There are dedicated pickleball courts about a mile from our Largo place with a friendly morning group who’ll let you join in, and four serious indoor clubs within twenty minutes — one with a bar, one with a sauna and cold plunge. Bring paddles, or don’t; most places lend them.
The Short Answer
| Closest to our Largo place | Kolb Park, Indian Rocks Beach — about a mile |
| Closest to our Seminole place | Tennis Club Park — free, about two miles |
| Best free courts | McKay Park, Clearwater Beach — six dedicated courts |
| Best indoor, hottest days | Pickleball Kingdom or Pickle & Pint |
| Best for a group or a party | Pickle & Pint — courts plus a bar |
| Best for drop-in as a visitor | Pickleball Kingdom, or Kolb Park in the morning |
| Best for a beginner | Dill Dinkers or Pickleball Kingdom — lessons and demo paddles |
| Best courts near Seminole | R.O.C. Park, Madeira Beach — well kept, clean restrooms |
| Cheapest | Any public court — free or a few dollars |
The Map
Free and Public Courts
🥇 Kolb Park, Indian Rocks Beach — about a mile from our Largo place
1508 Bay Palm Blvd. The closest courts to us and a genuinely good local park — pickleball alongside tennis, basketball, a skate park, a playground, restrooms and water fountains, two blocks from the beach.
The reason to go is the people. There’s a group that plays here most mornings and reviewers describe them repeatedly as friendly and welcoming to newcomers. If you’re a visitor who wants a game rather than a court to yourself, turn up in the morning and ask. Staff get named in reviews for keeping the place spotless.
Open 10am to 9pm. 👉 Our Indian Rocks Beach guide
🥈 McKay Park, Clearwater Beach — the best public courts
Off Mandalay Ave, near 605. Six dedicated pickleball-only courts — not shared tennis lines — on a top-quality surface with fences between each court so balls stay put. There’s a shaded central concourse with benches, water fountains outside the courts, and paddle racks marked by level of play, which is the local system for organising who plays whom.
Regulars describe it as a big improvement on the older courts at the beach library and rec centre. Open 7am to 9pm. Beach parking rules apply, so this is a good one to reach by bike.
👉 Ride the Memorial Causeway rather than fight the parking
🌴 Bay Park on Sand Key
1551 Gulf Blvd. Two hard courts in good condition, marked for tennis and pickleball, with free parking — rare on the beach — plus a fenced playground, a water fountain and a foot wash. Public beach access is a short walk across the road.
Belleair Beach
907 Harbor Dr. Two shaded hard courts with pickleball lines marked. Pleasantly cool and mosquito-free early in the morning. Parking is paid at around $4 an hour and is enforced, which several visitors found irritating — cycling or walking avoids it entirely.
Dunedin
1042 Virginia St. A large dedicated facility — one visitor reckoned 72 people could play at once. Open 7am to 8.30pm. Worth combining with a Dunedin day.
👉 Our breweries guide — Dunedin’s other attraction.
Closest to Our Seminole Rental
The Seminole side has fewer dedicated pickleball courts than the beach side, but more than we first realised — and two of the best public facilities in the county sit just west and south of it.
🥇 Tennis Club Park — about two miles, and free
7283 113th St N, Seminole. Free public courts in a genuinely pleasant park setting — well-maintained surfaces, nets in good shape, wheelchair-accessible restrooms and drinking fountains, and rarely so crowded that you can’t get on. There’s one pickleball court alongside the tennis courts.
The catch: the lights have been out of action, so play effectively ends at sundown. Regulars are vocal about it. Open 8am to 10pm on paper — treat that as daylight hours in practice.
🥈 R.O.C. Park, Madeira Beach — the best courts on this side
200 Rex Pl. Roughly fifteen minutes west, and the pick of the public courts near Seminole. Well-kept surfaces, very clean restrooms, and water fountains that visitors specifically praise for being properly cold — which matters more than it sounds in August.
It’s part of a larger complex with ball fields, a dog park, walking paths and a big open green, all on the water. Open around the clock. Two honest notes from regulars: it can get crowded, and the courts feel slightly tighter than standard.
👉 Our Madeira Beach & John’s Pass guide
🎾 HenkelRock Tennis and Pickleball — Seminole
8001 Cumberland Rd, at the Bardmoor club. A tennis and pickleball academy rather than a drop-in facility — the right call if you want coaching or structured play rather than a casual game. Open 7am to 9pm. Very new, so call to ask what’s available to visitors.
👉 Bardmoor also appears in our golf guide
🎾 Seminole Lake Family Tennis Center
6150 Augusta Blvd. Primarily a tennis club with well-groomed clay courts, USTA league play and group drills, and a front desk that will connect visitors to league captains — one reviewer on a family trip joined a competitive practice group and a drills session during a single visit. Ask about pickleball specifically before you go, since the focus here is tennis.
🏊 Seminole Recreation Complex
9100 113th St N. The city rec centre, and unusually good value — pool, gym, fitness classes, courts and fields, with a nominal fee for residents and a modestly higher one for visitors. Open 6am to 8pm weekdays. Closed Sundays. Call for the current pickleball schedule.
South and East: More Options Within Reach
All of these are twenty to thirty minutes from our Seminole place and worth the drive if you want busier, better-organised play.
- Walter Fuller courts, 7883 26th Ave N, St. Petersburg — 4.9 stars. Several courts, restrooms right on site, and friendly play daily. One reviewer describes arriving as an out-of-towner and being welcomed straight into games. Open 6am to just before 11pm.
- J.W. Cate courts, 5801 22nd Ave N, St. Petersburg — six to eight courts with all-level groups, and crucially a beginners’ session that meets twice a week in the mornings, described as well organised. Big crowds early morning and late afternoon; the rest of the courts stay busy with regular pick-up play. Lights go off at 11pm. Note: restrooms get locked when the recreation centre is closed.
- Childs Park courts, 4301 13th Ave S, St. Petersburg — two pickleball courts, clean, good nets, and reviewers report no waiting. Quiet option.
- Rosselli Park, 12000 Capri Cir S, Treasure Island — courts in a tidy little park with a playground and dog park. Be warned: multiple reviews describe an established local group who don’t rotate players in, and tennis players report being made unwelcome. Fine if you’re joining that group; frustrating if you turn up hoping for a court.
- Treasure Bay Golf & Tennis, 10315 Paradise Blvd, Treasure Island — well-maintained clay courts with water views, a pro shop with demo rackets, a shaded playground, and resident discounts. More tennis than pickleball, but a lovely setting.
Indoor Clubs
Worth paying for between May and September, when outdoor play in the middle of the day is genuinely unpleasant. All four take drop-ins as well as members.
🍺 Pickle & Pint — Largo, and the most fun
13200 S Belcher Rd. Twelve indoor courts — outdoor-style surfaces, played indoors with proper air conditioning — plus ping pong, cornhole and other games, a kids’ lounge area, and a bar serving draft and canned beer, wine, cider, coffee, smoothies and pizza. Cashless.
This is the one for a mixed group where not everyone plays: the non-players can sit at the bar and watch. People book it for birthdays, and you can rent individual courts. Open 7am to 10pm daily.
Note: mapping apps reportedly struggle with the Belcher Road address. Worth checking directions before you set off.
🧊 Dink House Pickleball — Largo
8116 Ulmerton Rd. Indoor courts with easy online booking, plus an outdoor gym, sauna and cold plunge — which makes it the one to pick if you want the session to feel like training rather than a social. Clean, friendly, monthly memberships and cold-plunge packages available. Reviewers consistently mention the owner by name.
🏟️ Pickleball Kingdom — Pinellas Park, and the biggest
7300 US Highway 19. Fourteen indoor courts, with instant replay and automatic scoring on the smart courts, ball machines for practice, exceptional lighting, comfortable viewing areas, a pro shop, and beer and wine. 4.9 stars.
Best option for visitors. Reviewers specifically describe dropping in while on holiday, joining open play, and finding friendly players across all skill levels. Open 7am to 10pm daily.
🎓 Dill Dinkers — St. Petersburg
2000 34th St N. Smart courts, ball machines, demo paddles to try before you buy, coaching, and a summer camp for kids. Very welcoming to beginners. Open 7am to 10pm.
One thing to know: they’ve tightened their open-play rotation rules, and at least one regular found the enforcement abrupt. Ask how the rotation works when you arrive rather than assuming.
Recreation Complexes
City rec centres offer pickleball at low cost, usually on indoor basketball courts converted with portable nets, or on shared outdoor courts. Non-residents pay slightly more than residents. Call for the current pickleball schedule — times are set weekly and change.
- Highland Recreation Complex, 400 Highland Ave, Largo — indoor basketball courts converted for pickleball at times, plus an indoor walking track, gym, pool and outdoor trails around a lake. Very low membership fees.
- Morningside Recreation Complex, 2400 Harn Blvd, Clearwater — a well-regarded modern facility with a pool and splash pad, good if you’re bringing children along.
- Forbes Recreation Center, 6401 94th Ave, Pinellas Park — courts, a dog park and a pool. Closed Sundays.
- Largo Community Center, 400 Alt Keene Rd — a gym and multipurpose rooms; worth asking about indoor pickleball sessions.
Know Before You Go
🌡️ Play Early, or Play Indoors
From May through September, outdoor courts in the middle of the day are brutal. Local groups play at dawn for a reason. The indoor clubs exist because of this — and they’re air conditioned, not just covered.
🏓 You Don’t Need to Bring Paddles
The indoor clubs rent or lend paddles, and Dill Dinkers keeps demo paddles specifically so you can try different ones. At public courts, most regular groups have spares and will happily lend one to someone joining in.
🤝 How to Join a Game
Paddle racks are the local convention: you put your paddle in the queue, often on a rack marked by skill level, and you go on when your paddle comes up. McKay Park is set up this way explicitly. If you’re unsure, ask — the groups here are notably welcoming, and pickleball culture generally is.
📅 Check the Schedule
Public courts get busy with organised groups at set times, and rec-centre pickleball sessions are scheduled weekly rather than always-on. A quick phone call saves a wasted trip.
🅿️ Beach Parking Applies
Courts at Clearwater Beach, Sand Key and Belleair Beach all sit inside paid beach parking zones. Bay Park on Sand Key is the exception with free parking.
👉 Our beaches guide covers the parking situation
👟 Surfaces Vary
Dedicated courts (McKay, and the indoor clubs) are purpose-built. Shared tennis courts with painted pickleball lines are perfectly playable but the nets and surfaces are variable — Belleair Beach’s nets are described as old.
Also On Our Site
- Cycling trails and bike rentals — the way to reach the beach courts without parking.
- Beaches — Kolb Park and Bay Park are both walking distance from sand.
- Breweries — Pickle & Pint has its own bar, but Dunedin is the proper pairing.
- Golf — the other racquet-and-club sport for a winter stay.
- Largo Central Park Nature Preserve — near the Largo rec facilities.
Official Information
Open-play times, court availability and fees change weekly. Confirm direct:
- City of Largo Recreation, Parks & Arts — Highland, Southwest and the Community Center.
- City of Clearwater parks & recreation — McKay Park and Morningside.
- City of Seminole Recreation
- City of Indian Rocks Beach — Kolb Park.
- City of Pinellas Park Parks & Recreation — Forbes.
- USA Pickleball — Places 2 Play — the national court finder, useful for anything we’ve missed.
We are not affiliated with any of the clubs, cities or organisations listed here.
From Our Rentals
Our Largo rental (1731 Clearwater Harbor Dr): Kolb Park is about a mile. Belleair Beach and Bay Park are a few minutes north. Pickle & Pint and Dink House are both around fifteen minutes east, and Highland Rec about ten.
Our Seminole rental (13189 87th Ave N): Tennis Club Park is about two miles and free. R.O.C. Park at Madeira Beach is roughly fifteen minutes west and has the better courts. HenkelRock, Seminole Lake Tennis Center and the Seminole Recreation Complex are all close, and Pickleball Kingdom is a short drive east.
Travelling with paddles? Tell us and we’ll point you at whichever group is playing when you’re here. If you’d rather not travel with them, the indoor clubs have you covered.
