A Pinellas County Park, Sand Key is located on 98 acres of a barrier island (between the Gulf of Mexico and Florida) near Clearwater Beach. The Clearwater Aquarium is also nearby.
The park has a beautiful white sandy beach, nature trail,picnic shelters, playground, and dog park. Our first stop was the dog park. Our girl, Sadie, loves the opportunity to make new friends. Here she is patiently waiting for one to approach her in the first photo. Chase is a favorite game in the dog park!
Sadie will be 9 years old this year, so she needed a rest before going on a hike!
Here is a map of the park.
On the east side of the park is the Clearwater Channel, an Intercoastal Waterway,that separates Sand Key from Clearwater Beach. The Sand Key Bridge provides access between the two barrier islands. Highrise hotels and condos can been on the Gulf Coast.
On the west side of the park is a the beach on the Gulf, but no pets allowed. Sea turtles annually lay eggs in a section of the beach (managed and protected by Clearwater Aquarium.)
The nature trail leads through a salt marshes where various shore birds can be seen.
A gopher tortoise hurried into the bush when we spotted him along the trail.
Concession stands are on the beach. And a bathhouse is located nearby.
On display there are two statuesthat will be included in the new underwater Veterans Memorial,Circle of Heroes, that is being constructed in Pinellas County. It will feature 24 military life-size military statues (representing all branches of the military) in a 100’ circle. Cool!
After hiking, we enjoyed our picnic lunchnear the channel and enjoyed seeing the Pirate Shipfrom Tampa. Ahoy mateys!
Parking and admission to the park are $5/vehicle. We enjoyed the sights at this park on the water, but were disappointed that Sadie could not spend time on the beach with us.
No comments:
Post a Comment