Beaches, dolphins, fishing marinas, nightlife…the list goes on.  

One thing you can be sure, though if you name it, Clearwater Beach has it.

With all the recent updates this Gulf Coast city has been doing to its beachfront town, Clearwater quickly made its way to the top of my favorite beaches in Florida.

And who’s to wonder why?

With sugary smooth, white sand beaches and crystal clear waters sifting in between your toes, Clearwater Beach is pretty much paradise within an affordable drives way of major cities such as Orlando and Tampa.  The only downfall is the crowded beaches but, rest assured, you can simply drive 10 minutes North or South and find empty beaches all to yourself!

The Sugar Sand Beaches of Clearwater

After a long, cold winter snowboarding in Aspen, it was nice getting a break from the cool winters of Colorado to soak up the sun in the sunshine state.  The waters were still a bit chilly but the cloudless skies offered a fantastic opportunity to enjoy the warm sand and watch wildlife as seagulls flew just above my head.

In general, the whole beach was relatively empty considering it was the weekend.  Usually around this time, one’s stuck navigating through the hoards of people sunbathing but up at Indian Rocks Beach, one of those key places most don’t know to visit (except for the locals) you can take an hour long walk with having to step over a single soul.

In fact, if you walk long enough you’ll come to a point where the intercostal waterway intersects into the Gulf of Mexico.  It’s at this point you can easily climb onto the rocks and enjoy the view as sailboats drift by and jet skiers come whipping across waves.

In fact, you can even look through the various rocks to find small animals, shellfish and even the occasional crab scurrying across looking for remnants of food.

But when the sun begins to fall over the horizon, the place to be is downtown.  From here you can view fabulous sunsets as couples interlock hands and photographers capture stunning moments that’ll forever be lost to the past.

After you get your fill of beaches during the day and romantic sunsets in the evening, the only place to go next are the various pubs along the beach for a cocktail.  Not much of a drinker?

Then you’ve got to check out the nightlife alongside the pier.  Similar to the Clearwater Chalk Festival, local vendors will set up stalls along the pier for visitors to browse through local trinkets, small booties, painting and even experience street performers just like the street performers of New York!

All in all, between both the daytime & nighttime activities, there’s plenty to do.  Combining the activities with the local, chillaxed vibe, there’s really no other beach in Florida that’d I’d rather be at for a relaxing day! 🙂

Have you ever traveled to Clearwater Beach Florida?