Beaches in Pinellas- Parking, Picnicing, ect

[BucFan]

most of these suggestions are over 60 min drives from Brandon with traffic, lights, etc etc.....might as well just go to Ben T. Davis, just be careful not to step on the hypodermic needles, or trip over a crack addict.

[spbbound]

It takes 60 minutes just to get out of the mall in Brandon; they're probably used to sitting in traffic lol

[sarah0116]

Will do that.. I'm new to this site so wasn't sure!! Thanks for the tip!

[BucFan]

Letter to the Tampa Trib Editor today about Ft DeSoto - not pleased with changes.....

Fort De Soto farewell

Stumped! That’s what I am. For the past 40-plus years my family has driven from Carrollwood to the beautiful North Beach at Fort De Soto Park. Voted the country’s No. 1 beach by Stephen Leatherman in 2005, it will now be relegated to one of the ugliest.

After reading your front-page story “Stumped” on Sept. 22, I drove to the beach the next day to see what they had done. It was heartbreaking. What was once a beautiful tree-lined island retreat, similar to being in the Bahamas, is now just another beach, only pockmarked with large stumps sticking out of the sand. Australian pines invasive? People may get hit by falling branches picnicking in a storm? You don’t picnic in a storm. Also, osprey do not prey on little birds, as Tom Wilson claims in the article. They eat fish.

The picnic area behind the beach is now a wasteland. No trees. No picnic benches. Just a field of hot sand. The little oak trees, which will replace the Australian pines, will take a lot more than the several years to mature that Wilson claims.

At age 76, I will not be around to see Fort De Soto return to its former beauty and grace. Goodbye Fort De Soto! Hello, Passe-a-Grille!

Wally Brooks

Tampa
Letters to the editor: Legalize carry on campus | TBO.com and The Tampa Tribune

[BucFan]

so I'm passing through a few towns in Maine and stopped at this place called Old Orchard and stopped by the beach and lo and behold, it was chaos......to think I've been on FLA beaches in Jax and Gulf Coast side to be the only one on the beach for miles......to see this, had to SMH. Sometimes we have it pretty good and dont even know it.......

[BucFan]

Originally Posted by BucFan

most of these suggestions are over 60 min drives from Brandon with traffic, lights, etc etc.....might as well just go to Ben T. Davis, just be careful not to step on the hypodermic needles, or trip over a crack addict.

honestly, it had been a couple of decades since I was at Ben T. Davis and probably shouldn't have written that.....driven by it lately and it looks well maintained and popular.

[Spring Hillian]

Check this out.....


Pinellas County, Florida, Park and Conservation Resources - Sand Key Park

Originally Posted by sarah0116

We recently moved to Brandon, FL just outside of Tampa. It's about a 45 min. drive to the beaches, IF traffic is not slow. So far we've only been once, it was our first trip out there, and not familiar with that area, we thought we'd just "drive to the beach". So we drove into Clearwater, and ended up having to park blocks away and walk, and ended up on a section of the beach with hotels on it, so no restrooms, it was more for the tourists and not residents. I have 2 small children and no extra time to just scope out Pinellas county beaches. So I'm asking those who know that area.. where can we find a quiet family friendly beach that we can park AT (and not blocks away)? Somewhere with restrooms.. somewhere tailored more for the residents and not tourists. Ideally, I'd love to find a nice beach that not only has close parking and restrooms, but also a covered picnic shelter area. Hoping our next trip to the beach is much more pleasant and easier!

[071402]

Yes, and the photo is a 'slow' day. Its much worse than this generally. Weekends - parking - buses -cabs.

[engineman]

Caladesi Island is a very nice beach, but there are no roads that go there, There is a ferry.