Does Clermont FL Have A Beach?
If you are planning a visit to Clermont FL, you might be wondering if Clermont has a beach? You’re in luck because we live in Clermont and have all the answers for you.
Clermont has one primary beach—Waterfront Park—which is a lake front beach. Clermont does not have an ocean front beach as it located in the middle of the state of Florida. Clermont’s many lakes provides multiple lake-front beach options.
In this article, we detail all your local beach options in Clermont and all your options on the coast if you don’t mind driving a few hours.
Does Clermont FL Have A Beach?
Yes, Clermont FL has a beach. Clermont’s nearest beach is located at Waterfront Park in downtown Clermont. That’s right, Clermont has a beach in the heart of the city. If your curious, we’ve written all about downtown Clermont here.
The best part of Waterfront Park is you never have to leave Clermont to enjoy a day at the beach.
The beach is a popular destination for residents and visitors—though it’s most populated by local Clermont, Groveland, and Minneola residents.
Waterfront Park is located on Lake Minneola and is a man-made beach. We don’t mind that it’s a man-made beach because the sand they brought in is powdery soft.
Lake Minneola is a 1,907 acre lake perfect activities like boating, jet skis, swimming, or walking around the lake to enjoy the scenery.
A second beach option is at Lake Louisa State Park. It’s a much smaller lake beach, but it’s a great place to hike and cool down or bring the kids. Take a look at the Lake Louisa State Park beach below.
Don’t want to swim in lake water or have your heart set on a day at the ocean? No worries, let’s cover Clermont’s proximity to ocean beaches.
What is the nearest ocean beach to Clermont FL?
Clermont, FL is fortunate to have some wonderful options for beach lovers within driving distance. The closest and most popular choice for a beach day trip is Cocoa Beach, located just 80 miles away or 1 hour and 15 minutes by car.
Cocoa Beach is a great option because it has plenty of places to park, eat, and a wide open area to play in the sand.
Located on the Atlantic Ocean, Cocoa Beach is called the “Surfing Capital of the East Coast” because it has great waves for surfing—not to mention other water sports as well.
If you’ve already been to Waterfront Park and need a change in scenery, the following lake beaches around Orlando are great.
| Lake Beach Name | Lake Name | City | Distance from Clermont, FL |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lake Louisa State Park | Lake Louisa | Clermont | 0 miles |
| West Beach Park | Lake Apopka | Winter Garden | 18 miles |
| Waturi Beach | Universal Orlando Resort | Orlando | 23 miles |
| Lake Sybelia Beach Park | Lake Sybelia | Maitland | 26 miles |
| Lakefront Beach | East Lake Toho | St. Cloud | 28 miles |
| Lake Baldwin Park | Lake Baldwin | Orlando | 29 miles |
In fact, the famous Ron Jon Surf Shop, which is the biggest surf shop in the world, is located in Cocoa Beach.
Here are 15 great beaches and their travel times from Clermont, FL:
| Beach Name | City | Miles from Clermont | Travel Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 2 Hours Drive | |||
| New Smyrna Beach | New Smyrna Beach | 65 miles | 1 hour 15 mins |
| Cocoa Beach | Cocoa Beach | 80 miles | 1 hour 15 mins |
| Daytona Beach | Daytona Beach | 80 miles | 1 hour 20 mins |
| Clearwater Beach | Clearwater | 95 miles | 1 hour 30 mins |
| St. Pete Beach | St. Pete Beach | 100 miles | 1 hour 40 mins |
| Under 2.5 Hours Drive | |||
| Honeymoon Island | Dunedin | 90 miles | 1 hour 35 mins |
| Anna Maria Island | Anna Maria | 100 miles | 1 hour 50 mins |
| Siesta Key Beach | Sarasota | 110 miles | 2 hours |
| Fort De Soto Park | Tierra Verde | 115 miles | 2 hours |
| Lido Beach | Sarasota | 120 miles | 2 hours |
| Marco Island | Marco Island | 145 miles | 2 hours 30 mins |
| Over 2.75+ Hours Drive | |||
| Sanibel Island | Sanibel | 155 miles | 2 hours 45 mins |
| Captiva Island | Captiva | 160 miles | 3 hours |
| Delray Beach | Delray Beach | 201 miles | 3 hours 43 mins |
| Henderson Beach | Destin | 390 miles | 5 hours 40 mins |
| Pensacola Beach | Pensacola Beach | 440 miles | 7 hours |
Living in Clermont, FL means having the luxury to drive to some of the world’s most beautiful beaches in under three hours. It’s truly amazing to leave in the morning and arrive by brunch to a white-sand beach with crystal-clear water.
And if you live in Clermont FL, you don’t even have to pay coastal home prices to have easy access to the same beaches. In fact, we’ve outlined some differences between Orlando home prices and Tampa home prices in our recent blog here.
We live in Clermont and we drive to Siesta Key all the time because it’s our favorite beach.
Whether you’re looking for a quick lake beach (Waterfront Park) or a world famous white-sand beach (Clearwater Beach), as long as you have a car and great music—Florida has you covered.
Is Clermont FL near water?
Clermont FL has an abundance of water access—primarily in the form of lakes.
The Clermont Chain of Lakes consists of 11 interconnected lakes that cover a total of 8,692 acres of water. That’s a lot of space to fish, swim, and canoe.
The lakes are connected by canals, which allow boaters to travel between them. That’s one of the biggest perks for boaters to buy in Clermont—you have so much to explore! Once your boat is one lake, you now have access to 10 more lakes.
Check out Clermont’s amazing new dock built for boaters in our video below.
Swimming is also popular at Lake Minneola by Lakefront Beach. There are parks, walking paths, restrooms, and a covered pavilion.
Can you swim in the Clermont’s Chain of Lakes?
Absolutely. The most popular place to swim is in Lake Minneola. Lake Minneola is 96 feet deep which is well suited for boating and water sports. Not to mention, Lake Minneola is the home of Waterfront Park with the amazing beach, park, and biking path (South Lake Trail).
According to the Lake Country Water Atlas water clarity survey, the water quality of Lake Minneola as measured by the trophic state index has been really good.
If you look at the Trophic State Index below with green meaning good water, orange meaning fair water, and red meaning poor water—Lake Minneola scores good across the board.
Lake Minneola is our grandkids favorite place to hang out and swim in the water. Not to mention the thousands of athletes who use Lake Minneola for triathlon competitions and training.
And how about the water clarity? The water clarity is about as you’d expect in a clean lake—roughly 2.95 feet. For kids playing near shore by the beach, they will be able to see to the lake floor quite easily.
Just how safe is Lake Minneola?
Water drinking quality is often measured in turbidity (NTU) which has a range between 1 and 100. The World Health Organization suggest drinking water have a level between 1 NTU and 5 NTU with under 1 NTU being ideal.
Lake Minneola has a turbidity rating of 2.7 NTU. That is a very good rating. Don’t drink the water, but it shows you how hard the city has worked to provide the cleanest lake water experience possible.
If you are curious about water safety, you might also be curious about Clermont’s safety in general. Check out our recent blog on Clermont’s safety record here.
Conclusion
Clermont, FL is a treasure trove for those who love the beach. It’s hard to believe that some of the world’s most stunning beaches are just a few hours’ drive away from our “gem in the hills”.
Can you imagine how amazing it would be to start your day with an easy morning drive and end up at a postcard location like Clearwater Beach with pristine white sand and 85 degree water in time for brunch?
Talk about living the life! We do!
So, pack your bags, get your sunscreen, and embark on a fun-filled beach adventure that’s just a short drive away!