A Weekend in Dunedin 2018

Its that time of year again on the West Coast of Florida. Time to get your riding in before it gets way too hot and everyone goes into hibernation. 

Around this time last year, we decided we needed a break from the hustle and bustle of Tampa and head over to Dunedin for a weekend of fun. If you're local, it's about 45 min Northwest of Tampa near the ocean, but away from the crowds of the coast. For those of you that live outside of Florida, fly into Tampa or St Pete (West coast is the best coast), drive 30 min Northwest.

Dunedin is known for 4 things; it's small-town feel, it's spring training baseball (Blue Jays), it's breweries, and the bike trail (Pinellas Trail) running through it. The last two are our reasons for heading over.  Breweries right in the bike trail?...yes, please.

The bike trail actually begins in St Pete downtown goes through Clearwater, then Dunedin, and ends in Tarpon Springs. The trial is pretty much flat and has plenty of vegetation to provide some shade along the way. Dunedin is at just about the halfway point of the trail, but its the center of brewing activity. Also, Dunedin is pretty much the only place where you can grab a bite to eat without diverting some distance off the trail.

Tip: It can get pretty hot and humid here in Florida, the best time to hit the trail is between late October and early May. Expect to see a lot more activity on the trail during these months.

Where to stay? Dunedin doesn't have very many hotels. There's the usual chain hotel (Holiday Inn?) and one on the Ocean...not that great, but pricey because it's on the water. We're a bit more adventurous than others so we opted to go old school Florida and stay at the Palm Court Motel right across from the trail.

What a find. The Palm Court is a well-maintained slice of the ’50s. There are very few rooms (probably less than 50), all in a row with a sitting patio spanning across the front of the entire structure.

The rooms are updated but modest with a comfortable bed and a little kitchenette.

There is also a pool and a separately owned restaurant on the property.

The owner is pleasant and will offer suggestions for daily activities. He also has bikes for use/rental in the event you didn't bring your own. If you're adventurous, give this place a shot. The motel is just North of Dunedin about 2 miles and right by the turn to Caladesi Island.

We arrived on Saturday mid-morning, offloaded our luggage and bikes then hit the trial immediately. It was pretty hot out by this time so we went North heading towards the nearest brewery for some liquid relief. This place is right off the trail on the right if you're going North. There's a bike rack to lock up your bikes and an outdoor patio space with some community seating. This place is not big, in fact, you walk right through the brewery on your way into the tasting room. The variety of beers is great and always rotating. Do the usual and get a sampler before you dive right into your first pint. Goes easy though, the next brewery is only a few blocks up on the right.

This brewery has quite a bit more space and has a stage for bands or Karaoke, video games for the kids and a really cool view for the trail in the brewery. From here you can chill and drink while watching the cyclists, runners and walkers go by. Bike racks are out front.

At this point, if you continue North you'll pass an animal rescue facility with plenty of exotic animals backing right up to the trail. However, you ride quite a while before you get to another destination for a break, so make sure you have water. The trail ends at Tarpon Springs. If you haven't been here before, it's known for having the largest Greek population in Florida. They came for the fishing and the sponge trade originally and turned this area into an exact replica of their hometown fishing village. This means plenty of choices for some outstanding Greek restaurants and pastries.

Our day did not include riding this far North. Instead, we opted to visit a couple bars across from the trail and have some outstanding barbecue. The bars were typical West coast Florida bars, a little bakery (ZZ Top would fit right in) with nice patios to sit out on and cheap cold beer. Then we went over to a new barbecue joint for some brisket nachos. We were pleasantly surprised.

After this, we headed back to the motel for a dip in the pool before getting ready to go out for the evening. There might have been a little nap in there as well.