Area Beach No 1 for Families

In addition to seashell-dotted white sand shores and clear water, national magazine Parents chose the North Beach at Fort De Soto Park in part due to the unique sandbar protected lagoon that never rises above 3 feet forming a "natural kiddie pool."

Fort De Soto made the top spot in a survey of 1000 beaches that were scored on water-quality reports, closings, and advisories. And how is the water? Given "100 samples from 2009 and 2010, there wasn’t one problem."

In addition to enjoying the park’s pretend pirate ship, snow cones and the Gulf Pier, a great area for spotting dolphins, Parents recommends the Don CeSar on St. Pete Beach with free cake- and cookie-decorating classes, scavenger hunts, and poolside movies.

That sounds like a staycation if we’ve ever heard one. View the Parents magazine top ten and top ten runners up, here.