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Clearwater Beach, Florida

Clearwater Beach includes a resort area and a residential area on a barrier island in the Gulf of Mexico in Pinellas County on the west-central coast of Florida, United States. Located just west over the Intracoastal Waterway by way of the Clearwater Memorial Causeway from the rest of the city of Clearwater, Florida, of which it is part. Clearwater Beach is characterized by white sand beaches stretching for 2.5 miles (4 km) along the Gulf and sits on a barrier island. It has a full marina on the Intracoastal Waterway side and is linked on the south by a short bridge to another barrier island called Sand Key, where Sand Key Park is located. The area offers shopping, restaurants, and activities such as parasailing, jet ski rentals, boat tours (with a common sighting of dolphins in the Gulf waters), miniature golf, fishing charters, and "pirate ship" cruises. Clearwater has frequently been ranked one of the best beaches in the United States. Its Sandpearl resort was named one of the best beach resorts in the U.S. In January 2013, Clearwater Beach was awarded the designation of Florida's Best Beach Town by a USA Today reader poll ranking 10 Florida beach destinations. In February 2019, Clearwater Beach was named the best beach in the United States and sixth-best in the world by TripAdvisor. Pier 60, named for State Road 60 which terminates in Clearwater Beach, is a central spot for beach goers and has a playground, a snack bar with attached souvenir shop, and a long fishing pier. There are professional entertainers who perform on the pier every day, along with children's acts. It's the site of a daily event called Sunsets at Pier 60, which includes street performers and musical acts. On the pier itself is a nightly display of goods sold by local artisans such as jewelry, candles, and other gift items. Numerous restaurants and shops can be found adjacent to the beach, whose attractiveness was greatly improved in recent years with a beautification project called Beach Walk. The Beach Walk is located just south of Pier 60. There are drinking fountains, shower nozzles for beachcombers to rinse the sand off, and bicycle racks, as part of the upgrade. It also is a great spot for fishing. Beach "renourishment" efforts such as dune restoration enhance the area's natural beauty along a wide curving sidewalk. In addition, directly across from the pier is the Clearwater Municipal Marina, which offers deep sea fishing and boating activities for visitors. In July 2008, the long-anticipated Beach Walk project was completed, featuring a compact pedestrian zone with high-end hotels and condos. The beach is also known for its nightlife scene. Shephard's Beach Resort and the Palm Pavilion Inn are two of the area's popular night spots. There are also several Frenchy's restaurant locations and retail stores including Surf Style and Ron Jon Surf Shop. A paved bicycle trail lined by mangrove trees is available nearby which parallels the Clearwater Memorial Causeway to the city. Just up the causeway from the Beach, in the Island Estates area, is the Clearwater Marine Aquarium (home of Winter, the bottlenose dolphin featured in the movie Dolphin Tale), as well as a grocery store and other amenities. Hurricane Milton was an extremely powerful and devastating tropical cyclone which became the second-most intense Atlantic hurricane ever recorded over the Gulf of Mexico, behind only Hurricane Rita in 2005. Milton made landfall on the west coast of the U.S. state of Florida, less than two weeks after Hurricane Helene devastated the state's Big Bend region. The thirteenth named storm, ninth hurricane, fourth major hurricane, and second Category 5 hurricane of the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season, Milton is the strongest tropical cyclone worldwide in 2024 so far.