Five Must-do Activities for Vacationing in Clearwater

Throughout the previous months and weeks, our family has scrimped and saved to be able to enjoy an extended vacation in Clearwater, Florida. Our family loves the ocean and a lot of the opportunities it has to offer, but we do not want to be overpaying for tourist-y things. Here is my list of awesome things to do without breaking the bank in the Clearwater area for a family with small children.

1. Go to the beach!

The tide is going out here at Honeymoon Island. The shallow water is great for relaxing.

Some people like to visit busy, bustling beaches, but our family prefers the more laid back beach approach. If the "happening" beach is what you're interested in, go to Clearwater Beach and check out Pier 60. There are lots of amenities like beach chairs and sun shades for rent along with lots of vendors nearby. To go to the end of the pier, there is a small, per-person fee.  We prefer the slower pace of a beach like Indian Rocks, Belleair Beach or even Honeymoon Island (you do have to pay to visit Honeymoon Island as it is a state park.). We like to find a place that has inexpensive parking, a bathroom, and a foot shower or full shower. At each one of these places, you will have to pay to park your vehicle, but it is usually less than $10. We never stay more than an hour or two because someone always gets sand somewhere it shouldn't be, or someone needs lunch and is getting hangry. 

COST- parking fees vary, but usually less than $10 for the whole day

2. Visit the local parks.

There are so many cool things to do for free at the varied parks in the vicinity. A few of our favorites include Cliff Stevens Park, Josiah Cephus Weaver Park, and the Sprayground at Dunedin Community Center.

Cliff Stevens Park has beautiful walking and biking trails, a disc golf course, and tons of local wildlife. There are beautiful birds, turtles, fish and even a few small alligators nestled in the park. It's free to park your car in a well-shaded parking lot, and it is frequented by walkers, bikers, golfers and nature enthusiasts. Our kids did fine walking the majority of the long walking trail (even though mom was a bit concerned when the trail meandered out over the water that was filled with wildlife), and we pushed our stroller through the entire park easily.
COST- free WEBSITE- Cliff Stevens Park

This Brown Pelican was hanging out on the pier at Weaver Park.
He was watching some fisherman to see if he could get a free meal.

Josiah Cephus Weaver Park is just up the road from Clearwater in the smaller city of Dunedin. The park has two great features: a jungle gym and a pier. First, there is an ample play area for children that is fully cushioned with soft turf for rambunctious children like mine. The shaded play area features a section for smaller children ages 2-5 and a section for children ages 5-12 with a wilderness theme. The see-saw is in the shape of a dragonfly, and kids rock back and forth on the wings. How cute is that? Once the kids have gotten out some restless energy, we head over across the street to the pier where lots of beautiful sites can be seen. On our many visits, we have seen a variety of cool creatures there like mama and baby manatees, starfish, sting rays, brown pelicans, and lots of fish.The park is adjacent to the Pinellas Trail as well.

COST- free  WEBSITE- Dunedin Parks

The Sprayground offers a convenient place for families to cool off in the hot Florida sun, and it's free!

The Sprayground at Dunedin Community Center is our kids' favorite place. Imagine a regular playground, but add water spraying out all over the place! The Sprayground is situated in nearby Dunedin also and provides a great way for kids to get wet without the hassle of the sand and saltwater. It is conveniently located right next to the Highlander Pool (which is very reasonably priced for swimming at just $3 per person), and it has a Kona Ice stand right outside. Maybe you will want to spring for slushies when you're done with the water fun!

COST- free WEBSITE- Kiwanis Sprayground

3. Go fishing!

Sorry about the blurry nature of this photo, but this was the only shot I got of the shark that we caught at the Oldsmar pier. He chewed through the fishing line before he could be reeled in. We estimated the shark was around two feet in length.

A fishing license does cost a bit of money if adults want to fish, as does tackle and fishing poles and bait, but the experience is pretty great! My husband got a 3-day fishing license for less than $20, and we got bait for less than $10. Because we borrowed poles and tackle from family, our fishing experiences were very inexpensive, and our kids had a great time. It is legal to fish from most shore-line areas, piers and docks unless otherwise posted. Be sure to check with Fish and Wildlife for specific guidelines about what size fish you can and cannot keep. We tried two different fishing spots without a lot of success: at the Oldsmar pier we caught a shark (yikes!), and off the Dunedin Causeway, we caught only seaweed while the fish stole our bait.

COST- license fees, bait, tackle and pole prices all vary based on your skill level and length of stay

4. Spend a little more on splurge-worthy activities

Our family had a few activities in mind that we knew we wanted to experience before we left our house. Our daughters wanted to visit the Clearwater Marine Aquarium, and my husband and I wanted to try out paddle boarding.

Our kids thought Winter's prosthetic tail was pretty cool. Apparently the Hanger corporation makes an awful lot of these tails, as CMA has them available throughout both locations for people to check out.

The first splurge included a stop at the very tourist-y Clearwater Marine Aquarium to see Winter and Hope, the stars of the Dolphin Tale movies. There are plenty of coupon booklets that offer a few dollars of savings on tickets here and there, and I forgot to bring mine along. I asked at the ticket counter if they offer a teacher discount, and to my joyous surprise, one teacher can be admitted free with each group! I did have to show my teacher ID badge, but that was a savings of nearly $22! There are so many cool things to do and see at CMA, and our kids loved it! Of course there are dolphins, turtles, otters and birds to see, but our kids really liked getting to touch a sting ray in their interactive sting ray area. We even rode a boat shuttle to a second location to check out a lot of the props and sets that were used in the making of the Dolphin Tale films. Our kids got to hold one of many of the prosthetic tails specially made for Winter. They were delighted, and it was a good day. We arrived when the aquarium opened at 9 and stayed until about noon when the kids became hungry and their mom was too hot to enjoy it anymore. Plan on crowds and high prices in the gift shop. Our kids saved money for months to be able to buy merchandise from CMA!

COST- admission $21.95 for adults, $16.95 for kids age 3-12, under 3 is free

Our next splurge included a trip over to Safety Harbor to rent a Stand Up Paddle board or SUP as the rental guy, Ken, calls them. This experience was one of the coolest of the whole vacation for me. This was not a kid-friendly activity for our family, and we are glad that grandma and grandpa took the kids to nearby Phillippe Park where the kids could run and play while mom and dad tried out paddle boarding in the calm bay waters. The man who rented us the necessary items (and who made us sign a liability waiver) gave us a quick lesson on how to paddle board and then set my husband off into the bay to figure it out. My husband did awesome! When he returned to shore, I tried my hand at paddle boarding, and I found that I am much less balanced than my husband! Though I didn't fall off the board, I was more wobbly than him! When I went out into the bay, a big group of manatees surrounded my paddle board and swam all around me. It was breathtaking, and I was so glad I hadn't let my fears or my weak core muscles deter me from such beauty! The gentleman from whom we rented our paddle board was really great. Though he doesn't have his own website that I can find, he is easy to find near the pier at Safety Harbor. His rates are reasonable, and he wants you to be safe and enjoy yourself. We rented our board for just one hour, and we tipped him generously for his instruction. He offers kayak rentals and tours and other things that have left my memory since I read his flyer, but seriously. Go paddle boarding.

COST- $25 for one hour, plus instruction if needed (he asked for $30 total, but we tipped him more because he was so awesome and patient with me... and he held the board steady for me to help me not fall)

5. Go for a walk!

Walking through the Clearwater area will offer you the opportunity to see some of the many dolphin statues that are placed throughout the area. We saw quite a few of them near the marina  at Clearwater Beach, but there is a map available at Clearwater's Dolphins.

The Pinellas Trail is a beautiful walking and biking trail that runs all through Pinellas County, and we took some time to explore part of it. We were able to venture near an ice cream shop and splurge for a quick cold treat on our journey.

Another good option for walking is the Courtney Campbell Trail walkway off Route 60 between Clearwater and Tampa. We walked to the top and back and watched boats, birds and lots of dolphins! Fishing is not allowed from the bridge, and be very aware of others as many folks are running, biking or skating for exercise. The breeze here is lovely, and there are lots of cool things to see as you walk.