Ben T Davis Beach

My fav secret spot! Beautiful sunsets and closer to the city when I need a quick beach fix! Take your beach chairs and relax to beautiful sunsets!

I’m so mad at myself that it took me 2 years to know about this beach. It’s perfect even for those that appreciate the beach but not necessarily the sand. That (paid) parking lot is pretty big and is lined with multiple picnic tables under covered areas if you just need to step out of the sun. The actual sand is on either side of the parking lot and there’s even a restaurant at the far end.
The beach is located along the Courtney Campbell Causeway and even has a trail that runs the whole length of the causeway. It’s a wide, paved trail which is perfect for walking, running, skating, biking, etc.
I’m noticing that a lot of people also like to come here just for lunch during their work week.

Pros:
Good place to bbq with seating areas
Good for joggers
Ideal for a little people watching
Located next to Hogans Beach (if u care)
Volleyball net available
Cons:
Parking is not free
The water is shallow and dirty most times
Beach area is not very attractive
Its a decent Beach, I’ll visit a few times a year, but to quote other Unilocalers, there are indeed better options in Florida. Don’t expect anything close to Clearwater Beach.

The closest beach to Downtown Tampa, so if you’re trying to squeeze in a few hours for one beach visit while you’re in from out of town, this might be your only viable choice. On other visits to Tampa we’ve found more attractive beaches but they are farther out, farther up, or farther down. This beach is public and free, with a reasonably nice sandy area, it’s got a long shallow area with sandbars, but the no boat buoy line is pretty close in so to get a decent swim in you have to cheat a little. Still, it’s a nice view. There’s a small parking lot, and on a nice day the beach fills up, especially on weekends. It’s $ 12 – 14 by LYFT or Über from either downtown or airport hotels, and that’s really your only choice as public bus there and back isn’t practical. It’s interesting to me that the range of rating for this beach here on Unilocal has more to do with where we’re from rather than the objective quality of the beach. It’s so subjective, it’s a three star beach if you’re from Milwaukee, but a one star beach if you’re from Southern California. Maybe one day someone from North Dakota will give it 5 stars.

«I need beach therapy» my mom’s shirt reads, as we did did a drive by to take my beach-​loving/​beach-​obsessed mom here hoping it was decent… Seriously she dreams in palm trees and beaches, she wanted a nice place to rest her hardworking, Midwestern self.
This was disappointing.
+There is a building (with a ramp) up to the bathrooms. (Something I was concerned about, glad they’re there, and with accessibility for people with mobility problems) But this beach is tiny, dirty, and smelly, and on the Bay where all the overflow of sewage runs off into. And for this tiny, sad beach, you have to pay to park? I wouldn’t go in to the poopy water. If you’ve got time, go to Clearwater Beach.
IF you do go quick to see the Bay, perhaps after landing at Tampa International Airport, it’s fine as a Lil stop just to pop by, I by no means would spend all day here as a «Beach Day». Like I said there are bathrooms to use and change your clothes in, but I did not see any showers or anything (like Clearwater Beach has) to rinse off IF you choose to swim here, which I wouldn’t. Bacteria levels reach unsanitary levels here and can cause serious illness.
Pass.
Sadly.
*It was so close location-​wise.*
SO hopeful… So close. Yet so… Far…

3 Stars because there is sand and water. It is also very close to the airport. This is the reason I went to this beach as I had a few hours to kill. The water is not really swimmable and the beach is ok. There is a nice pathway on both sides of the causeway for a run or walk. It is nice but the sound of the highway takes away from the experience.
If I had to do it again, I would have went somewhere else.

This park & beach is a very easy place to stop and enjoy for a short rest or for the entire day. Plenty of parking, plus picnic areas available. It does get a bit crowded during the weekend, but it’s still a good place to watch the sun and water and birds.

If you’re speeding by on SR — 60 aka Courtney Campbell Causeway, it can be easy to miss this small, unobtrusive beach. While Ben T Davis is not the image that pops into your mind when someone mentions «Florida,» it does have about a 10′ wide berth of sand.
The beach seems to be best for wading in the shallows, as the water is neither pristine, nor clear. It can be quite crowded here, which does not make it ideal for any type of beach sport or laying out for long periods of time.
All this being said, the beach is not berift of benefit. It does contain covered picnic tables for that crazy unpredictable Florida weather, which are placed next to grills. There are clean public restrooms as well as some water points for rinsing off after wading. This beach is also located near the airport, and several dining options such as Bahama Breeze or Whiskey Joe’s next door.
For the ultimate Florida beach experience, drive the 30 minutes to Clearwater Beach or one of the other better suited options on the Gulf.

Ben T. Davis Beach is located west of Tampa along the Courtney Campbell (60) that connects Tampa and Clearwater. There’s a paved trail that’s fun for biking, rollerblading, skateboarding and running. The recently completed bridge connects it the whole way which is pretty cool!!! This provides miles of recreation including over a bridge and along the rocky shore. As for the actual beach, it’s big asset is it’s proximity to Tampa. On the other hand it’s along the Bay and not the Gulf and isn’t the cleanest water especially in late summer when it gets heated up and rain brings storm runoff (pollution). It’s still decent and you can go in it although I wouldn’t want to swallow the water and would recommend showering off soon after. :) The crowd can also be boisterous here. Cypress Point Preserve is another close-​in beachy spot to check out. :)

UGH!
Maybe it’s because I’m a native Californian. Maybe it’s because I’ve experienced the beaches of Hawai’i, Galveston, and Miami Beach. But I decided to try out the strand of beaches along the causeway. My daughter loves the beach, maybe she’ll love this. No way, Jose, olé. I’m glad I scouted it out alone.
First, it’s a small beach. and although it looks inviting, there’s not enough sand or room to build a sand castle or play volleyball. Second, parking isn’t all that good, and who knows if those pay machines work. Third, there are signs going into detail about the water health and how often it’s checked, which has the effect of keeping you out of the water for the sake of your health. Fourth, there’s only a beach near Clearwater and another in Tampa, the rest of the six miles is a bike path and fishing area.
I hope there’s another beach in the Tampa/​St. Pete area where she can go, no way am I going to take her to Ben Davis.

Fairly close to my house so I like it for the convenience. Also the bbq pits and picnic area is a (+)… Not the cleanest but it gets the job done. Beautiful sunrise views

I ride over the causeway all the time and somehow forget what a little gem this beach is. It’s not exactly what you think of when you think of the beach scene on the ‘Welcome to Florida’ postcard but in a pinch it will do. It’s relatively clean, a mix of low key people, near food and liquor, and even though it’s right off a major road it’s not to loud. Minus one star because sometimes it does have that smelly bay scent lingering that i’m not to fond of. If you want a quick trip to the beach from Tampa this is a great spot to check out.

Not the prettiest beach, but it gets the job done. If you live close, the convenience is great and well worth it. Parking is cheap and convenient. Easy access for bikes as well.

Nice quiet trail along the water. not original beach but picnic and small area to wade. more like a park with picnic tables andcabana type overhead concrete roof overs. cookout grill. with beach environment and fishing neat by

PARKING MACHINES DON’T WORK!!! The sign says «Pay with credit cards or 25, 10, or 5 cents.» The machine wouldn’t accept any of our cards and we watched 3 other people try unsuccessfully. A lady tried to pay with quarters and she had to try SEVEN of them just to get it to accept 2. We only had 2 quarters and wanted to ride for an hour (4 quarters)…but we had dimes! We put the 2 quarters in (took 5 tries) and then tried to put the dimes in… wouldn’t take ANY of them!
There is trash everywhere. All over the place. On the beach, the rocks, the trail, the grass… plastic bottles, cans, monofilament, styrofoam, carry-​out containers, chip bags.
However…it’s only 50 cents an hour to park. There’s a light to get you in and out of the parking lot unlike most of the rest of the Causeway parking. There are covered picnic tables and grills. It’s easy to get to (Tampa side of Courtney Campbell Causeway). There’s a bar/​restaurant (Whiskey Joe’s) and jet ski rentals nearby. You can park here and ride the length of the causeway on your bike or go for a run or walk. It isn’t the kind of scenic beach you’d want to take your visiting relatives to, but it is a beach that’s pretty close to downtown, crazy close to the airport, and really easy to get to off I-​275. It’s also warmer and often less windy than the gulf beaches, so if you have someone visiting and they REALLY want to go to «the beach» this actually might be a better bet than the gulf beaches on one of those windy cool days.
Between this one and Cypress Point, I’ll take Cypress Point.
If you’re a cyclist, it is possible to go maybe 80% of the way across the bay but you’ll have to start on this side (the south side), then immediately after the big concrete bridge (hill), brake and make a sharp right (U)…go under the road (mind the cobblestones!) then you’ll be on the north side. At the very end, the trail is blocked by concrete barriers. There don’t appear to be bike lanes there either so you can’t actually bike from Tampa to Clearwater. BOO!

First place to go to for a beach when you are by the airport. This beach is not quite a swimming beach. The locals know that it is the one that often closes for all the dirty stuff in the water.
But it’s a nice place to walk, and enjoy the water. It’s a nice place to bring your bike, or bring your dog for a walk. It is so so pretty too. If you need somehwere to eat, I know there’s a food truck parked there too. There’s also places to change your clothes from the clothes you wear when you come from the north, to come to the south. It is alright, and glad it’s there to show off how beautiful our area is.

This review is of the parking lot and bathroom situation without which I wouldn’t be able to get my long runs in on the Courtney Campbell Causeway. The parking is reasonably priced, and the bathrooms are always clean.
While the beach is small, it’s a perfectly tranquil spot to get some yoga in after a long run.

Oh, what can I say?
It is a very local thing to do, I suppose.
NO waves, no thrill, no frill. Just a quiet steady ocean with about 10 feet of «beach sand» from the shore, and the length of it is not even that big. It is not definitely a clear coral blue, but at the same time, this is a free public beach. Some sea weed here and there, dead floating fish and jelly fish, and A LOT of folks. No real view, no cornucopia of tourists, restaurants, and anything really great, but in the end, it was alright.
Prepare to wait quite some time on their public bathrooms. There is only a handful, and alocate that to the amount of visitors/​locals they get, there simply is not that much to go around.
Clearwater beach is about another 30 – 40 minutes up ahead, so if you have time to spare, you might as well go there. Otherwise, it is really close to the airport, but all in all, not that great of an experience: it is simply, doable and barely exciteable.

This is right off Rt. 60. It’s super close to the West Shore business district. It’s kind of a crappy beach for tanning and swimming. The sand bar is narrow and the beach is rocky. There is a lot of broken glass and garbage.
It’s nice for walking and watching the sunset, so that’s why I am awarding three stars.

I wouldn’t put this ‘beach’ anywhere near the same ‘beach category as Clearwater, St Pete or Siesta Key. It’s not that kind of beach. Its a ‘redneck riviera’ type place — It’s a place where families go to grill with a nice view of the water. It’s a place to set out some chairs and watch the sunset. It’s not a vacation spot if you’re looking for the best Florida beaches.
What this place is good for is running. It has a nice wide paved trial that takes you over a bridge close the the border of Clearwater.
Only problem is paying to park. I hate that crap. I deal with it when I’m going to the beach, but not when I’m just there to run.
Still the cool thing about this place is the restroom facilities. They’re new and very nice.