Route #68 Fort DeSoto – Saint Pete Beach – Madeira Beach – Clearwater Beach

This route returns to Pinellas County, on Florida’s west coast, riding along the Gulf of Mexico barrier islands for a total of 66 out-and-back miles. The journey links a nearly continuous chain of small coastal towns where life moves at a very different pace from the state’s large metropolitan centers, passing through beaches, keys, mangrove forests, inlets, and landscapes once inhabited by the Tocobaga people.

The ride begins at Fort DeSoto, a vast historic and natural park surrounding a former military fort used during the Civil War and later reactivated during the Spanish–American War of 1898. Today the site is a national monument and protected recreation area spread across several small islands connected by bridges, combining beaches, mangroves, bike paths, and preserved defensive structures overlooking Tampa Bay.

From there, the route heads north through a long sequence of coastal communities: Saint Pete Beach, Sunset Beach, Treasure Island, Madeira Beach, Redington Beach, North Redington Beach, Redington Shores, Indian Shores, Indian Rocks Beach, Belleair Shore, Belleair Beach, and finally Clearwater Beach. This entire coastline is part of what is known as the Tampa Triangle, a region surrounded by legends of mysterious disappearances and unidentified aerial phenomena.

Throughout the ride, the scenery alternates between old fishing villages, resort developments, wildlife refuges, and scenic causeways that connect protected islands, many of them included within the Pinellas National Wildlife Refuge. Mangroves, shallow bays, white sand beaches, and waterfront neighborhoods provide constant views of the Gulf of Mexico.

One of the most distinctive points is Treasure Island, whose name is tied to a long-standing pirate legend associated with John’s Pass, a channel opened by the great hurricane of 1848. Farther north, Madeira Beach and the Redington communities reflect the explosive growth of coastal tourism during the twentieth century, leading into Clearwater Beach, one of the most visited beach destinations in the state.

The route ends in the heart of Clearwater Beach, surrounded by hotels, marinas, and oceanfront promenades, before returning along the same path to Fort DeSoto. Altogether, this ride offers one of the most complete views of Florida’s Gulf Coast, where military history, coastal culture, modern development, and fragile ecosystems coexist along a single corridor.

This route can be seen in Descubriendo la Florida – Volume 3.