Tour of The Pinellas Trail - Part 2

Part two of the Pinellas Trail tour picks up in central Pinellas County, riding through Dunedin, Clearwater, and Largo. This stretch is where the trail gets social - it runs straight through two downtown areas, past a couple of the best beaches in the country, and by some genuinely great parks. Here's the ride, and what to expect if you tackle this section yourself.

Dunedin and Clearwater Downtowns

Both Dunedin and Clearwater put the trail right through their downtown areas, which means easy access to restaurants and shops without ever really leaving the route. From Dunedin, a spur trail breaks off to Honeymoon Island - ranked a top-5 beach by TripAdvisor more than once. From downtown Clearwater, another spur takes you out to Clearwater Beach, which TripAdvisor ranked the #1 beach in the country back in 2018. If you've got the time, both detours are worth taking.

Reading the Road Crossings

One thing worth knowing before you ride: the character of the trail's road crossings changes as you move south. The northern section barely has any. This middle section has a lot of them - actual crossings where you're waiting on traffic. The southern section trades that for overpasses instead, so you're routed over the roads rather than across them. Knowing which kind of section you're in helps you pace yourself and know when to stay alert.

Entering downtown Clearwater, the trail jogs left and shares a street with cars for a stretch, though you do get your own dedicated lane. For most of the downtown Clearwater section you're riding a bike lane that's considered part of the Pinellas Trail itself - it's a fine setup, but it's also right in the middle of city traffic, so it pays to stay alert through there.

Parks Along the Way

What I really like about this middle section is how many parks sit right on the trail. Plenty of shade trees to rest under, places to refill your water bottle, and spots to just enjoy yourself for a few minutes before pushing on. As you head further south you start hitting the dedicated overpasses that carry the trail over the busier streets - there are roughly eleven of them in total, mostly concentrated toward the south end. McDonald's on West Bay Road is a solid, easy stop if you need one, and there's another park further along with restrooms if that's what you're after.

That's the middle stretch of the Pinellas Trail - more road crossings than the north, but also more downtown energy, beach access, and parks to break up the ride. Part 3 wraps up the tour heading south through Seminole and into downtown St. Petersburg.