 |  | Florida Suncoast for Outdoor Lovers - Tampa, St. Pete, Clearwater Offer Outdoor Fun for Everyone Friday, March 28, 2008 The area that includes Tampa, St. Petersburg, and Clearwater is called "Florida's Suncoast." With beautiful Gulf of Mexico beaches, fabulous weather, and outstanding sports and recreation, Florida's Suncoast has something for every outdoor lover.
Some of the most beautiful beaches in Florida can be found along Florida's Suncoast. Towns like St. Pete Beach, Belleair, Clearwater, Treasure Island, Safety Harbor, Brandon, Dunedin, and Tarpon Springs are known for amazing white sand beaches that seem to glow in the sunshine. In fact, two of the area beaches have won the coveted "America's Beach Beaches" award from Dr. Beach, who releases an annual list of best beaches based on 50 criteria. Caladesi Island State Park, a 2007 America's Best Beaches winner (near Dunedin/Clearwater, FL), is one of the few completely natural islands along Florida's Gulf Coast. With sparkling white sand shores, the Caladesi Island State Park is accessible only by private boat or by ferry from Honeymoon Island State Park. Fort DeSoto Park, a 2005 America's Best Beaches winner (near North Beach, St Petersburg), is the largest park in the area with over seven miles of beaches and five interconnected islands.
Other beautiful beaches in the area include the tropical Belleair Beach, with a tranquil shoreline, less congested than nearby beaches. Clearwater, and the barrier island of St. Pete Beach offer an array of outdoor activities, such as fishing, boating, snorkeling or shelling, or just relaxing in the surf or sand. Sand Key Park, located on Sand Key, a barrier island between the Gulf of Mexico and the Florida mainland, has a large beach that is popular with families. Indian Rocks Beach is located on a barrier island and offers a chance to surf on the gentle Gulf waves. You can enjoy the sight of fishing boats unloading their catches at nearby Johns Pass. Pass-a-Grille Beach offer visitors a taste of "Old Florida" and great views of sunsets and dolphins.
In addition to the beaches, fishing is popular with visitors along the Suncoast, since the Gulf is home to more than 300 varieties of fish, such as snapper, king-fish, mackerel, tarpon, red fish, and sailfish. The historic and picturesque Tarpon Springs area offers deep sea fishing and live sponge diving exhibitions. The community is enriched by the Mediterranean heritage brought at the turn of the century by Greek sponge divers and their families. Charters are abundant along the Florida Suncoast; the Clearwater Marina is home to the largest fishing fleet on the Gulf Coast.
Some of the most beautiful links in Florida can be found in the Tampa/St. Pete/Clearwater area. The Belleview Biltmore Golf Club in Clearwater has been a golfer's favorite since 1925. Designed by world famous golf architect, Donald Ross, the golf course has a reputation for a challenging design that harmonizes with the surrounding environment. The Belleview Biltmore Golf Academy offers full-swing fundamentals, short game techniques (putting, chipping, pitching, sand shots) and course management strategies. TPC Tampa Bay in Lutz (just north of Tampa) is an annual stop on the Champions Tour. Opened in 1991, designed by Bobby Weed, with assistance from player consultant Chi Chi Rodriguez, TPC Tampa Bay has earned numerous accolades, including a 4 1/2 star rating in Golf Digest's Places to Play. The course is routed around natural wetlands, cypress heads and numerous ponds and lagoons, which are home to an abundance of wildlife, making TPC Tampa Bay one of only two courses in the Tampa Bay area to be designated as an Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary. Mangrove Bay Golf Course, in St. Petersburg, is one of the most popular courses in the area. Bardmoor Country Club, in Largo, is an upscale public course that offers a private-club experience. Former PGA Tour player and course architect Gary Koch gave the course a makeover in 2001.
Another green option is the Pinellas Trail, which runs over 34 miles throughout Pinellas County and provides a safe, enjoyable place for walking, biking, or jogging. Pets are allowed on the trail on a leash. Or, enjoy a quiet walk among vine-covered walls, tropical plants, flowering trees, ponds and waterfalls at the Sunken Gardens in St. Petersburg.
Weedon Island Preserve in St. Petersburg combines a wonderful nature experience with fascinating history. The Cultural and Natural History Center features classrooms and exhibit areas designed by anthropologists, historians and Native Americans to reflect the art and history of the area's first people, the Timucuans and Manasotas. The center combines a look at artifacts excavated from the site by the Smithsonian in the 1940s, as well as the chance to experience aspects of Native American culture including dance, cooking, art, and crafts. The preserve also includes a nature experience with a four-mile canoe trail and nine-mile hiking trail, along with a fishing pier and waterfront picnic sites.
If you are headed to the Florida Suncoast to enjoy the outdoors, CRSHotels.com has the perfect hotel for you. In Clearwater, stay and golf at the Belleview Biltmore Resort, Golf Club, Spa & Beach Club (see the CRSHotels.com special deals) or the freshly renovated Quality Hotel on the Beach Clearwater (check out the great deals). Nearby, enjoy the Safety Harbor Resort and Spa, or the Tahitian Resort Tarpon Springs. In Tampa, stay at the Sailport Resort Waterfront Suites Tampa Bay. In the St. Pete Beach area, choose the Grand Plaza Hotel and Beach Resort and Conference Center, the Bilmar Beach Resort, the Beachcomber Beach Resort & Hotel, the TradeWinds Sandpiper Hotel & Suites, or the TradeWinds Island Grand Resort.
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