Getaways to the authentic Florida
In Dunedin, we love bicycling the Pinellas Trail, but this charming Tampa Bay area town has more to offer, with eight breweries plus great restaurants and coffee shops in its walkable historic downtown. Twenty minutes away are two excellent state parks with award-winning beaches. Plus it’s a great place to catch a Spring Training game.
Honeymoon Island in Dunedin has a big, natural beach where you can get away from people, but also offers a cafe and bikes and kayaks to rent. Its history involves actual honeymooners drawn here during the Great Depression in a real estate scheme.
The Pinellas Trail is a long, well-marked paved bicycle trail that connects St. Petersburg to Tarpon Springs along Florida’s Gulf coast.
St. Petersburg is full of Old Florida treasures, from a beautiful brick 1927 comfort station next to the new bayfront pier to the Sunken Gardens, a cherished roadside attraction complete with a flock of flamingoes. St. Pete has grown younger and livelier, but it retains much of its original charm.
After a long closure from hurricane damage, one of the best beach in America has reopened. Caladesi Island State Park off Dunedin is a perfect kayak destination too.
From beach camping on a tropical island to camping on rivers in dense forests, you might be surprised by these Florida state parks with camping in the state’s second largest metropolitan area. (5th in a series)
Tarpon Springs is best known for its Greek sponge docks. But a boat trip to Anclote Key, one of Florida’s most remote state parks, is even better. Anclote Key is a perfect island beach, perhaps more tantalizing because it’s not easy to visit.