Dunedin: "The Best Walking Town in America"

Settled by Scottish families more than 100 years ago, today Dunedin is a bustling beach community of nearly 37,000 year-round residents. Proud of its Scottish roots (listen for bagpipe music as you stroll the streets), and for the well-deserved title of “Best Walking Town in America,” Dunedin is a unique community brimming with history, a bustling downtown, and some of the most breathtaking landscapes on the Gulf Coast.

One of the few remaining open waterfront communities in the region, Dunedin is free of high-rise development on the beach, offering beautiful views of St. Joseph Sound, Clearwater Beach, and Caladesi Island from the one mile stretch known as Edgewater Drive.

America's "Best Beaches"
Caladesi Island is home to one of two state parks within the city limits of Dunedin – Caladesi Island State Park (ranked first among Dr. Beach's America's Best Beaches List for 2008) and Honeymoon Island, home to one of the few remaining virgin slash pine forests in South Florida.

Safe havens for native animals and wildlife, these state parks offer visitors close encounters with nature as well as some of the very best beaches anywhere. Whether you'd like to snorkel, fish, swim, watch the birds, or simply lounge on the beach, Dunedin's state parks offer the best of it all. It’s worth noting that Dunedin is also the only city in Florida with two island state parks within its limits!

You can reach Honeymoon Island by car using the Dunedin Causeway and Caladesi Island by public ferry or private boat.

The Pinellas Trail
The Fred E. Marquis Pinellas Trail is a paved pathway that runs from Tarpon Springs south to St. Petersburg, offering a means of exercise and transportation to over 90,000 walkers, runners, bicyclists, skaters, wheelchair riders, and others, every month!

Launched in the late 1980s, The Pinellas Trail Project called for the eventual conversion of 47 miles of former Orange Belt Railway lands into a 15-foot-wide path for outdoor enthusiasts, athletes, and car-free commuters. The pathway runs like an artery through the heart of Pinellas County – and Dunedin – earning our community the title of “Best Walking Town in America” by Magazine. Currently 34 miles long, The Trail is dotted with bicycle and skate rental shops, small restaurants, convenience markets, and ice cream shops.

Downtown Dunedin
Within a matter of a few short years, Dunedin’s slouching economy saw a vast improvement thanks to business brought in by the Pinellas Trail. Downtown Dunedin has seen a great renewal as well, including the addition and improvement of countless shops, restaurants, antique stores, churches, and community events, especially on Main Street. From Scottish imports, one-of-a-kind stained glass, and gourmet cooking classes, to bicycle rentals, pubs, and specialty toy and candy stores, Main Street is brimming over with things to explore and experience.

At the end of the street you’ll find the Dunedin Marina. A popular hub for boaters and sailors, the Marina is considered one of the best munincipal marinas in Southern Florida.