Sunwest Park

Prob more like 3.5 stars. Clearwater Beach or St. Pete Beach it is not. But if you’re in this area it’s nice to have a place to go to relax on the sand, have a snow cone, philly steak, listen to music outside, swim, play volleyball, rent a kayak or SUP (I think it’s $ 10 for 45 minutes which seems a great way to give it a try…)
It’s a former mine site that is now basically a large salwater lake. There’s also an inflated water play area you can pay to access. Sunwest Park costs $ 5 per car load. There are lifeguards (and some cute ones at that.)
They’ve done a bit of landscaping, there are showers and bathrooms, a covered picnic area. They brought in sand. Enjoy. Definitely a Hudson scene.

«Like Swimming at a Very Large Clean Lake with Sand»
We decided to stop and check out Hudson Beach Park-​Definitely do not recommend THAT BEACH… SO WE LEFT THERE and figured we’d check out the new SUNWEST PARK.
It just opened this year. (They still aren’t done developing it yet. So far, so good!)
The Parking Fee is $ 5 (Exact bills Only-​no change given at the machine.)
The Entire Park Grounds are smoke-​free. No Tobacco Products allowed.
No Alcohol of any kind allowed. (May be subjected to searches.)
You can bring in food, but no grills of any kind allowed. (There was a Best of Philly food truck and a Snow Ice truck.)
The Lake is spring-​fed, but connected to a saltwater channel that extends from the Gulf, so it is mildly salty. Very comfortable water temperature. Pretty clear also.
There is a humongous white sandy beach area encircling the water. (Some parts aren’t open yet, but there is plenty of room.)
There are lifeguards on duty. There is a large swimming area, roped off, about 4 feet deep and a deeper area (maybe 8 ft) roped off for experienced swimmers.
There are showers right at the beginning (middle of the parking lot) and bathrooms at the far end of the parking lot.
Umbrellas & Beach Chairs (without logos, except sports & school) are allowed.
You must be 48″ tall to play on the inflatables on the water and it costs extra.
You can also rent kayaks and paddle boards for a fee.
Overall we loved it (especially after Hudson Beach). Not having a designated smoking area will probably keep us from returning as much as we would like. I don’t want everyone smoking on the beach, but at least a little area away from everyone would be nice.
Hopefully in the future, they will be building more shelters (there is one by the bathrooms) and have grills available.