In
addition to these major beach park facilities,
Pinellas County has six beach access parks
(Indian
Rocks
, Tiki Gardens/ Indian Shores,
Redington Shores,
Madeira Beach, Treasure
Island and
St. Pete Beach). These
beach access parks expand public access, and
include restroom and shower facilities.
Pinellas County beach access parks
are used by almost eight million visitors each
year.
Pinellas
County Beaches- Virtual Tour Views 
Beach
Access Guide 
Beach
Finder
Google
Earth Tour of Pinellas County Beaches 
Water
Quality of Pinellas County Beaches
Two major state parks in Pinellas
County, Caladesi Island and Honeymoon Island, provide almost five miles of direct access to the Gulf of Mexico.
Honeymoon Island State Park is accessible by car, while pristine Caladesi Island State Park is easily reached by
modestly priced public ferry that departs several times per day from Honeymoon Island State Park. Both facilities
have amenities, and ample public parking is available within the grounds of Honeymoon Island State Park
for both park facilities.
In
addition to the county and state parks
mentioned above, several important municipal
parks provide direct beach access, amenities
and public
parking as well. St. Pete Beach's Pass-A-Grille
and Upham Beaches, Treasure Island's four
city-operated beach access parks, Madeira
Beach's Archibald Park and Clearwater's
North and South Beach Parks are examples
of
major municipally operated beach access facilities.
In
Pinellas County, beach access is provided
at 31 parks and 135 public easements providing
well
over
12,000 parking spaces available
to the general public.
Pinellas County continues to
recognize the need for expanding the number of publicly available beach access points and the desirability of
providing properly designed and aesthetically pleasing walkovers. The joint efforts on the part of Pinellas County,
the State of Florida, our local beach municipalities and the tremendous citizen volunteer efforts employed in
our dune replanting, continue to make our beach access expansion and enhancement program a resounding
success.
About
Pinellas County beaches
Occupying a peninsula along the
Gulf Coast in the heart of west central Florida, Pinellas County is the second smallest county in the state, containing
less than 281 square miles. While small in total area, Pinellas enjoys a long coastline along the Gulf Coast,
providing over 35 miles of fine white sandy beaches stretching from Tarpon Springs to Fort De Soto.
With over 3,150 people per square mile,
Pinellas County today is by far the most densely populated county in the State of Florida and is second only to
Atlanta Georgia's Fulton County, in the southeastern United States. Large numbers of residents are attracted
to the county's mild sub-tropical climate and strong economy. In 1996, over 4.1 million overnight visitors came
to Pinellas County from around the state, the nation and throughout the world. To support the growing needs
of our expanding residential population and the large number of visitors drawn to our area, enhancing our
beaches, the county's greatest asset, is vitally important to our overall economy and quality of life in our
community.
Spotlight
-- Fort De Soto
named America’s Top Beach - 2008
Pristine Area Favorite Lauded as “Portrait of Tranquility”
Fort
De Soto Park was named America’s Top Beach
by TripAdvisor, the world's largest online travel
community.
Citing a “spectacular combination of soft white sand, calm, clear water
and a laid-back atmosphere,” the popular online travel network put the
park’s North Beach at the top of its annual best-of list, based on TripAdvisor's
Popularity Index.
This marks the second time in three years the pristine Pinellas County beach
has received top honors on an annual “best-of” list. In 2005 Dr.
Stephen P. Leatherman, a.k.a. “Dr. Beach,” named Fort De Soto the nation’s
#1 Beach .
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