North of Indian Rocks Beach and South of Clearwater Beach, just off the Belleair Bridge in Belleair Beach is a spacious, off leash dog beach, the Belleair Causeway Boat Ramp Dog Beach. Crossing the bridge as if you are heading to the mainland, visitors will find the turn for the beach just before the end of the bridge. Wind your way through the parking lot, past the boaters pulling out for an afternoon of fun, and circle through as if you are exiting the lot, and there, on the right, just before the exit, is the dog beach.
Payton had never been to the beach before, so on a lazy afternoon during our recent vacation, we were excited for her first trip there. I imagined that she would be cautious of the water at first, maybe dipping in a paw or two as the water lapped at her feet for the very first time; then, after a few minutes of getting used to it, she would dive right in, swimming happily in the calm, shallow water.
I was wrong. Very, very wrong.
When we arrived at the beach, Payton was beyond excited to explore the area. She ran down the steep drop off to the path that wound through the trees. And stopped. There were smells, smells everywhere! Payton stopped and smelled, and moved a foot, and smelled a branch, and then moved on to the next branch, and the next, and then the next. It took awhile for her to move beyond the trees to start exploring the beach.
The beach is a small, quiet area, and not at all like it’s neighboring Indian Rocks Beach or Clearwater Beach. The stretch of sand is narrow and long, and the sand coarser and a little rough. Patches of sea grass dotted the shore as well as large swaths of the water’s floor. Payton didn’t seem to mind though as she abandoned smelling the trees in favor of trotting down the sand.
We were quickly greeted by a friendly dog that was fishing with his dad. After spotting Payton, the dog quickly ran over to say “hello.” We noticed that the playful pup was wearing dog water shoes, which we assumed was to protect his paws from the sand. Our new friend was enjoying the off-leash rule, and decided to join our adventure for awhile.
After a few minutes of frolicking, Payton was ready to continue walking along the shore. After a few minutes of gentle coaxing, I was finally able to get her to step into the water. And then, she stepped out of the water. After more coaxing, she cautiously waded a little farther out. And then, back to the shore. We continued this for awhile, until the water was finally grazing the bottom of her tummy. A stick floated by, and I tossed it a few feet away, to see if it would spark any interest to retrieve it. Instead of bounding after it, she lazily watched it float away. We stayed there for awhile, letting her relax in the warm, calm water. I continued to try and coax her to try to swim, but she was only willing to lose her footing briefly, barely floating for a moment. And with that, she was done, ready to head back to the shore.
She was content to play in the sand, pausing to throw her head into the air and take in the smells of the salty water. While I was disappointed that Payton wasn’t going to be a water baby like other dogs that I had, she found other pleasures at the beach that made for an afternoon of fun.
When the shadows started growing long, we decided it was time to return to our condo. We made the short stroll back to our car, had some water, toweled off, and were ready for a nap.
While the beach is off-leash, the parking lot and boat launch is close by and fairly busy. As Payton is not fully trained off-leash, at the last minute I decided to keep it on her just to be safe. As I wasn’t expecting this, I had left her harness back at the condo. Next time, I’ll make sure to bring that. I’m also going to look at an extra long leash which may make frolicking easier for Payton.
If you’re looking to share a day at the beach with your four-legged friends, pack a few towels and head over to the Belleair Causeway Boat Ramp Dog Beach.