America's Award-Winning Beaches

St. Pete/Clearwater's Award-Winning Beaches

Fodor's 2011 roundup of Florida's best beaches included two St. Pete/Clearwater area gems in the top rankings. Caladesi Island State Park was awarded the 'Best for Couples' beach for its uncrowded shoreline and get-away-from-it-all feeling -- it requires a ferry boat to get to. Clearwater Beach took the 'Best for Family Fun' award for its gorgeous white sand, attentive lifeguards, shallow waters that are clear and warm, pier, big playground and plenty of showers and restrooms -- all making Clearwater Beach a family paradise.

In June 2011, the editors of Parents, the nation's top-selling parenting and family lifestyle magazine, named Fort De Soto Park America's best family beach. The natural sandbar off the coast, which creates a lagoon-like pool for younger swimmers, was just one of the top kid-friendly features identified. In both 2008 and 2009, TripAdvisor, the world's largest online travel community, voted Fort De Soto the No. 1 beach in North America. With its remote location, historic forts, shaded picnic areas and miles of cycling and kayaking trails, this gorgeous 1,100-acre beach playground spread over five islands is simply not to be missed.

St. Petersburg/Clearwater area beaches have earned accolades throughout the years. In 2008, Dr. Stephen Leatherman, a.k.a. “Dr. Beach,” named Caladesi Island State Park No. 1 in the United States out of a possible 650 public swimming beaches. Nearby, Honeymoon Island State Park beaches were also ranked in the nation’s top 10 by TripAdvisor.

Fodor's also brought attention to Clearwater Beach in 2009 by naming it among the East Coast's "Best Family Beaches" of 2009 - which is the same year it was recognized by the Orlando Sentinel as one of the "Top Five Singles Beaches in Florida." Just goes to show that when a beach is this good, everyone likes it!