What are the best driving roads near Tampa?

Top picks near Tampa: Sunshine Skyway Bridge, Courtney Campbell Causeway, Gulf Boulevard, Pinellas beaches, Pinellas Bayway to Fort De Soto Park, SR 24 to Cedar Key. Each one is here for the drive and the scenery.

How long are the best driving roads near Tampa?

Sunshine Skyway Bridge: 4.14 miles. Courtney Campbell Causeway: 9.9 miles, Clearwater to Tampa. Gulf Boulevard, Pinellas beaches: 15 miles. Pinellas Bayway to Fort De Soto Park: 9.96 miles on SR 679.

When is the best time to drive these roads?

Sunshine Skyway Bridge: Open year round. Check FL511 before you go during hurricane season, June 1 to November 30. Courtney Campbell Causeway: Open year round. Check FL511 before you go during hurricane season, June 1 to November 30. Gulf Boulevard, Pinellas beaches: Open year round. Check FL511 before you go during hurricane season, June 1 to November 30. Pinellas Bayway to Fort De Soto Park: Open year round. Check Pinellas County park updates before you go. SR 24 to Cedar Key: Open year round. Check FL511 before you go during hurricane season, June 1 to November 30.

What's the best app to track a drive near Tampa?

Open Road records your drive and saves it to your drive log with the route on a map, the distance and the time. It is on iPhone and Android.

Best driving roads near Tampa

Tampa Bay is flat, and its drives are bridges and causeways over open water plus the beach road on the Gulf barrier islands. For a longer day, SR 24 runs north of the bay to the small island town of Cedar Key.

1. Sunshine Skyway Bridge (I-275)

Sunshine Skyway Bridge stretching across lower Tampa Bay with its cable-stayed center span, ibises on the flats in front — Photo: qwesy qwesy, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Cable-stayed span over lower Tampa Bay with 181 ft of ship clearance.

I-275 and US 19 leave St. Petersburg and cross lower Tampa Bay on long beam bridges either side of a tall cable-stayed main span. The road lands in Manatee County near Terra Ceia.

Length

4.14 miles

Drive time

about 15 min

Best time to go: Open year round. Check FL511 before you go during hurricane season, June 1 to November 30.

Map of Sunshine Skyway Bridge (I-275) from St. Petersburg (I-275 near Pinellas Point) to Terra Ceia, Manatee County — Route: St. Petersburg (I-275 near Pinellas Point) to Terra Ceia, Manatee County, about 13.3 mi. Map © Mapbox © OpenStreetMap Improve this map

Sources: Length · Best time. Along the way. Drive time is the route time for the mapped route without stops, from Mapbox.

2. Courtney Campbell Causeway (SR 60)

Palm-lined Courtney Campbell Causeway running beside Old Tampa Bay on a bright day — Photo: Andrew Heneen, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

SR 60 runs low across Old Tampa Bay between Clearwater and Tampa.

SR 60 crosses Old Tampa Bay on the causeway from eastern Clearwater to Rocky Point island and on to the mainland of western Tampa. It is the northernmost crossing of Old Tampa Bay and has a paved trail alongside.

Length

9.9 miles, Clearwater to Tampa

Drive time

about 15 min

Best time to go: Open year round. Check FL511 before you go during hurricane season, June 1 to November 30.

Map of Courtney Campbell Causeway (SR 60) from Clearwater (Gulf to Bay Boulevard) to Rocky Point, Tampa — Route: Clearwater (Gulf to Bay Boulevard) to Rocky Point, Tampa, about 9.3 mi. Map © Mapbox © OpenStreetMap Improve this map

Sources: Length · Best time. Along the way. Drive time is the route time for the mapped route without stops, from Mapbox.

3. Gulf Boulevard (SR 699), Pinellas beaches

John's Pass drawbridge carrying Gulf Boulevard over the pass between Madeira Beach and Treasure Island — Photo: Mykhaylovdimitriy, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Beach-town road along the Pinellas barrier islands, over the John's Pass drawbridge.

SR 699, known as Gulf Boulevard and Blind Pass Road, runs 15 miles up the Pinellas County barrier islands from the Pinellas Bayway in St. Pete Beach to Indian Rocks Beach. It crosses John's Pass on a drawbridge between Treasure Island and Madeira Beach.

Length

15 miles

Drive time

about 40 min

Best time to go: Open year round. Check FL511 before you go during hurricane season, June 1 to November 30.

Map of Gulf Boulevard (SR 699), Pinellas beaches from St. Pete Beach (Pinellas Bayway) to Indian Rocks Beach (SR 688) — Route: St. Pete Beach (Pinellas Bayway) to Indian Rocks Beach (SR 688), about 15.2 mi. Map © Mapbox © OpenStreetMap Improve this map

Sources: Length · Best time. Along the way. Drive time is the route time for the mapped route without stops, from Mapbox.

4. Pinellas Bayway to Fort De Soto Park (SR 682 / SR 679)

Bayway bridges and causeways out to the five islands of Fort De Soto Park.

The Pinellas Bayway (SR 682) leaves St. Petersburg near I-275 and crosses the entrance of Boca Ciega Bay to Isla del Sol, where SR 679 turns south over two bridges to Tierra Verde. The two-lane southern half ends in Fort De Soto Park, 1,136 acres on five connected islands.

Length

9.96 miles on SR 679

Drive time

about 25 min

Best time to go: Open year round. Check Pinellas County park updates before you go.

Map of Pinellas Bayway to Fort De Soto Park (SR 682 / SR 679) from St. Petersburg (SR 682 near I-275) to Fort De Soto Park — Route: St. Petersburg (SR 682 near I-275) to Fort De Soto Park, about 9.9 mi. Map © Mapbox © OpenStreetMap Improve this map

Sources: Length · Best time. Along the way 1 · Along the way 2. Drive time is the route time for the mapped route without stops, from Mapbox.

5. SR 24 to Cedar Key

Two-lane SR 24 running straight through tall pines toward Cedar Key under a clear blue sky — Photo: Ebyabe, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Two-lane road through wildlife lands, island-hopping into the Gulf town of Cedar Key. It is about 2 h 20 min from Tampa to the Otter Creek start, so make it a long day.

SR 24 leaves US 19 at Otter Creek and heads southwest through Rosewood, running between the Cedar Keys National Wildlife Refuge and Waccasassa Bay Preserve State Park. It skips over Jackson Island and Sunset Island before ending as D Street in Cedar Key.

Length

about 21 mi as mapped

Drive time

about 25 min

Best time to go: Open year round. Check FL511 before you go during hurricane season, June 1 to November 30.

Map of SR 24 to Cedar Key from Otter Creek (US 19) to Cedar Key — Route: Otter Creek (US 19) to Cedar Key, about 21.2 mi. Map © Mapbox © OpenStreetMap Improve this map

Sources: Best time. Along the way. Drive time is the route time for the mapped route without stops, from Mapbox.

Track your next drive near Tampa

Open Road keeps every drive: the route on a map, the time and the distance. On iPhone and Android.

Questions, answered

What are the best driving roads near Tampa?: Top picks near Tampa: Sunshine Skyway Bridge, Courtney Campbell Causeway, Gulf Boulevard, Pinellas beaches, Pinellas Bayway to Fort De Soto Park, SR 24 to Cedar Key. Each one is here for the drive and the scenery.
How long are the best driving roads near Tampa?: Sunshine Skyway Bridge: 4.14 miles. Courtney Campbell Causeway: 9.9 miles, Clearwater to Tampa. Gulf Boulevard, Pinellas beaches: 15 miles. Pinellas Bayway to Fort De Soto Park: 9.96 miles on SR 679.
When is the best time to drive these roads?: Sunshine Skyway Bridge: Open year round. Check FL511 before you go during hurricane season, June 1 to November 30. Courtney Campbell Causeway: Open year round. Check FL511 before you go during hurricane season, June 1 to November 30. Gulf Boulevard, Pinellas beaches: Open year round. Check FL511 before you go during hurricane season, June 1 to November 30. Pinellas Bayway to Fort De Soto Park: Open year round. Check Pinellas County park updates before you go. SR 24 to Cedar Key: Open year round. Check FL511 before you go during hurricane season, June 1 to November 30.
What's the best app to track a drive near Tampa?: Open Road records your drive and saves it to your drive log with the route on a map, the distance and the time. It is on iPhone and Android.

Famous driving roads