Caladesi Island State Park

Great day trip! My boyfriend and I went for Memorial Day weekend & had an amazing day. You must first go on a short boat ride before arriving to the island. The ride was very scenic as we saw dolphins and Pelicans. But beware of the snakes! We saw 4 snakes while waiting for the boat ride back– apparently rattle snakes are very common. Very secluded and beautiful beach. You can bring your own chairs or rent.

Caladesi island is one of the few completely natural barrier islands along Florida’s gulf coast and is consistently ranked among the nations top beaches for it’s unspoiled beauty. The island is 3 miles long and is accessible only by boat. You can take a short ferry ride from Honeymoon island for $ 14 or rent a kayak from the outfitter along the Dunedin causeway. If you time it right and go at low tide, you can walk 2 miles from Clearwater Beach’s north end to reach Caladesi island. Make sure to pack plenty of water! The mangroves are covered in shells left by tourists. Some of the shells have inscriptions. The only crowds at Caladesi island tend to be of the feathered variety. The beach is renowned for attracting many species of migrating shore birds and offering excellent bird watching opportunities. Along the bay side of the island, a paddle trail winds through the mangroves and seagrass flats, offering glimpses of birds, fish, and wildlife. A Marina has overnight dock space and a small food concession. You can grab lunch at the onsite island café or rent a cabana if you wish to splurge!

This island is paradise! Be prepared to take a $ 14, (15) minute informative ferry ride before embarking on what is touted as the most beautiful, natural beach island in the country!

Best place in the world for a hotdog and corona. Go as often as I can.

After checking out the two beaches on Honeymoon Island, I decided to check out one more and head to Caladesi Island State Park. This is a beautiful beach, very quaint… and definitely worth the trip over there! If you’re looking for seashells, there are plenty! The water is clear, though we were warned to be aware of stingrays. That made me a little nervous, but I wasn’t really going to swim IN the ocean, though the water was a great temperature during my visit the last week of April.
When you get to the island by ferry (it runs every half hour from Honeymoon Island) there is a store/​restaurant there… a little $$ though I will admit I had a good hot dog & fries there! The beach is a short walk from there. I didn’t see much wildlife… a few «different» birds, and a turtle!
On this particular day, I was undecided as to head down to St. Petersburg or hit up some beaches, I’m glad I visited… it’s truly a beautiful part of Florida!

I love this place. Enter the beach via the northern most point of Clearwater Beach. You can walk up the coast to Caladesi. It’s about 3 miles, but it’s an incredible walk. Be prepared with water, etc. You’ll go past mangroves, multi-​million dollar homes, and Hulk Hogan’s home. It’s a fun adventure. Shelling can be good. I’ve seen sand dollars on a few occasions. Bring a bag for shells. And… be aware that there are rattle snakes on Caladesi Island! I’ve never seen one. But, that’s what I hear. You can also get to the island by ferry. I prefer to walk though.

We live about 15 minutes from this island. It’s just gorgeous! The ferry runs about 45 minutes from Honeymoon Island. When my daughters visit from NY it’s their favorite place. Best place to shell. The island looks like it could be in the Caribbean. And we have often spotted dolphins swimming by.

I LOVED the ferry ride over, the beautiful mangroves growing straight out of the water, the secluded, slightly wild beach with clear warm water. We rented two lounge chairs and an umbrella for $ 25 and it was totally worth it to be able to escape the sun. Some of the nicest beach combing I’ve ever experienced, a perfect beach day without the crowds.
The ferry departs every 30 minutes, and you ticket comes with a guaranteed pre-​set return 4 hours later. You can catch an earlier or later ferry, first come/​first served after those ticketed for that time board. The two gentlemen who operate the ferry were super friendly and knew lots about the area.

After several good reviews we opted to spend an afternoon on Caladesi Island. It takes some extra effort to get to (Park Entrance Free, Ferry Ride) but is well worth the time; in fact it was the best beach we visited while in Florida.
Because of the staggered ticketing schedule it limits how many people are on the beach and creates a secluded feeling. Warm water, clean white sand and all the [uninhabited] shells you can carry.
After we found a spot and set-​up camp I went trail running and it was a blast. Many of the paths wound back and forth so you couldn’t see more than about 30 feet in front of you. It felt a bit like you were running in a maze of vegetation. Also the terrain changed quickly; sand to pine needles, cacti to forest. If not for the swarms of mosquitoes it would have been ideal. Then again they are a powerful incentive to run faster.
Fun, photos, shells and memories — we highly recommend Caladesi to Dunedin visitors.

Ok anyone out there!!! Beach that has limited traffic and the original Florida feel right in the heart of it all!!! I’ve been coming to Caladesi since I was a baby, before the warnings and back before Clearwater Beach was much more than just a beach. If you want the old school Florida with bugs, snakes, birds, stingrays, and natural life… Then Caladesi is your place!!! Just remember if you go in the shade bring the bug spray, and if you jump in the water expect to meet your local wild life. Caladesi is what I search for everyday, just a little piece of an undisturbed heaven. Tips: Bring a Sharpie, find a shell, write on that shell, explore the beach!!! If you find the trees you will know what I mean. Oh and one other thing I do Caladesi for under $ 5 every time and I live far far away.

Didn’t want to leave!
Absolutely worth the $ 8 park entrance fee & $ 14 ferry ride over. I loved the secluded feel– the beach was wonderful for reading and relaxing. It’s close to Clearwater but you truly feel like you’re miles & miles away from those overloaded shores.
The concession stand was a lifesaver– nothing like being an unprepared tourist and thirsty 2 hours into you 4 hour stay. They had a little of everything.
Next time we plan on bringing a cooler (duh) and renting kayaks to explore. And yes, we are already planning our «next time».

Not worth the money or the aggravation. There are nicer state parks in this area that don’t restrict you to a time slot to get on and off the island. The ferry only holds 48 people at a time. It’s $ 8 to park at honeymoon island. Then $ 14 a person to go over to caladesi and you’re only allowed to stay for 4 hours. I recommended just staying at honeymoon island. Caladesi is a complete tourist trap

Loved this island. You can really on get here by boat. You can take a pedestrian ferry from Honeymoon Island for $ 14 round trip. During the on-​season, the ferry leaves every 30 minutes. When you buy your ticket, you’re also given your return time of 4 hours later. You can try to leave sooner on stand-​by, but you won’t want to. :-)
Once on the island, you’re able to kayak for $ 25, hike a trail, sunbathe on the beach, and collect beautiful shells. There is also a playground, picnic tables, and two bathhouses. There’s also a concession stand to purchase a lunch, snacks and other goods.
On the beach, you can rent beach chairs, umbrellas, and kayaks.
It was absolutely gorgeous here!

This place has a special place in my heart. This is where my hubby proposed to me. Crazy enough we live here now and haven’t been back. You need to take the ferry from honeymoon island to get here. Which we haven’t wanted to pay the extra money, but in time we will. It is $ 8 to enter honeymoon island and then another $ 14 each person round trip on the ferry. Therefore it does add up. You can save a $ 1.00 by going on the caladesi ferry website. who hoo dollar! !
Caladesi was selected America’s Best beach bc of the sand in 2008. That’s a while already.
In my opinion, I would save the money for other fun stuff and go to a different beach that u don’t have to pay all that for the entrance and ferry.
Or don’t listen to me and check it off your to do list and be happy on the beach.

My In-​Laws were in town and since I had never been here we decided to go and I am so happy we did! The beach was stunning! We saw sea turtles, manatees, sting rays, dolphins and lots of fish. We also found some pretty nice sea shells as well. I wish you had more than 4 hours over there but thats ok :)

Awesome beach and wildlife, if it did not cost 14 $ to get here.
We purchased a umbrella and 2 chairs for 25 $ for the afternoon. Was well worth the price and helped keep the temperature down and prevent us from burring. The chairs are a little rough, we had switched them out before any one showed up because they were falling apart.
The beach was a natural beach. It is not raked and cleaned like Clearwater so that means your get sea weed and plant life in the sand. The shelling was decent but nothing to write home about. The water was a lot clearer than Clearwater beach or other beaches in the area. Very nice being able to see to the bottom.
While we were here we saw a couple sting rays, several large fish, a sea turtle (10 feet away) swimming, and 2 dolphins (20 feet away). Made an interesting day!
The gift shop is nice, they serve alcoholic beverages at a premium. The food was generalized grill food, nothing special. The gift shop has a few items but looked a little barren. They did have nice magnets for 5 $ for the fridge to remember the day by.

This place is a hidden gem!!!
Hands down best beach experience I’ve had anywhere in the United States. The beach is a virgin beach, meaning there are no structures and items wash up on the beach as is.
There is a four-​hour time limit on the beach (trust me, it will go by fast and you’ll wish it was longer) and you need to take a ferry as only so many people are allowed here at a time – even better!
This is a wonderful place to discover crabs, sand dollars, and shells (you can take them), and if you forgot anything there is a nice little shop and hotdog stand on the island.
Worth a visit — you absolutely won’t be disappointed!

This was a nice change of pace from the hustle and bustle of Clearwater Beach. The ferry ride over is relaxing and this island is very peaceful. It wasn’t crowded at all the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend and I loved just relaxing on my beach chair under the umbrella.

As a family consisting of 6 people we are always looking for new and fun experiences for our 4 kids… and we found it! Our 3 older kids had an amazing time searching for shells along the beach, while the baby napped to the peaceful sounds of the water! We popped up our beach tent and spent the most wonderful 4 hours there. It was not crowded at all, and we loved that we could let the kids build sand castles and play and not worry about the crowds of people rudely pushing their way past like at regular beaches.
All of the employees there were super polite and helpful. The ferry drivers were informative and really tried to include the kids in the trip to and from.
We didn’t mind paying the $$ to get across since this made sure we could have a relaxing experience without the hassle of all of the crowds. This is definitely a trip we will make every time we r in Fl!

Granted it was a little chilly when we went to Caladesi Island State Park last month, but when we’d had enough… it was enough.
One of the idiosyncrasies of CISP is that you can only get there by Ferry, it leaves every ½ hour, costs $ 14 per adult and you get 4 hours on the island, if you want to leave earlier you can only get on a ferry if there is extra space.
We didn’t take advantage of swimming at the beach, we were there to hike/​walk the trail and get to know the area (also to work off breakfast at Lenny’s) plus, it was little cold.
They warn you about rattlesnakes, but tell you there’s never been an incident. The trail is about three miles, we also walked a section of the beach. It’s a lovely island with some history (it wasn’t always an island) so it’s interesting. As far as hiking goes it’s a well done, easy path. pretty much level all the way. There is plenty of flora, we didn’t see much fauna… someone on the ferry said that they saw an armadillo
The beaches were beautiful and I’m sure that they don’t get nearly as busy as the mainland beaches… It’s kind of a hassle and a rather expensive beach trip (especially for families kids are $ 7 each and Parking is $ 8) to make this a regular go.
The beach that you leave from; Honeymooon State Park also is very nice and doesn’t include the extra ferry time, effort and money.
To me, Caladesi Island State Park is something nice that you do once.