Clearwater Beach on BeachHunter.net |
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Clearwater Beach
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Clearwater Beach is a
busy,
visitor-oriented vacation destination. It has everything a visitor
looking for entertainment could want, all contained within a few blocks. There is plenty of nightlife for singles too. In
fact, Clearwater Beach attracts a much younger crowd overall than most
of the Gulf Coast. It is clean,
Clearwater Beach Parking Information The beach is beautiful and white, the pier affords a nice view and is THE place to be at sunset and the water is generally shallow and reasonably clear most of the time. There is entertainment around the pier at night with arts, crafts, music, and street performers. Busy place, Clearwater Beach. Clearwater Beach is very swimmer friendly and has lifeguards. Above left, some friends play a game of volleyball with Pier 60 in the background while the sun sets. In the distance you can see some of the Clearwater Beach hotel accommodations lined up along the Gulf of Mexico on the white sugar sand beach. Standing on Pier 60 gives you a great view of the beautiful white sand beach. Best practice is to get here early to find a parking spot, unless you happen to be staying right on the beach, in which case traffic is no concern. Right behind the beach is Gulfview Blvd, with all its shops and restaurants. You can walk just about anywhere in 10 minutes, so you don't even need a car to go shopping, or to have lunch, dinner, or drinks. The water here is great for swimming. It is usually calm and the beach is wide and flat--great for walking.
Free WiFi on Clearwater Beach!Are you so into the internet (like me) that you can't stand going on a beach vacation and doing without your email and internet surfing? Well suffer no more! Get your sun, your surf, your grouper sandwich, and bring your laptop with you to Clearwater Beach. Or bring your PDA or WiFi enabled cell phone. WiFi is designed mainly for outdoor use. The signal doesn't penetrate walls very well, so use it on the beach, by the pool, or at an outdoor cafe (plenty of those on Clearwater Beach). The free wireless network is not protected by data encryption, so don't do any online shopping or expose any other sensitive information to the network.
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modern, and has lots to do. There are
all types of boat tours, fishing charters, dolphin-watching cruises,
dinner cruises, beach clothing stores, restaurants, souvenir shops, etc.
Of course all this activity contributes to a substantial traffic and parking
problem. One can use the 
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Thinking about doing some serious fishing on Clearwater Beach? |
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| Above: This is
Pier 60 on a Wednesday afternoon in July. It is so packed with
vendors and people that you almost have to elbow your way
through the crowd. Once you pass the half-way point on the pier,
you can't go any further without paying, so there are no vendors
past that point and it is much quieter (see below photo).
The pier is open 365 days per year, 24 hours per day and has a bait and tackle shop about halfway out. You can walk out to the bait house for free, but to go any further there is a 50 cent per person charge. |
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| Above: This is the half of the pier that you cannot access unless you pay. There are fewer people here (mostly fishermen) and no vendors. Ahhh, peace and quiet! |
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| Above: This photo was taken standing on Pier 60 looking north toward Caladesi and Honeymoon Islands. |
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| Above: Clearwater beach has pure white quartz sand. Lifeguards watch over the beach visitors. |
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| Above: A peaceful July evening on Clearwater Beach and Pier 60. I guess you've already noticed the construction cranes working on the new hotels. I'll be glad when the cranes are no longer a part of the skyline. |
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| Above and below: This is the result of the complete renovation of the Clearwater beach front. Much of the traffic has been re-routed away from the beach, and wide promenades with landscape plants and sculptures have made the entire beach scene much more user-friendly. It is a big improvement and will do a lot to keep visitors coming back to Clearwater Beach. |
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| Above: While you are in Clearwater Beach, you really must visit the Clearwater Marine Aquarium, which is a working marine animal hospital. Sick and injured marine animals, especially dolphins and sea turtles, are rehabilitated and, if possible, returned to the wild. |
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| Above: The Palm Pavilion Seaside Grille off Mandalay Avenue. A great place to eat right on the beach and watch the sunset too. It gets pretty crowded around the sunset hour. |
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| Above: The further north you walk on
Clearwater Beach, the fewer houses there are, and the quieter it gets.
The beach is wide and the upper beach is covered with sea
oats. This photo was take after I walked on the beach about 35 minutes
north of Pier 60. If you really like walking, you could walk all the way to Caladesi Island State Park. |
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| Above: Here is the Clearwater Pass bridge. It is very tall and affords a nice view. There is a protected pedestrian walk on both sides of the bridge, which is popular with joggers and walkers. From the top of the bridge you have a great view of Sand Key, Clearwater Beach, and Downtown Clearwater. I'm standing in Sand Key Park, looking north toward the south end of Clearwater Beach. |
