at dark, has picnic and fishing accommodations, a nature trail, beach concession stands, and very spacious parking lots. By contrast, the main part of Clearwater Beach is so densely developed that it can be difficult to navigate by car. In 2012, the parking meters in Sand Key Park, under the jurisdiction of the county government, were removed in favor of a flat daily rate system ($5). These two islands as well as the island containing the Island Estates neighborhood belong to the city of

, whose downtown core a.k.a. "Cleveland Street District" lies a couple of miles to the east over the Clearwater Memorial Causeway.

References

Parks in Pinellas County, Florida Gulf Coast barrier islands of Florida Islands of Pinellas County, Florida Islands of Florida {{PinellasCountyFL-geo-stub