Sand Key Beach

This beautiful park has two distinct areas—a beach and a park. In the park proper are two picnic shelters with grills, a playground, restroom and a dog park. Grills, picnic tables, and water fountains are but a few amenities.Sand Key Park houses the base of operations for the artificial reef program, an interdepartmental cooperation program to build a reef in the Gulf. Sand Key Park’s natural communities include a beach where sea turtles annually deposit eggs. The nearby Clearwater Aquarium takes responsibility for these nests and keeps statistics.Sand Key Park was opened to the public August 1984. Ninety-five acres are located on Sand Key, a barrier island between the Gulf of Mexico and the Florida mainland. Clearwater Pass, leading from the Gulf to the Intracoastal waterway, separates the park from the popular resort area of Clearwater Beach. The park welcomes more than one million each year.