What's on in Clearwater, United States through the year

Peak crowds — Snowbird season, Winter / Christmas break in United States

• Season

  Snowbird season

  5 Jan – 31 MarWinter-sun seasonCrowdedBook early

  Long-stay visitors from the northern states and Canada fill the condos and the early-evening restaurant tables from January. It is the driest, mildest stretch of the year and priced like it.

Still on: Red tide (1 Aug – 28 Feb (usually))

Busy — Snowbird season

Nothing new starts in February.

Still on: Snowbird season (5 Jan – 31 Mar), Red tide (1 Aug – 28 Feb (usually))

Peak crowds — Snowbird season, Spring break

• Season

  Spring break

  1 Mar – 15 AprSchool holidaysCrowdedBook early

  March into early April is the busiest beach stretch of the year, with staggered university and school breaks running back to back. The causeway out to the beach backs up from mid-morning; the trolley does not.

Still on: Snowbird season (5 Jan – 31 Mar)

Busy — Spring break

Nothing new starts in April.

Still on: Spring break (1 Mar – 15 Apr)

Busy — one of its best months for weather

• Nature

  Sea turtle nesting

  1 May – 31 Oct

  Loggerheads nest along the Pinellas beaches from May to the end of October, with hatchlings from midsummer. Beachfront lights are shaded or switched off at night for the duration, which is why the sea front goes dim after dark.

• Season

  Gulf warm enough to swim

  1 May – 15 NovSea warm enough

  The shallow Gulf shelf warms early and holds it late, so the water is comfortable from May into November and bathlike by August. January and February are the two months you would want a wetsuit.

Busy — Summer break in United States, school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it

• Hazard

  Atlantic hurricane season

  1 Jun – 30 Nov

  Officially June to November, with the dangerous weeks from mid-August to early October. Storm surge is the real risk on this low barrier coast, as Helene and Milton showed in 2024, and evacuation orders come by zone. Source ↗

Still on: Sea turtle nesting (1 May – 31 Oct), Gulf warm enough to swim (1 May – 15 Nov)

Busy — Summer break in United States, school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in July.

Still on: Sea turtle nesting (1 May – 31 Oct), Gulf warm enough to swim (1 May – 15 Nov), Atlantic hurricane season (1 Jun – 30 Nov)

Busy — Summer break in United States, school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it

• Hazard

  Red tide

  1 Aug – 28 Feb · usually

  Blooms drift in most often from late summer into winter, killing fish and putting an irritant in the air that makes the beach unpleasant within minutes. It is patchy and moves with the wind, so the county posts beach-by-beach status daily. Source ↗

Still on: Sea turtle nesting (1 May – 31 Oct), Gulf warm enough to swim (1 May – 15 Nov), Atlantic hurricane season (1 Jun – 30 Nov)

Busy — Summer break in United States

Nothing new starts in September.

Still on: Sea turtle nesting (1 May – 31 Oct), Gulf warm enough to swim (1 May – 15 Nov), Atlantic hurricane season (1 Jun – 30 Nov), Red tide (1 Aug – 28 Feb (usually))

Busy — Clearwater Jazz Holiday

• Festival

  Clearwater Jazz Holiday

  15–18 OctMajor festivalCrowded

  Four days in the rebuilt Coachman Park on the waterfront in the middle of October, mixing ticketed headliners with free stages. It marks the end of the hurricane-season lull and the start of the good months. Source ↗

Still on: Sea turtle nesting (1 May – 31 Oct), Gulf warm enough to swim (1 May – 15 Nov), Atlantic hurricane season (1 Jun – 30 Nov), Red tide (1 Aug – 28 Feb (usually))

Busy — Thanksgiving break in United States

Nothing new starts in November.

Still on: Gulf warm enough to swim (1 May – 15 Nov), Atlantic hurricane season (1 Jun – 30 Nov), Red tide (1 Aug – 28 Feb (usually))

Busy — Winter / Christmas break in United States, school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in December.

Still on: Red tide (1 Aug – 28 Feb (usually))