Best Beaches in Clearwater/Tampa area

[jb7487]

My family and I are booking a trip down to the Tampa/Clearwater area. We haven't decided on a place to stay yet so I'm hoping to find a good beach that will provide some decent results for MD'ing. I've never done a beach before so I'm a complete newbie at it. I'm worried that I'm going to end up on a beach where they rake every day and not end up finding anything.

Anyone in the area who can suggest a good beach for swimming, sunning, and detecting? The kids don't have much patience when it comes to detecting so I need to find a beach with maximum potential. Otherwise I'm wasting my time taking the detectors along.

Thanks!

 

[willie d]

Clearwater Beach is raked every morning, but I still hunt it. The rake doesn't do all that great of a job.

That's the only beach that I can comment on.

 

[jb7487]

Willie, do you find much at Clearwater beach? As I said before, my kids will get bored pretty fast if they don't find much. They don't mind finding trash as long as the detector is beeping often. But if the detector isn't beeping then they are long gone in no time.

 

[willie d]

I hunted the dry sand for 8 years and found my share of coins and a little bit of jewelry. Even though alcohol and glass bottles are prohibited, chances are you will dig up plenty of bottle caps. Clearwater gets hunted regularly by more than a few THers. There's been some days when I'm in the water and I see 7 other hunters searching the area. On the flip side, I was out there today and didn't see anyone else hunting.

I've been told St Pete Beach is a bigger beach, but that's about all I can tell you. You could post this in the Beach and Shallow Water section or the Florida section.

Here's a link to the Clearwater Beach Pier 60 web cam to give you an idea of what you are looking at. http://www.clearwater-fl.com/gov/depts/pwa/engin/projects/beachwalk/beachwalkcam/index.asp

 

[kc10bull]

There are alot of beaches to hit Clearwater being one of the most popular beaches, for people and detectorists alike. I know from experience that the water is great and there is hardly any trash, I dig all targets. But this beach is really tough to get to during the weekends because of the traffic jam and then it's even harder to find parking, it is very limited. A grea beach to check out is Fort DeSoto, it is a national park you must get a permit to detect there even the beach. But it has been identified as one of the top 10 beaches in the US. There are beaches all the way south of Clearwater to St. Petersburg

 

[jb7487]

Thanks for the info guys. Now to make reservations!

 

[itmaiden]

Clearwater is probably the filthiest and most contaminated beach in Florida. If you are planning this trip for "Family" try Sarasota instead.

Besides the Spanish Explorers came in by the Sarasota area.

Side note: Sarasota has a great symphony orchestra too !

itmaiden

 

[Dirty WhiteBoy]

Ft Desoto Park is one of our most interesting places to hunt here if you are into relics! Our beaches here have been replenished many times. Meaning they have been rebuilt with sand that is pumped in from 2 miles off shore so don't plan on finding anything old unless it is just a flook! Storms erode our beaches almost completely away and man puts them back with open water sand! You will only find clad and occasional freshly lost jewelry! If you find something old it usually is just by chance. Beaches seem very scarce on targets...when I first hit the beach I was amazed at how few targets there are compared to soil in the parks! The sand and gulf of mexico are constantly moving and getting churned around by wind, people, rain, water, rakes, and storms! The beach can be a tough search! Not to say you can't find anything of value, but you must plan on searching a long time to do it! If it's any help, Clearwater beach is the main spring break beach in this area! Also it is popular with the young crowd! You will find the biggest crowds in the smallest places on Clearwater beach! The sand itself swallows up items very fast as they settle quickly....especially gold as it is heavy and sinks faster than anything! Anyway....Good luck be with you on your hunts! Let us know if you find anything interesting in Florida!

 

[godisnum1]

Well I guess everyone has already said everything that can be said. I detect North Beach at Fort deSoto the most frequent when I'm at home. But I did get out and hit St Pete Beach (where I grew up on) and managed to pull my first silver ring, along with a pretty cool designed silver toe ring. Really, you're gonna pull up alot of "stuff" wherever you go. I wouldn't view it as a waste, because you just have to get the trash (and sometimes lots of it) before you get the good items. Any of the beaches should be good places to detect. I've never personally been one for Clearwater, even to go to without my detector. But knowing that it's a huge party beach and sees lots and lots of activity from high school & college age kids (who sometimes have had one too many), I'm sure it would be a good spot to detect. Anyway, have a good time and a good vacation and I hope you find some sweet finds....

Bran <><

 

[jb7487]

Thanks all. We are rethinking Clearwater based on the feedback given here. We aren't up to going to a "party beach" and I've read elsewhere that it can be dirty (thanks itmaiden). The point of the trip is to relax and have a good time. Detecting is secondary. We are definitely going to hit Fort DeSoto thanks to the feedback here. We aren't going until July so we still have time to change our minds about where we will ultimately end up.

 

[godisnum1]

If you do hunt at Fort deSoto, be sure to stop in during the morning time at the park ranger station at the T-section, by the huge American flag (you can't miss it!) and fill out for a free metal detecting permit. It just takes like 5 min's to fill it out. Then, like most beaches, be sure to stay between the tide and the sand dunes, as all other areas are not permitted for detecting.
I personally think St Pete Beach & North Beach (about 15 min drive away) are two of the prettiest beaches we've got....

Bran <><

 

[jb7487]

Thanks Bran. I'll be sure to do that.