Fort Desoto Park, Florida
On this particular winter vacation, our family opted for jet skis over snow skis and was happy not to wait in long lift lines. We may be trading our snow skis for water skis next year as well!
Our Clearwater Beachfront condo was on Sand Key, just outside Clearwater Beach, Florida and a few minutes from two of the top 10 best beaches in the US: #3 Fort Desoto Park and #8 Caladesi Island State Park. We experienced the best December weather in the country with pure blue skies and highs in the upper 70′s (one day it got to 81). The beach was clean and the sand was like fine powdered sugar. In other words, it was perfect!
Island Way Grill
We did everything from feeding Alligators to Parasailing & rented jet skis directly off the beach just steps from the Sand Key State Park. Having jet skied in California, ocean water in the face can be quite cold even in the summer. This, surprisingly, is not the case in December when jet skiing in Clearwater Beach, Florida. Decembers mild humidity made for a perfect air temperature and the spray of the ocean was invigoratingly refreshing. The large ocean shelf off the Florida’s gulf coast reduces the chop and tends to keep the waves perfect for jet skiing and even more perfect for swimming. During our stay, there were several times when the ocean was like glass and calm, allowing for some awesome jet skiing donuts and spins. Florida law provides that if you are at least 14 years of age and pass a test online, you can be certified to legally drive a jet ski. This was great news for our 14 year old son and gave his parents a glimpse of his car driving future!
After a day at the Beach, there’s nothing better than eating conch fritters and fresh grilled grouper stuffed with crab. One of the best restaurants (only five minutes from our beachhouse vacation rental!) was the Island Way Grill. It’s worth the wait if you want to eat outside on the bay.
If your next winter vacation plans include spending hours in traffic to drive to the ski lifts or potentially getting stuck on a plane waiting to de-ice, I would highly recommend that you consider finding that perfect Clearwater Beach house vacation rental and book a flight! Your snow skis might become outdated before you know it!”
- Beachhouse.com’s own Ski Beach Bum