[chacam]

We are planning on a small group trip to the Clearwater Beach area on Tuesday. We are bringing picnic lunches and snacks and want to spend some time on the beach and the gals want to do some shopping. Has anyone done anything like this? What is the best way to get there? Are there any areas that might be preferred over others? How about parking? How about the Pier 60 area? What else to do while there?

[bimmertl]

Plenty of parking on the beach. Lot's of small tourist type shops along the beach area. In the actual city of Clearwater there is a Steinmart but that's about it for shopping.

Rather than bringing picnic lunches, head for Frenchy's on the beach. Great location and great food and drinks.

http://www.frenchysonline.com/rock_index.html

Make sure you get to the Frenchy's Rockaway Grill located right on the beach. There are 3 or 4 Frenchy's in Clearwater Beach but only one actually on the beach. It's just north of the main shopping area across the street from a small park. It's on the Gulf.

Here's their main home page with some directions and showing all their Clearwater locations.

http://www.frenchysonline.com/index.html

[Mudder]

I agree with the above post ! Frenchy's on the beach is a must. Clearwater is a great beach and the Pier 60 is the area to be in. To get there take 75 to 275 and follow signs to 60. I would try to avoid the 275and 60 area from 1:45 to about 9 AM....it's crazy traffic then. If you leave TV about 8 AM you shouldn't run into traffic issues. leave there by 3-3:30 PM and you'll miss the traffic craziness that goes on in the afternoon. Have a great day !