Tampa Bay Area Beaches

Living in the FishHawk Ranch community and working on selling FishHawk real estate I sometimes get spoiled and forget how beautiful the Tampa Bay area and the Tampa Bay beaches are. Thinking of visiting the Tampa Bay area? Here is a quick guide to some of the area’s beaches.

Anna Maria Beach

Located at 100 Spring Avenue, Anna Maria, Florida 34216. Anna Maria Beach is located on Anna Maria Island, sometimes called Anna Maria Key. Anna Maria Beach provides no facilities but the beach area is huge and beautiful. Looking for a gorgeous view while eating? Check out the Sandbar Restaurant. You’ll find beachside tables, spectacular views, and amazing sunsets. Parking is limited so arrive early. There is free parking available in a lot at the corner of Spring Avenue and Gulf Drive.

Archibald Beach Park

Located at 15100 Gulf Blvd., St. Petersburg, Florida 33708. This hot spot is a favorite of visitors and locals. It is a popular Tampa Bay beach with sugary white sand and a laid-back feel. Archibald Beach Park is generally busy on weekends. The beach has restrooms and restaurants nearby.

Beer Can Island Beach

Located at 7500 Gulf of Mexico Drive, Longboat Key, Florida 34228. Often referred to as a “hooked spit”, white powder sand beach is a boater favorite. It allows boaters to pull up on this stunning beach for fishing, sunbathing, and don’t forget, partying. The beach is only accessible by boat.

Ben T Davis Beach

Located at 7650 Courtney Campbell Causeway, Tampa, Florida 33607. Ben T. David Beach fronts Tampa Bay. This narrow beach has nice landscaping and stretches along the Courtney Campbell Causeway that connects Tampa with Clearwater. This beach is just minutes from downtown Tampa and the Tampa International Airport.

Bradenton Beach

Located at Cortez Road W & Gulf Drive N, Bradenton Beach, Florida 34217. The beach features shaded parking and wonderful views up and down the coastline. The beach is close to casual dining, ice cream, and quaint shops. Parking is limited so arrive early on weekends!

Caladesi Island State Park

Located at 1 Causeway Boulevard, Dunedin, Florida 34698. Caladesi Island State Park was named the #1 beach in America in 2008 by Dr. Beach. To get to this wonderful beach you need to take a boat or hop on a ferry. Once you get there you are greeted by a three-mile beach with beautiful natural surroundings on one of the state’s last undeveloped barrier islands.

Clearwater Beach

Located at the West End of State Road 60, Clearwater Beach, Florida 33767. The world-famous Clearwater Beach has powder white sand and a gorgeous wide beach. It features shops, sand volleyball, sun worshippers, and swimmers. Clearwater Beach was named “Best Beach Town” in January 2013 by the USA Today and one of the “Best Beaches in the U.S.” by Peter Greenberg. The beach tends to get crowded on the weekend and parking is somewhat limited. But this is one of the must-visit beaches. Looking for a good place to eat on the beach, check out Frenchy’s!

Coquina Beach

Coquina Beach is located on the south end of Anna Maria Island. It is the longest stretch of beach on Anna Maria Island. It has plenty of free parking, lifeguards, concessions, picnic tables, a playground, restrooms, and showers. There is a boat launch across the street as well as Coquina BayWalk at Leffis Key.

Cortez Beach

Heading north from Coquina Beach, this is one of the nicest beaches on Anna Maria Island. This is a family-oriented beach with typically calm surf. Parking is free but there are no facilities or lifeguards.

Crescent Beach

Located on Siesta Key, Crescent Beach continuously ranks as one of the top beaches in the country. Beach access and limited parking can be found at the intersection of Beach Road and Ocean Blvd, an 800-car public parking facility is available at Siesta Beach. Crescent Beach does not offer any lifeguards or concessions. You should park at Siesta Beach and walk to your preferred location.

Egmont Key State Park

Located at 4905 34th Street S., St. Petersburg, Florida 33711. Egmont Key State Park is a secluded beach. Please bring your own water, food, sunscreen, and other items you feel you may need as there is no place to buy anything at the park.

Fort De Soto Park

Located at 3500 Pinellas Bayway S., Tierra Verde, Florida 33715. Recently named “America’s Best Family Beach by USA Today and one of the Top 25 U.S. Beaches by Trip Advisor, this barrier island and the 1,136-acre park is a clean, wide beach with many shorebirds, this park boasts two fishing piers, a historic fort, and bayside campsites. A paved trail appeals to cyclists and inline skaters. This is a great place to work on your tan, read a book or have a picnic.

Fred Howard Park Beach

Located at 1700 Sunset Drive, Tarpon Springs, Florida 34689. The family beach is sometimes pretty crowded on the weekends so your best bet is to visit it during the week. But even on busy weekends, this beautiful beach, clean shoreline makes for a pleasant visit. This beach is also a popular place to fish and windsurf.

Honeymoon Island State Park

Located at 1 Causeway Boulevard, Dunedin, Florida 34698. Another wonder state park. The park has several nature trails and bird observation areas. Visitors can swim, fish, and snorkel. The scenery is beautiful and the shelling is very good here. There are showers a gift shop and a snack bar. Dogs on leashes are welcomed on the southeast side.

Indian Rocks Beach

Located at 1700 Gulf Boulevard, Indian Rocks Beach, Florida 33785. Indian Rocks Beach is more of a city than a specific beach. The city welcomes you and invites you to visit their “Little Piece of Heaven”. The beautiful beaches, wonderful restaurants, and quaint hotels make Indian Rocks Beach a favorite for guests visiting the Tampa Bay area.

John’s Pass Beach

Located at 12901 Gulf Boulevard, Madeira Beach, Florida 33708. Home of the John’s Pass Village and Boardwalk. This quaint turn-of-the-century fishing village is Pinellas County’s #1 tourist attraction. Over one hundred merchants inhabit the Village with unique retail shopping, a variety of restaurants, the local fishing fleet, dolphin watching and shelling tours, boat rentals, parasailing, and jet skiing. There is plenty of parking both on the street and located conveniently throughout the Village, as well as a new garage. Open daily, this popular beach borders the pass, so a constant parade of boats and watercraft can be seen on the water. The beach often has riptides, so swimmers have to be careful. But if you would rather sun than swim, it’s a good destination.

Lido Key / St. Armands Circle

Lido Key is extremely popular with families. It boasts a wonderful beach, free parking, lifeguards, concessions, picnic tables, a playground, showers, and restrooms. It is located within walking distance of the famous shopping at St. Armand’s Circle. There is a lot of free available parking and the sunsets are amazing!

Madeira Beach

Located at 14400 Gulf Boulevard, Madeira Beach, Florida 33708. A favorite among tourists and locals. With over 360 days of sun a year, the white-sand beaches and emerald-turquoise waters invite swimming and sunning. Be a beachcomber for the day, or just sit and watch the action from the shade of a beach umbrella. Be prepared, this popular beach gets fairly crowded on the weekends.

Pass-A-Grille Beach

Located at 113 11th Avenue, Pass-a-Grille Beach, Florida 33706. This wide, beautiful beach is perfect for sunbathers and sightseers alike. Historic Pass-A-Grille is a quaint, laid-back beach town where you can park your car and walk to the beach. It has boutiques, ice cream shops, an outdoor art market, restaurants, and fishing piers.

Picnic Island

Located at 7404 Picnic Island Boulevard, Tampa, Florida 33616. You can rent a shelter for a party, play on the beach and playground, or go fishing on the pier. This beachfront destination offers a boat launch, fishing pier, playground, picnic areas, and grills.

Sand Key Beach

Located at 1060 Gulf Boulevard, Clearwater, Florida 33767. This barrier island is less than a mile wide. It has sandy white beaches and a row of high-rise condominiums. The Eastern side of Sand Key fronts on the Intracoastal Waterway. Condos, townhouses, and single-family homes line the East side of Gulf Blvd. most with boat docking facilities. Two resort hotels and the Shoppes on Sand Key provide a variety of restaurants, shopping, and banking. Because it draws a crowd, it is best to go on weekdays, early morning, or late afternoon on weekends.

Siesta Key Beach

The Public Beach on Siesta Key is one of the top beaches in the world. It has earned numerous awards for its cool, powder-soft, white, crystal-quartz sand. The beach gets crowded and on weekends you need to arrive early if you hope to get any of the free parking. Siesta Beach attracts families of all ages. If you have young children you will appreciate the shallow placid waters and compact sand for castle building and wading. If you want to be active at the beach there is skimboarding, kite surfing, and snorkeling, biking, jogging, walking, and volleyball. Amenities include lifeguards, concessions, picnic tables, grills, restrooms, and showers. This has been named the “Best Beach in Florida” by Florida Trend Magazine and the number 1 beach in the USA by Dr. Beach. You should add this beach to your must-see list.

St. Pete Beach

Located at 155 Corey Avenue, St. Pete Beach, Florida 33706. St. Pete Beach is one of the better-known beaches in the Tampa Bay area. The beautiful beaches and calm waters make this island a popular destination for both tourists and local Tampa Bay residents. There is a lot to do on the beach including wave runners, scuba diving, fishing, parasailing, and more. St. Pete Beach was voted Trip Advisor’s number 1 Beach in the U.S. and No. 5 in the world in 2012. If you are looking for a 5-star experience, both the Loews Don Cesar Hotel, known as the Pink Palace, and the Tradewinds Island Resorts are located on St. Pete Beach. As one of the most popular beach destinations in the area so you can expect some crowds!

Treasure Island Beach

Located at 10400 Gulf Boulevard, Treasure Island, Florida 33706. Treasure Island Beach is a nice wide beach that is great for shelling. It has 3 public boat ramps and a marina. Treasure Island Beach can get a little crowded on weekends.

This is just a small list of some of the great Tampa Bay area beaches. If you stumble upon one I’ve missed and you think it should be added to my list please let me know. So pack your sunscreen, chair, and towel, and enjoy your day!

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About the author: The above Tampa Bay Area Beaches article was written by Jeff Gould.

Jeff is a top-selling, nationally recognized REALTOR® and local FishHawk Ranch real estate expert. You will find him selling homes in Tampa Bay, Florida, and surrounding areas. Some of those areas include FishHawk, Lithia, Riverview, Valrico, Apollo Beach, Brandon, and Tampa.

If you are looking to sell or buy a Tampa Bay area home, Jeff is your local and trusted professional. He can be reached via phone/text at (813) 421-3007 or by contacting him below.

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