Out the sun: Florida's top 10 gay beach

Contents:

• THE BT GAY-FRIENDLY BEACH ST. PETE/CLEARWATER
• OUT THE SUN: FLORIDA’S TOP 10 GAY BEACH
• EXPLORE GAY ROOMS & RENTALS TREASURE ISLAND
• OUT THE SUN: FLORIDA'S TOP 10 GAY BEACH
•  FLORIDA LBIAN AND GAY BARS, RTRANTS, LODGG, PRI EVENT, BS MAPS
• SUNSET GAY BEACH
• THE WORLD'S MOST GAY-FRIENDLY BEACH CI AND RORTS
• 12 BT GAY BEACH IN FLORIDA YOU SHOULD VIS
• GAY ST PETERSBURG

THE BT GAY-FRIENDLY BEACH ST. PETE/CLEARWATER

Pete/Clearwater has been risg populary as a gay travel statn the last few years, and ’s clear why.

OUT THE SUN: FLORIDA’S TOP 10 GAY BEACH

From gay Florida party statns such as Miami, Key Wt and Fort Lrdale to mellow, seclud spots St. The most popular gay beach Miami is mostly a hangout for men, but you’ll also fd lbians and straights soakg up the sun wh lols. It’s across the street om the Palace Rtrant & Bar, a gay hangout that has been welg sunbathers for the past 25 years.

Bt time to vis: In March, when the Wter Party, the biggt gay beach party North Ameri, tak place. At 2½ long, Smathers is big pared to other beach on this ty island of Key Wt, one of the natn’s top statns for gay travelers.

The most popular gay beach  Fort Lrdale is across the street om the Rz-Carlton and wh blocks of some of the cy’s gay rorts and gutho. One of the wt ast’s premiere gay beach, bohemian Sunset Beach is on the southern tip of St. Bt tim to vis: In October for the Tampa Bay Internatnal Gay and Lbian Film Ftival, or June for St.

EXPLORE GAY ROOMS & RENTALS TREASURE ISLAND

Bt tim to vis: In October for the Tampa Bay Internatnal Gay and Lbian Film Ftival, ; June for St. Pete Beach, the breathtakg, stic North Beach area of this unty park has a northern expanse near the end of the island where gays and lbians ngregate.

There’s an unofficial gay meet-up at Guana’s first beach accs pot, reached by a boardwalk that wds down a 40-foot-tall dune system to a priste stretch of seclud sand. Pensala Beach cy near the Alabama borr may not seem like the most gay-iendly spot, but ’s been a beach getaway for LGBTQ folks om the South for a long time, particularly for Gay Memorial Day Weekend, which started rmally the 1980s and has grown to a huge gatherg, drawg thoands to late-night circu parti wh well-known profsnal DJs and rmal tent parti on the beach. About 20 mut north of South Beach, Hlover Park Beach is one of the bt-known clothg-optnal beach Florida and ’s gay-iendly.

OUT THE SUN: FLORIDA'S TOP 10 GAY BEACH

Only the north part of the 1½-e priste, whe stretch of sand at this gay beach the Miami area is legated for urban nu sunbathers. Stonewall Beach, a swath of sand near the Pompano Beach pier, was unoffilly named by lol gay rints on the 51st anniversary of the Stonewall Rts, a seri of spontaneo monstratns followg police raids New York's Greewich Village 1969. Come here for an LGBTQ-iendly vatn and enjoy a dreamy week at the beach, a fun getaway a walkable, urban gayborhood, or a unique and artsy pe.

It offers everythg a gay would want – a super iendly vibrant LGBTQ muny, glor beach, an excg gay scene, and 's home to the largt gay Pri event all of Florida... This adults-only gay hotel was veloped by signer and lol entreprenr David Fisher, who also lent his talents to the Mari Jean's social hot spots, cludg The Sat Speakeasy, COCKtail St. From private rooms and apartments to LGBTQ-iendly hotels, you have the optn to stay the heart of gay districts as well as other neighborhoods the plac you vis.

A loft Soho, a shared room Barcelona or the Castro, a gay-iendly hotel Le Marais or Chelsea, experience misterb&b all gay travel statns!

 FLORIDA LBIAN AND GAY BARS, RTRANTS, LODGG, PRI EVENT, BS MAPS

The most popular gay beach Miami, 's mostly a hangout for men, but you'll also fd lbians and straights soakg up the sun wh lols. It's across the street om the Palace Rtrant & Bar, a gay hangout that has been welg sunbathers for the past 25 years. At 12th Street and Ocean time to vis: In March, when the Wter Party, the biggt gay beach party North Ameri, tak place.

Smathers Beach, Key WtAt 2½ long, Smathers is big pared to other beach on this ty island, one of the natn's top statns for gay travelers. Sebastian Street Beach, Fort LrdaleThe most popular gay beach Fort Lrdale, 's across the street om the Rz-Carlton and wh blocks of some of the cy's gay rorts and gutho. At Sebastian Street and North Fort Lrdale Beach Drive (A1A) tim to go: In March for PriFt Week; May for Beach Bear Weekend; October, when the Fort Lrdale Gay & Lbian Film Ftival tak place, or June for Stonewall Summer Pri.

Petersburg's Sunset BeachOne of the wt ast's premiere gay beach, bohemian Sunset Beach is on the southern tip of St.

SUNSET GAY BEACH

Gulf Blvd., Treasure time to go: In October for the Internatnal Gay and Lbian Film Ftival or June for St. North Lido Beach, SarasotaThe quiet northern reach of this whe sand key is popular wh gay sunbathers. There's an unofficial gay meet-up at Guana's first beach accs pot, reached by a boardwalk that wds down a 40-foot-tall dune system to a priste stretch of seclud sand.

THE WORLD'S MOST GAY-FRIENDLY BEACH CI AND RORTS

Pensala BeachThis Panhandle cy near the Alabama borr may not seem like the most gay-iendly spot, but 's been a beach getaway for LGBT folks om the South for a long time, particularly for Gay Memorial Day Weekend, which started rmally the 1980s and has grown to a huge gatherg, drawg thoands to late-night circu parti wh well-known profsnal DJs and rmal tent parti on the beach.

The iendlit beach is on County Road 399, two past the Gulf Islands Natnal Seashore to go: May for the Pensala Gay Memorial Day Weekend. About 20 mut north of South Beach, 's the only legal clothg-optnal beach Florida and 's gay-iendly. Although urban statns tend to be most popular wh gay travelers bee of their rich cultural offergs, vibrant nightlife districts, and chic shoppg and dg, a number of the world's most gay-popular ci also enjoy picturque settgs on the water.

12 BT GAY BEACH IN FLORIDA YOU SHOULD VIS

From megaci wh skyscrapers on the ocean to relatively smaller statns on tranquil bays and lak, here's a ndown of the world's 20 bt gay urban beach statns (populatn 150, 000 or greater). Wh outstandg mms, distctive archecture (cludg several treasur by Antoni Gdi) a lively gay nightlife scene centered mostly around the sophistited Eixample district, and an abundance of stylish rtrants and hotels, Barcelona is a terrific statn for urban, yet there's a sweepg and betiful gay beach, Barceloa, jt mut om the cy center. Moreover, the hugely gay-popular beach rort town of Sg is practilly a suburb - 's jt 30 mut away by tra.

Wh cy lims, the bbltone streets of De Waterkant district are led wh gay-popular bs, cludg several fun bars and rtrants. It's jt a short drive south along the ast to vis some of the Southern Hemisphere's most betiful beach, cludg swank Camp Bay, which li the shadows of the Twelve Apostle mountas, and Clifton, which has a scene-y gay beach.

Near the cy's uber-gay Boystown, also known as Lakeview, the GLBT set nverged for many years at Belmont Rocks, an area that no longer exists.

GAY ST PETERSBURG

However, a b farther north, Hollywood (aka Kathy Osterman Beach) is a hot spot for gay sun lovers all summer long.

But this historic, e-iendly, smartly prerved and laid-out cy is one of the most progrsive, gay-welg ci the world. And as 's set on the eastern shore of Zealand Island, on Ørund (a stra that divis the North and Baltic seas), Copenhagen is close to a number of priste, wdswept stretch of sand, cludg such gay hangouts as Bellevue and Ishøj beach. Back the betiful cy center, you'll fd gay bars, snas, clubs, and shops all a pact and walkable area - many are along Studitræ.

For many years known primarily as Florida's "sprg break" pal, Fort Lrdale began an amb transformatn to a more sophistited rort statn startg around the early 1990s, which cid wh efforts to urt gay and lbian travelers. Sce that time, more than a dozen gay men's rorts have opened wh a few blocks of the cy's betiful oceanont beach, as have several luxury high-rise hotels. Fort Lrdale is also close enough to Miami and Palm Beach for quick viss to eher place, makg an ial base for a sunny and relaxg gay vatn.