Take a Hike!
… or go biking, jogging, power walking or in-line skating. The possibilities are endless on the extensive trail networks in Clearwater and throughout Pinellas County. In fact, there are so many options, this issue of Footprints highlights only two: the Fred E. Marquis Pinellas Trail and the Ream Wilson Clearwater Trail.
From North to South…
The 34-mile long Pinellas Trail extends from Tarpon Springs to St. Petersburg and links some of Pinellas County's most picturesque parks, scenic coastal areas and residential communities.
Along the way, visitors can enjoy groves of ancient live oaks hung with Spanish moss, quiet waterways, tidal streams featuring all varieties of wildlife, and the charming downtowns of Tarpon Springs, Palm Harbor, Ozona, Dunedin and Clearwater. A trail “spur” even leads to Honeymoon Island!
Trail amenities include restrooms, bike racks, benches, covered shelters and water fountains. Paved parking plazas are located at various access points. Overpasses allow users to travel above traffic at intersections. The entire trail is wheelchair-accessible.
The trail is open during daylight hours only and is continually patrolled by various municipal law enforcement agencies, the Pinellas County Park Rangers and the volunteer Auxiliary Rangers.
The free Guide to the Pinellas Trail is a convenient, pocketsize flip chart map available at libraries, the Pinellas County Courthouse (in downtown Clearwater) and via download from the Pinellas County Web site (see Resources below).
And East to West!
Currently, the Ream Wilson Clearwater Trail (formerly known as the Clearwater East-West Trail), extends for nearly 4.5 miles from Tampa Bay at Safety Harbor (Cooper's Bayou Park) to the Long Center recreation complex north of downtown Clearwater. Along the way, it links just a few of Clearwater’s nearly 70 parks and recreational facilities, including Del Oro Park, Eddie Moore Recreation Complex, Wood Valley Park, Cliff Stephens Park, Moccasin Lake Nature Park and Coachman Ridge Park. Parking is available at most of the parks connected by the trail.
Upon completion, the trail will reach the Gulf of Mexico at Clearwater Beach - totaling 14 miles in distance - and will pass through and connect over 20 parks and recreational facilities. The trail will also serve as the link between the Pinellas Trail and the Florida Progress Trail (currently under development).
The Ream Wilson Clearwater Trail has been designated a National Recreation Trail by the National Park Service, the USDA Forest Service and the nonprofit American Trails.
Other Clearwater trails in development include the Beach Connector Trail (crossing the Memorial Causeway Bridge) which will connect downtown Clearwater at the Pinellas Trail to Clearwater Beach, and the Druid Trail which will connect the Pinellas and Progress Energy Trails. Together, the new sections will add six more miles to the city’s trail network.
All of Clearwater’s multiple-use trails are open during daylight hours and are patrolled by a Volunteer Trail Patrol who also assists with regular trail inspection and provides public information and assistance.
We haven’t even mentioned the parks …
Both the city of Clearwater and Pinellas County maintain a staggering number of nature parks and preserves, and more are being added! At least two deserve special mention: Clearwater’s Moccasin Lake Nature Park and Pinellas County’s Brooker Creek Preserve.
Moccasin Lake Nature Park is an Environmental and Alternative Energy Education Center that offers a 51-acre nature preserve, 1.25 miles of trails, a five-acre lake, a three-acre watershed restoration area, and many guest amenities. Along the trails, visitors may be treated to views of some of the area’s native wildlife, including American alligators, great egrets, green anoles and ospreys. Moccasin Lake also offers a variety of programs, classes and workshops, such as guided hikes (including night hikes), bird-watching hikes and interpretive walking tours, as well as interactive displays and exhibits.
Brooker Creek Preserve is Pinellas County's largest natural area at nearly 8,500 acres. It is comprised primarily of pinelands and freshwater swamps teeming with native wildlife including bobcats, red-shouldered hawks, wood storks, coyotes, white-tailed deer, and gopher tortoises. The preserve includes boardwalks and nearly six miles of trails. The Brooker Creek Preserve Environmental Education Center offers numerous interactive exhibits and programs.
… or the beaches!
Visitors looking for a different kind of hike - a leisurely stroll, perhaps - can choose from 28 miles of white sand Gulf beaches. One of the best is Sand Key, the longest of the area’s barrier islands.
Both Pinellas County and the city of Clearwater maintain parks here (the 95-acre Sand Key Park and Bay Park on Sand Key, respectively), with plenty of amenities - restrooms, water fountains, benches, bike racks, picnic shelters with grills, bath houses and outdoor shower towers - to complement the experience. Tip: Go during early morning or at sunset to be truly awed. An added bonus: there’s ample parking and it’s usually less crowded here than at some of the other nearby, popular beaches. Even better: Sand Key Park is on the Great Florida Birding Trail, a collection of over 400 sites throughout Florida chosen because of their excellent bird watching opportunities.
Hiking Resources
City of Clearwater Parks and Recreation
Pinellas County Parks & Recreation
The Holiday Inn Hotel & Suites Clearwater Beach (formerly the Clearwater Beach Gulfview Resort) is fresh from a recent $27 million renovation.
The results? All 189 smoke-free units (one and two bedroom suites) are completely brand new and feature 32” flat screen LCD HDTVs, high-speed wireless Internet service, granite countertops and private balconies - with magnificent views of the Gulf of Mexico or the beautiful island of Clearwater Beach.
Additional amenities include a large heated swimming pool, workout facility and game room and a large outdoor deck overlooking the Gulf of Mexico (which features nightly entertainment). The property’s signature restaurant, Jimmy's Fish House & Iguana Bar, remains offering Gulf-front dining. For more information, call 727-447-6461 or 800-770-6461.
Beach Walk, the city of Clearwater’s $30 million beach beautification project, continues on track; in fact, most of the work is expected to be finished by this July, months ahead of schedule! Beach Walk is a winding beachside promenade with landscaping, unique amenities, improved pedestrian and vehicle access and enhanced views of Clearwater's award-winning beach and the Gulf of Mexico. For more information and updates about Beach Walk and private development on Clearwater Beach, visit the website.
A new John's Pass Village & Boardwalk awaits!
John’s Pass Village & Boardwalk - the quaint turn-of-the-century fishing village that has become one of Pinellas County’s biggest visitor attractions - has had a facelift! Renovations include a new three-level boardwalk that wraps around the southwest corner of the village, as well as a five-story parking garage and new stores. The village draws as many as 2 million visitors per year.
Hubbard Properties, which controls the boardwalk, the new parking garage, as well as a few retail outlets and restaurants, spent over $19 million renovating the boardwalk area, while other property owners in the village did their part as well.
Also being built are a 40-room boutique hotel and Menna's Landing, a $3 million project that includes several stores, condos and a restaurant.
The folks at Big Cat Rescue have to earn their cats' keep. With that in mind, the non-profit educational sanctuary that currently houses 100 exotic cats - representing 15 species - has opened an online, all big cat-themed gift shop. The sanctuary intends to cultivate this into the ultimate source for all big cat gifts, clothing, jewelry, and ways to give that save lions, tigers and other exotic cats. Big Cat Rescue is located in Tampa. For more information, call 813-920-4130.
The upcoming calendar is packed with fun things to do. Below is an overview of a few key events; be sure to check the events calendar!
It’s baseball season so check out our two “hometown” teams: Minor League Baseball’s Clearwater Threshers, the 2007 Florida State League Champions, play at Bright House Field and Major League Baseball’s Tampa Bay Rays play at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg.
“Vatican Splendors”, one of the largest Vatican collections ever to tour North America, remains on view at the Florida International Museum through May 11. Nearly 200 objects dating from the earliest days of papal history make up the collection including items and works by Michelangelo, Bernini, Giotto, Guercino and others; artwork dating to the third century; venerated relics (bone fragments) of Saint Peter to items from the election of Pope Benedict XVI. Many of the items have never before been on public view, even at the Vatican, and are presented in dramatic settings and recreated environments such as the Tomb of St. Peter, The Sistine Chapel and the Renaissance Basilica of Saint Peter. The Florida International Museum is located in downtown St. Petersburg. For more information, call 727-341-7900.
"Dali & Film" is at the Salvador Dalí Museum through June 1. This is the first exhibition to examine the relationship between the paintings and films of Salvador Dalí and reveals how the artist defined a new art by combining his skills in painting with the new and exciting possibilities of the moving image. The exhibition features over 100 works from collections from all over Europe and America, together with films, photographs, film scripts, and drawings. For the exhibit in St. Petersburg, a number of important works drawn from the museum’s own extensive collection have been added. Call 727-823-3767.
“Tous Ensemble”, a contemporary artistic project created by French artist Marc Ash is at the Florida Holocaust Museum through June 22. In this exhibition of mixed media paintings, photographs, sculpture and installation, Ash pays homage to the races, cultures, religions, peoples and artists who are victims of intolerance and extremist ideology. The Florida Holocaust Museum is in downtown St. Petersburg. Call 727-820-0100 for more information.
Ruth Eckerd Hall has a great line-up, as usual, in the coming months. Performances include Larry the Cable Guy (May 15, 16 and 17); Steely Dan (June 9); Melissa Etheridge (June 15) and Ringo Starr (July 2). Ruth Eckerd Hall is located at 1111 McMullen-Booth Rd. in Clearwater. For tickets and information, call 727-791-7400 or (800) 875-8682.
“Texture in the Tropics” will be at the Dunedin Fine Art Center from May 16 through July 6. This exhibition, from the Tampa Bay Surface Design Guild, is part of a region-wide celebration of “Convergence 2008,” the biannual National Handweaver’s Guild of America conference taking place in Tampa in June. Works in dyeing, art quilting, felting, weaving, embroidery, doll making and stitching will adorn the galleries and complement a series of lectures, workshops and demos. For more information, call the Dunedin Fine Art Center at 727-298-3322.
Heritage Village, Pinellas County’s 21-acre living history museum that includes more than 25 historic structures, presents Civil War Days featuring the 24th Annual Heritage Village Skirmish on May 17. Guests will have an opportunity to see what life in Florida was like in the 1860s for pioneers and soldiers! Parking, shuttle to event entrance and admission to Heritage Village are free. For more information call 727-582-2123.
“Mysterious Clarity: Mark Messersmith, Ray Burgraff, Lillian Garcia-Roig” is on view at the Gulf Coast Museum of Art from May 17 to July 27. These three very different artists rely on their own aesthetic systems to explore, interpret and offer three distinct views on the same subject matter: the ever-changing Florida landscape. For more information, call 727-518-6833.
The MurderS She Wrote Murder Mystery Dinner Theatre features two upcoming productions: Murder On the 19th Hole plays on May 31 and Murder in Sparkleville plays on June 28. Both are at the Radisson Hotel Clearwater Central in Clearwater. Ticket price includes dinner, show, tax, gratuity, valet parking. For more information, call MurderS She Wrote, Inc. at 813-727-7012 or 813-715-4736.
The 7th annual John Levique Pirate Days will take place from June 6 to 8 at John's Pass Village & Boardwalk in Madeira Beach. John Levique Days is a three-day pirate themed event celebrating the discovery of John's Pass by John Levique after the hurricane of September 1848. Scheduled activities include a Pirates' Ball, Pirates and Wenches Auction, costume contests for children and adults, pirate ship battle and invasion of the Pass, street parade, and a village-wide treasure hunt. Various strolling entertainment and artisans within the Village will provide “piratical merriment” for attendees of all ages. The event is free. For more information, call 727-397-8764.
The Florida Aquarium will hold SudsFest ’08 on June 14 from 7:00 pm until 11:00 pm. SudsFest is the aquarium’s first international beer and food tasting event featuring more than 50 beers from Anheuser Busch, food from more than a dozen area restaurants and live entertainment. The Florida Aquarium is located on Channelside Drive in Tampa. For more information, call 813-273-4000.
A seemingly endless supply of sun, a mild and temperate climate, world-renowned beaches, nature-based attractions and wide-ranging recreational and cultural activities make Clearwater, Florida, one of the country’s most popular vacation destinations. Its proximity to St. Petersburg, Tampa, Sarasota and Orlando make it an ideal “home base” for daily excursions. Come on down and put yourself in our shoes for a while!
Visitors seeking additional assistance with their Clearwater travel plans can contact the Clearwater Regional Chamber of Commerce: 1130 Cleveland Street, Clearwater, Florida 33755; info@clearwaterflorida.org; 888-425-3279 (toll free) or 727-461-0011. More information, as well as comprehensive lists and descriptions of accommodations, restaurants, nightlife establishments and shopping options, can be found in the free Official Visitors Guide.