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Before You Go:
Except for the Dunedin Trailhead, there are no designated facilities along this section of the trail. There are, however, some stores adjacent to the trail as you travel through Clearwater. As always, I advocate a good pair of biking gloves to relieve palm pressure and a helmet whenever venturing out on your bicycle. Whenever traveling outdoors in Florida for any lenght of time, it is a good idea to wear sunscreen.
Getting There:
Since I rode this on the weekend, I parked at an office complex just off Alternate 19 near the Belleaire Golf Course & Country Club. Zoom in on the map below to find your best starting point and to get your bearings.
Trail Length
20.1 miles according to the GPX file that marks the route on the map. I believe I mismarked the turnaround point – the length should be 21 miles.
The Trail
Facilities:
- The Dunedin Trailhead has water and restrooms along with a wealth of restaurants along Main Street.
- There is a 7-11 adjacent to the trail just south of downtown Clearwater.
- At the intersection of the trail and Curlew Road (County Road 586), there is a McDonalds at the northwest side of the intersection and a large shopping plaza just behind the McDonalds.
The Cons:
- Like the trek to downtown St. Petersburg, there are many street crossings since this is a trail running through the most densely populated county in Florida.
- The route through downtown Clearwater. At least they did make an improvement by moving the trail off the sidewalks and onto a designated portion of the road.
The Pros:
- The view of St. Josephs Sound from the overpass at Alternate 19 (just north of the Curlew Road intersection mentioned above).
- Dunedin – no community seems to have embraced the Pinellas Trail like this picturesque community.
- A small bridge just before the Stephenson Avenue crossing – you get your first glimpse of the Gulf of Mexico just west of the trail.
The section starting from Dunedin and all points north of there are my absolute favorite part of the trail. Being such a nice section, it is also a very heavily used part of the trail. You will encounter a lot of joggers, in-line skaters and fellow cyclists.
As nice as the Dunedian, at north, section of the trail is; I can’t say the same for the section through Clearwater. Watch some of the road crossing south of downtown. Some of the gutters are deep “V” shaped and, if you hit them the right way, are fairly bone jarring. It just is not a pleasant route through downtown. I truly believe they did the best job they could accommodating the trail.
Always a pleasure riding the Pinellas Trail!
Happy Trails ~ John
