Snow Shovels Are For Northerners, We Pack Beach Carts

Sunshine feels different when the rest of the country is shoveling snow. We open the map to three Pinellas County beach experiences that locals actually use, comparing the relaxed, Old Florida charm of Madeira Beach near John’s Pass, the calm early-morning rhythm of Treasure Island, and the secluded, history-rich sprawl of Fort De Soto Park. Along the way we share the real logistics—parking that won’t ruin your day, when to arrive for quiet sand, where to grab a post-beach bite, and how to pack so you can stay light and linger longer.

Madeira Beach gets our sunset vote although you can't go wrong anywhere along the Gulf Coast. Park once, roll a beach cart to the sand, and plan a simple picnic as the sky fades. John’s Pass adds personality with Hubbard’s Marina, casual breweries, fishing charters, and mom-and-pop shops that feel like classic Gulf Coast. Treasure Island rewards the early riser with soft sand and easy access to cold drinks or ice cream when you’re done. If you’re eyeing Siesta Key, we talk about when it’s worth it and how to avoid the notorious bridge traffic.

Fort De Soto Park offers something rare so close to the city: space to breathe. Drive through Tierra Verde, pay a modest entry, and find lifeguarded swim areas, a dedicated dog beach, kayak launches, quiet stretches a short walk from the lot, and the 19th‑century fort that anchors the area in real history. It’s a pack-your-cooler, stay-all-day kind of place, where dolphins cruise the shallows and the only agenda is sand, sun, and sea.

Whether you’re planning a winter getaway or scouting neighborhoods, you’ll walk away with local intel you can use: the best timing, gear to bring, hidden comforts nearby, and why a 60-degree day can deliver the best beach moments of the year. If you enjoy the show, hit subscribe, share it with a friend who needs salt air, and leave a quick review—what Gulf Coast spot should we explore next?

Thank you for tuning into "Snapshots Tampa Bay with Candace and Lisa." We're thrilled to share our insights and adventures with you. To keep the conversation going and explore more about Tampa Bay and Central Florida real estate, connect with us on social media and other platforms!

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We look forward to connecting with you and hearing your thoughts. Don’t forget to subscribe, so you never miss an episode. Until next time, keep loving and exploring Tampa Bay!

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:05

Hi everybody, and welcome to Snapchat Tampa Bell with Tampa Family. Get ready to dive into finding a colorful world in the greater Tampa Bay area. Whether you're sorting out a military move, checking out the senior living scene, or just on the hunt for the coolest local spots, let's get started and have some fun.

SPEAKER_01 0:28

Hello there. It's Candace here with Lisa. Hi Lisa. Hey, David.

SPEAKER_02 0:35

Hi, everybody.

SPEAKER_01 0:37

We have to change our intro a little bit.

SPEAKER_00 0:39

We do. We have to change our intro because David has joined our team. He um he blesses us with his presence here in the office. Look, we we had a spreadsheet thing today, and we are so glad that David's here. He's gonna get us all spreadsheet ready.

SPEAKER_01 0:58

We're so happy today. He's helping us streamline something, the military and I was organizing us. I know.

SPEAKER_02 1:04

Can't help it. Just can't help it.

SPEAKER_01 1:06

Well, we are recording this in January. Yes, it's a little cooler this week.

SPEAKER_00 1:12

It's what 65, 70. 65, 70.

SPEAKER_01 1:15

It's actually gonna be pretty cool on Friday. It's only gonna be like 55.

SPEAKER_00 1:18

Oh god, I better take out my sweaters.

SPEAKER_02 1:21

The beaches are empty right now, consequently, which makes it even better.

Florida Winter And Empty Beaches

SPEAKER_01 1:24

It makes it even better. Like, but you can still go get us through the sunset in 60 degree weather. Well sure.

SPEAKER_00 1:31

That's what we're talking about today.

SPEAKER_01 1:32

We're talking about Florida in the winter.

SPEAKER_00 1:34

Florida in the winter beaches. And when everybody else has seven inches, 30 inches, 70 inches of snow. We have sand. We have sand.

SPEAKER_02 1:45

And sun and sun.

SPEAKER_00 1:47

And greenery. Wear my sunglasses all the time.

SPEAKER_02 1:50

Our potted plants are blossoming in our.

SPEAKER_01 1:53

My hydrangea in my backyard. It's in a pot in like a small pot that was from the from the store, the garden uh bought it from. It's outgrown, and I need to find a big pot to put it in because it is just blooming right now.

SPEAKER_00 2:06

So everything is starting to look really beautiful.

SPEAKER_02 2:09

Spring and January. Who knew?

SPEAKER_01 2:10

I know. Only fluoridated. My grass is so green. My husband goes out and loads along. He's like, look how beautiful our grass is. He's from Pittsburgh, so nothing up there is green right now.

SPEAKER_00 2:22

Well, we we're gonna do something a little bit different today. We're each gonna talk about a beach that we like to go to. Our favorite beaches. Our favorite beaches. Now, this is not so the general public makes it crazy busy because we want to keep them our little gems. I don't want them to get busy. But then we should probably not publish this podcast episode. I don't know what we're thinking today. I don't know what we're thinking. I'm look, I've been sick for three weeks, so it's a it's some medicine.

SPEAKER_02 2:54

I guess we're really confident how many people we reach by how many people are gonna show up at the beaches we love to make an appreciable difference.

SPEAKER_01 3:06

Yes. When they get new followers, when we get a whole bunch of followers.

SPEAKER_02 3:11

If you are listening, please join us at all these beaches because we'd love to know we have followers.

SPEAKER_01 3:16

If you see us on the beach, sometimes we're gonna lose see, and they say military people don't have a sense of humor.

SPEAKER_00 3:25

Guys, I am dying over here. I have had this cough.

unknown 3:28

Woo!

SPEAKER_00 3:29

Okay, let's go.

SPEAKER_01 3:30

So why don't you start? Because you lived here the longest out of the three of us.

Why Locals Avoid Clearwater Crowds

SPEAKER_00 3:34

Well, I've lived here the longest, but I also I grew up here.

SPEAKER_01 3:38

Yes.

SPEAKER_00 3:38

Was in Atlanta for 25 years. Came back six and a half years ago. Okay, so there's a beach that I love. And most people who come to Florida, they're like, oh, we're going to Clearwater. It's a great beach. To us as Floridians, Clearwater is a tourist.

SPEAKER_01 3:58

I I don't love it. I don't like the traffic there personally. So we've gone once and I have not been back personally. Okay. So it's great. It's great if you're coming here to visit. They've got so much for you to do for the kids to do. There's so much action there.

Madeira Beach And John’s Pass Highlights

SPEAKER_00 4:13

But somebody that lives here, we're looking to be relaxed. Yes. So the thing that we like to do is we like to go around 4 p.m., get a little bit of the sun, and then we pack sandwiches for a dinner and we stay for sunset. So that is our thing. So it's usually our family, and we just go out there. Um, one of my favorite places is called Madeira Beach. And you um have so many things around there. There's um a marina, which is right across the street. They have a great brewery that's Hubbard's Marina, the the Hubbards family. They're great. You can you can go out on a fishing charter. Really, really great people over there. We definitely need to tag them in this because I would love to get them so much business because they just do a great job. Um, so you have you know the the little inlets and things like that. It's just you can be out there and just dolphins are coming by and you know, all this wildlife, and it's it's more relaxed, family friendly, not as many tourists. You're gonna have to go to public parking and walk your stuff to the beach, get one of those carts with the big wheels and put all your stuff in there. You have to bring your own chairs. There's not people out there, you know, with chairs that you can rent. It's not that type of a place. It's you bring your own stuff. And we just let a lot of the locals go. A lot of the locals go there. Treasure Island is just right next door to it, just south of it. And we'll talk about more about that because that's my favorite area.

SPEAKER_02 5:50

For those of you that like boating, boat watching, boats going in and out of John's Pass. Yeah, John's Pass, the boardwalk right there.

Treasure Island And Early-Morning Beaching

SPEAKER_00 5:56

I mean, that's that's where the brewery is that I love and found that. It's a really awesome place for sure. You know, you have restaurants there that you actually can just drive your boat up. There's a dock, you dock your boat, you walk into the restaurant, then you go back out. Yeah. Um, you actually have restaurants there that if you just caught something, they'll actually cook it for you. Oh, I didn't know that. That's awesome. So just a great little place, cute little shops. If you want to get um like Christmas ornaments that are made out of shells that somebody's made, and you know, mom and pop places are are over there. I just really love the atmosphere. Now, if you want to rent a boat, I will tell you because of the sand in John's past, they they have to take care of a couple things there. But make sure you're an experienced boater and you know what's going on over there if you're going to take a boat out, because you could bottom out your boat because of with the storms, they're trying to get it taken care of. Storms last year, there's a lot of dredging that you have to do. But other than that, just one of my favorite areas, old beach town. Great. Like what you think of as like an old Florida beach. Yeah, yeah. And like I said, the sunsets are unbelievable. And I will tell you this too, and this is a Florida thing for you people who want to come down, maybe move down here. The best 4th of July I ever spent was on a boat about a mile out, right there at Madeira Beach. Turn the boat around. You can see fireworks from Citrus County all the way down to South St. Pete, and you see the fireworks going all along the coast. Oh, that's cool. It is amazing. We do a lot of things. You have a lot of parades on the boats, you have a lot of things, but that was the best 4th of July that I ever had because you got to see it all just one.

SPEAKER_01 7:53

That's that's pretty cool.

SPEAKER_00 7:54

That's pretty cool. It's really, really wonderful. So that's Madeira Beach. Please visit Hubbard's Marina, please go to John's Pass. It's it's it's fun.

SPEAKER_01 8:03

I've taken family to Madeira, we love it. They have a lot of festivals there. They do. We've gone to a seafood festival they do there annually, and yeah, it's great. That's great. Okay. So since you mentioned Treasure Island, that's I live south of you. You live north. So I live down in the northern Manatee County. So I'm right over the bridge from St. Pete area. So we tend to go over to either Pasagrill. I love Pasigrill or Treasure Island. Um, there's a and I'm not gonna give it away because it is a little secret, but there's a little spot on Treasure Island that we really, really love. Um, and it's quieter, and there is public parking there, but there's not a lot of parking, so it doesn't get overrun.

SPEAKER_00 8:42

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 8:42

Um, and just so you know, most of our beach areas around here, you do have to pay for parking. It's not really expensive. You can pay for an hour, you can pay for three hours, you can extend it if you decide to stay longer. We're the opposite of you, though. I mean, I love a good sunset, and we do go in occasionally for sunset, but we like to go early in the morning and bring our lunch and then leave before the afternoon crowds and the kids come because usually when people with kids they don't get there first thing in the morning, so it's a little quieter for us because we don't have kids. So I I enjoy going early in the morning and before it gets too too hot. I'm I'm in the past menopause stage and I get too hot and flush. But I love Treasure Island, I like the feel of the sand there. Um, I love the uh there are closed restaurants, like if we want to afterwards go get, you know, have a beer, get some food.

SPEAKER_00 9:30

They have a great little um um ice cream shop right across the street from the beach there, too.

SPEAKER_01 9:36

Yeah, they have a couple of and then caddies is there. Um they did have some damage during the storms, but they are back open again.

SPEAKER_00 9:42

The storms that were in 2024. Yes. Just so everybody knows. Yes, yes.

SPEAKER_01 9:46

So so yeah, it's it's it's our favorite place to go. Um, we mostly go to Treasure Island, but then occasionally we do head over to Paso Girl. And a lot of people in my area like to drive down to like the Siesta Key area. I prefer the Treasure Island St. Pete area just because there is more restaurants or activities that I can do afterwards if I want as we go.

SPEAKER_00 10:08

And Siesta Key with the bridges that go over to Siesta Key. It's like two crazy.

SPEAKER_01 10:13

It's it's the traffic. I just beautiful I'm I'm it's beautiful, but I'm going to relax. And if I have to leave and I'm sitting in traffic for an hour and a half just to get off the island, I'm not interested.

Siesta Key Pros, Cons, And Traffic

SPEAKER_00 10:23

I think with Siesta Key, it's a great place to vacation. So if you're getting a place to stay, yes, that was spend the night out there.

SPEAKER_01 10:31

Correct. It's beautiful there. I love Siesta Key. I just don't like the getting in and getting out. Yeah. Especially this time of year with the snowbirds. We love the snowbirds. I mean, our our economy would not be what it is if we didn't have our snowbirds.

SPEAKER_00 10:43

So we we miss our Canadians though. We really miss our Canadians.

SPEAKER_01 10:47

We love snowbirds, so I'm not saying I just I try to avoid it during that season just because it's a little too crowded for me.

SPEAKER_00 10:54

Yeah. Great. I will say this too, Siesta Key. Great place to schedule a photographer to do family pictures.

SPEAKER_01 11:01

I actually have a friend who's a fantastic photographer and she does a lot of photography. I don't have to tag her in here and just put her in the she's fantastic and she does a lot of work down there. And then I know, David, you go out near me as well.

unknown 11:14

Yeah.

Fort De Soto Park: History And Seclusion

SPEAKER_02 11:14

One of your favorite beaches. A little bit closer to St. Pete. So interestingly enough, kind of in the middle of Madeira Beach and Siesta Key. And you know, if you go a little bit north, you've got Longboat Key and Anna Maria Island. But as you cross into really the entrance to Tampa Bay, helps that I have the map out right. But no, as you cross, as you cross north past the entrance to Tampa Bay, you've got this point. And uh out there lies Fort DeSoto Park. It's great, and it is fantastic, but it is unlike just about every other beach really in the area. Um, what makes it that way is you have to drive through a really, really beautiful, small, very niche area called Tierra Verde, which is gorgeous. Beautiful homes and condos and townhomes and stuff out there. But as you cross into uh that area, you go southbound, right to the north side of where Tampa Bay opens up, um, is Fort DeSoto. Fort DeSoto has history with US forces all the way back to 1849. They actually began construction on the main fort in 1898 using a concrete seashell aggregate as the basis of the fort. It was completed in 1906, and then from there, throughout the years, um cannons and mortars went in and out of there. They they had a quarantine area. So there's tons of history with this fort. But at this really geographically strategic location is beautiful beaches. The great part of Fort DeSoto is unlike some of the more crowded areas. If you're willing to drive a little bit and get to the outreach barrier island here, um it's about 45, depending on traffic, 50 minutes from the South Tampa area, south of Tampa Bay, kind of the downtown area, but it's worth the extra 15-20 minutes. Clearwater Beach, St. Pete Beach, Madeira Beach, they're awesome. They're very accessible. Fort DeSota's a little bit further out. What Fort DeSoto has that's wonderful for us with little kids is you go out there for the beach. There's no hotels, there's no concessions, there's no vendors, there's no, there's a small little concession stand here and there, but for the most part, you're going for the beach experience. And it is very, I would say, for being so close to the city, so close to St. Pete, it's pretty isolated.

SPEAKER_01 13:28

It is pretty isolated.

SPEAKER_02 13:29

You do have to pay to get out there. It's well worth it.

SPEAKER_01 13:31

It's not any different than paying for parking.

SPEAKER_02 13:33

Not any different than paying for parking. In fact, it may be even cheaper.

SPEAKER_01 13:36

I think it is.

SPEAKER_02 13:37

And your heartache is going to be less because you're going to pull into the parking lot, find a spot, and off you go. Um, it's really, really awesome though. There's an area called Dog Beach where you can actually bring uh dogs. So for those of you that don't have kids that have dogs, um, you can bring your dogs out there in some areas, but it's uh very expansive. Uh if you want to walk a little bit from the parking lot, you can get a really private slice of the beach. Um, really, really beautiful place. Uh awesome because you there's uh access points for kayaking, there's access points for all sorts of fishing and things like that out there as well. Um, but it is really just what I think of as the Florida Beach experience.

SPEAKER_01 14:15

It's like a little island.

SPEAKER_02 14:16

It is an island. I mean it is a little builder island.

SPEAKER_01 14:18

And I love that you bought I have never been. Oh, we should have been. And that's a scene trip there.

SPEAKER_00 14:23

Yeah, I would love that. Yeah, I'd love to get that. That's great.

SPEAKER_01 14:25

The history there is amazing. Like we walked around the fort.

SPEAKER_00 14:28

You can go and tour, like maybe we should do a video and that'd be one of our first things that goes onto YouTube. We can put this with it and go out and take a video. That'd be unbelievable.

SPEAKER_02 14:38

But for those of you listening right now, look, pull out your phone, put it in Fort DeSoto Park, and you'll see exactly what I'm talking about.

SPEAKER_01 14:44

And there is a lot of history. You actually taught me more history than I didn't know. Of course you did, because you're the military guy, so you know everything about the history of Fort DeSoto Park.

SPEAKER_02 14:51

I mean, it's it's really cool, uh, the history of it, but I I think the the small degree of desolation in what is a pretty expansive and very, very crowded uh metro area, it's really nice to get out there and you'll see dolphins and it's it's really awesome. There are lifeguards in some of the spots. So it isn't that isolated that you're that you're gonna feel you know at risk.

SPEAKER_01 15:17

Yeah, it's just if you've got a family, you want to find where the areas that they're just to have.

Logistics: Parking, Dogs, Pavilions, Kayaks

SPEAKER_02 15:22

Really, really great place. Um, very safe. We bring our our seven and ten-year-old out there, and we we just have a great time. We we really enjoy the beach, it's beautiful, sand is beautiful. So I you know I can't say enough about that particular area. Um the cool part is in Tierra Verde, there is some little sandwich shops and little places that you can go and get a bite either on your way into the beach or off the beach uh there. And then if you're into kayaking and things like that, that like I said, there's access to the colour.

SPEAKER_01 15:49

I think a lot of the kayak companies go out of there too, and it can take you to some of the like isolated islands that aren't even off of there that you can't get to by road.

SPEAKER_02 15:57

Um it's it's really, really uh a really cool place.

SPEAKER_01 16:00

So I no, I do. I I agree with that. I think it's a great spot. I just I tend to like access to more food.

SPEAKER_02 16:06

Yeah. So if you want to, but if you want to pack a cooler and you don't plan on doing anything but putting your toes in the sand, getting a swim and sitting out there for for an hour, uh maybe maybe not worth the the drive 45 minutes to an hour, depending on where you're gonna be there all day long. But if you're gonna spend all day, set up a canopy, you know, definitely bring a wagon.

SPEAKER_01 16:24

There's a lot of people that do like family reunions there too.

SPEAKER_02 16:26

There's pavilions that you can rent. Uh there's annual passes that you can get. Uh, I've seen a lot of uh team building things out there where people rent the pavilions, stuff like that. But uh really I I happen to think that's a little it's a great spot.

SPEAKER_01 16:38

It's a really good spot. I agree. Well, and like you said, it's got some of the history there, so you can even like if you're done with the beach, you can go tour the history of the fort in the It's worth the extra 20 minutes to have a little bit more.

SPEAKER_02 16:49

I agree.

Wrap-Up And Invitation To Connect

SPEAKER_00 16:50

That's great. Yeah, I agree. Oh my gosh. It's so cool that we have three different places too. Yeah, I know, you know, all with different things with different things to do. You do the morning, I do the evening. He's down in the all day long and everyone. I love it. Well, guys, we hope that you've gotten some great information and it inspires you to come down and join us down here. Even if it's just for a visit. Yes. But if you decide that you want to move here, well, get in touch with us anyway, because we would like to meet people.

SPEAKER_01 17:20

Yeah, we love to meet people. We don't you don't have to be buying a house down here. We'll we'll go hang with you at the beach. Totally. Let's go. I'm game. Well, until next time, take a deep breath, enjoy the journey, and know that we'll get through this together.

SPEAKER_00 17:34

Yes, we will. And we'll be on the beach sipping our mocktails or cocktails. Yes. Absolutely.

SPEAKER_01 17:39

Absolutely. Absolutely, with my sun hat on, protecting my skin.

SPEAKER_00 17:42

Oh, I don't know. I had done. Here we go. Bye. Bye. Thanks so much for joining Snapshot's Tampa Bay. Hit subscribe to catch our latest episodes and let us know in the comments what you want us to explore next. Keep loving the Tampa Bay vibes. See you guys soon.