Belleair Beach is a small, mostly residential city on Sand Key, the Pinellas County barrier island, between the Gulf of Mexico and the Intracoastal Waterway. It runs about two miles along Gulf Boulevard, between Clearwater's section of Sand Key to the north and Indian Rocks Beach to the south. The Belleair Causeway connects it to the mainland at Belleair Bluffs, and Clearwater Beach is about 5 miles north by road.
Beaches and parks in Belleair Beach
The city has roughly 4,500 feet of Gulf beach, reached by four beach accessways. Morgan Park, at 2650 Gulf Boulevard, is the city's public-access beach park, with metered parking. The shoreline was rebuilt in fall 2025 with new sand and new dune plantings through Pinellas County's nourishment project after the 2024 hurricanes. In all, the city maintains eleven public parks, including two tennis courts and a beach area by the causeway.
Belleair Shore
This page also covers the Town of Belleair Shore, a separate municipality incorporated in 1955 that sits within Belleair Beach's stretch of the island. It is a narrow strip of Gulf-front homes west of Gulf Boulevard. Its beach is private, because the property deeds run past the seawalls to the water.
Boating and getting around from Belleair Beach
On the Intracoastal side, the city runs a 20-slip municipal marina, leased through yearly license agreements. The Belleair Causeway's high-level bridge, opened in 2009, is 3,350 feet long with 72 feet of clearance, so boats pass without drawbridge openings and car traffic never waits for one. Across the causeway, Belleair Bluffs has shops and restaurants on West Bay Drive and the county's Belleair Causeway Boat Ramp. Heading north, Gulf Boulevard runs through Clearwater's part of Sand Key and over the Sand Key Bridge to Clearwater Beach. Heading south, it continues to Indian Rocks Beach and the other Gulf beach towns.
Homes in Belleair Beach
The city has about 0.46 square miles of land, and about 72% of its total area is water. Nearly every home is close to either the Gulf or the Intracoastal. Before the 1940s the island here was undeveloped and was used as a bombing range for military pilots during World War II. Home building began around 1946 and 1947, and the city was chartered on March 16, 1950. Land use is almost entirely residential, with homes on both the Gulf side and the Intracoastal side of Gulf Boulevard rather than hotels or commercial strips.
