A Food Fun Travel Guest Post
The rainy season in Clearwater, FL, is here again. If 2024 is anything to go by, residents and visitors to Pinellas County can expect many rainy days, so how should you spend your days if the weather rules out a visit to Clearwater Beach?
Fortunately, you still have plenty to do in the city in wet weather, so consider the best indoor activities in Clearwater, FL, when you’re feeling at a loose end.
1. Tampa Bay Grand Prix
Tampa Bay Grand Prix is an imaginative go-kart center in Clearwater, FL, with tracks for all prospective karters, whether kids, first-time adult karters or experts. Tampa Bay Grand Prix is a prime destination if you want an exhilarating group experience for your kids’ parties or corporate events. Everything happens indoors — rainy days won’t hamper your plans. More adept go-kart drivers can follow and view their lap times in real time on the track’s projector screen, with scoresheets providing comparisons with their peers.
Non-karters can watch the races from relaxed indoor lounges with TVs and Wi-Fi, and Tampa Bay Grand Prix welcomes walk-ins to its Ulmerton-based track venue. The facilities are open seven days a week, with later-night hours available on Fridays and Saturdays. If you’re planning a birthday party, a bachelor party or a corporate get-together, contact the venue and rent a private, spacious room by the hour or half-day, or spend a whole day testing and improving your skills.
Grab a Kahwa coffee at The Exquisite Café, or try one of their homemade, hand-tossed pizzas or jumbo-sized wing portions. The Café also makes its own fresh sandwiches, salads and a range of desserts — it can even cater ahead for your functions or parties. You can also enjoy a full-facility rental that provides track exclusivity for six races per hour with 10 competitors per race. The deal includes a private function room that holds up to 100 guests.
Tampa Bay Grand Prix is undoubtedly among the best indoor activities in Clearwater, FL.
2. Clearwater Marine Aquarium
The Clearwater Marine Aquarium (CMA) in Windward Passage, Clearwater, FL, is a nonprofit marine rescue and rehabilitation center. It offers sheltered activities for individuals, families and groups to occupy and excite you daily until 5 p.m. on those wet, dreary mornings and afternoons. For those who enjoy evening outings, the aquarium reopens from 6.30 p.m. to 9.30 p.m. on Wednesdays through Sundays. Visitors can consider one of CMA’s hotel partnerships for discounted stays when planning their trip.
Aquatic wildlife is plentiful at CMA, including dolphins, turtles, otters, pelicans, sharks, stingrays and many more. The center also offers many guided tours, including daily tours on the water when the weather permits. You can enjoy a virtual reality trip aboard a jellyfish to meet a whale shark and a leatherback turtle, among other marine creatures and organisms. The multiple exhibits CMA hosts will keep you busy and absorbed for hours. There is also a Kids Zone with games, quizzes, videos, coloring and experiments to entertain your youngsters.
Becoming a CMA member affords you many other discounts and special offers on retail, food, aquarium experiences, special events and parking. You’ll also get a free CMA entrance on your birthday. CMA offers discounted educational group visits for over 10 people and non-educational ones for churches, clubs, societies, summer camps and other organizations with more than 25 people in a party.
The Clearwater Marine Aquarium is a fun and interactive learning experience for all ages, rain or shine, in Clearwater, FL.
3. Escape Game Over
Situated on Gulf to Bay Boulevard in Clearwater, FL, Escape Game Over escape rooms are an absorbing and challenging indoor activity you can enjoy with family, friends or work colleagues. Escape Game Over rooms are interactive, fascinating escape games that place you in different roles, heighten your instincts and awaken your imagination. Four imaginative scenarios — Alice in Wonderland, the Orient Express, Nightmare Hotel and Temple of the Skull — will captivate your imagination.
These timed 60-minute Escape Game Over adventures for two to eight people provide testing scenarios in which you decipher clues to make your escape. The beauty of Escape Game Over is that its rooms exist worldwide, with a network covering 28 countries. Florida offers a variety of themed rooms in five different cities, including five unique options in nearby Tampa. Escape Game Over rooms make ideal indoor activities for birthday parties and team building events, as they promote communication and problem-solving skills.
Because of the subject matter and potential scare factors, all participants must sign waivers. Minors require adult signatories, and paying adults must accompany those under age 12. Escape Game Over in Clearwater, FL, can accommodate large groups — all you need to do is book and pay online. You can also buy gift vouchers and redeem codes via the website.
Do you need something exciting and novel to do on a rainy day? Escape Game Over is one of the best indoor activities in Clearwater, FL.
4. Painting With a Twist
Painting With a Twist on Park Boulevard, Pinellas Park, provides indoor activities for Clearwater, FL, residents and visitors. Events are most frequently offered for those over 14, with occasional options for younger children. The Painting With a Twist studio is open Thursday through Monday at 2 p.m. on weekends and at 5 p.m. or 7 p.m. on weekdays. It closes at 9 p.m. daily except on Sundays. During open hours, artists can reserve a time and table to complete DIY projects using provided supplies.
Check with the studio if you want to host a painting party for your friends or colleagues. Painting With a Twist can host birthday parties, bachelorette parties, team-building, baby showers, church group get-togethers, retirement gatherings or any other reason. The studio provides an artist-entertainer to get you going and meet your painting requirements. You can select your paintings from an extensive art library.
With a national presence and franchise opportunities available, Painting With a Twist is renowned for its events and DIY artwork kits. With events scheduled almost daily during the Florida rainy season at both Pinellas Park and nearby Tampa, FL, studios, residents and visitors in the region have many painting-related options to enjoy over the wet season.
If art is your thing, Painting With a Twist can keep you active and interested during the rainy period.
5. Pinellas Ale Works
Just over 12 miles from Clearwater, FL, you’ll find the Grand Central district of St. Petersburg, home to the award-winning Pinellas Ale Works (PAW) brewery, on 1st Ave. South. With an included tap room, beer garden and exclusive event space, PAW is dog-friendly, offering an exceptional undercover alternative for sampling the local brew with your four-legged friends in tow.
Visit the beer tasting room for indoor comfort and more than 30 taps, wine and cider available.
Weekly or monthly PAW events — including board game nights or Euchre every Tuesday and Big Trophy Trivia on Wednesdays from 7 p.m. — support animal-related charities in Pinellas County. Weather permitting, there’s live music in the PAW beer garden on Friday and Saturday evenings between 6 p.m. and 9 p.m.
PAW beers have a sterling reputation, with 13 Best Florida Beer Competition medals and a silver medal for its Milk Bone Sweet Stout at the Great American Beer Festival. You can also get beer-to-go from the PAW tap room. Watch out for the permanent food truck that’ll grace the brewery grounds soon — until then, the PAW social media pages advertise weekly food availability.
If you enjoy sampling fine ale, Pinellas Ale Works will provide one of the best indoor activities around Clearwater, FL, on rainy days.
6. Clearwater Historical Society
Those interested in the rich and varied history of Clearwater, FL, should pop in to the Clearwater Historical Society Museum and Cultural Center on a wet Wednesday through Saturday between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. Administered by the Clearwater Historical Society, you’ll find the museum on Fort Harrison Avenue — on the grounds of historic South Ward School. Since its opening in 2019, visitors have enjoyed constantly updated exhibits and new programs.
Current exhibits include the McMullen Family 100th Reunion, which runs until the end of August, and ongoing Founding Family, Let’s Eat and Bellview Biltmore displays. The Clearwater Historical Society Museum also hosts events, including a Macrame Workshop detailing different crafts at 5 p.m. every third Wednesday through October. A vintage-style Halloween trunk-or-treat event is scheduled for Saturday, October 18, at noon, to kick off the holiday festivities.
While enjoying Clearwater’s history, also visit the Plumb House, one of the oldest buildings in Clearwater, FL, on South Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue. Built in 1896, the Plumb House was originally a paint store on the corner of Lakeview and Fort Harrison Avenues. In 1983, the Historical Society moved it to its current location, opening the Plumb House Museum two years later. It now houses artifacts, vintage furniture and historic photographs.
For history buffs who want to learn more about the city, the Clearwater Historical Society offers many indoor sites to visit in rainy weather.
7. O.C.C. Road House
O.C.C. stands for Orange County Choppers, and the O.C.C. Road House & Museum on 49th St. North in Clearwater, FL, is a prime destination if your interests include a quintessential biker experience. There’s enough to keep your whole party occupied, including a restaurant and full bar, live music and the chance to view a range of unique, handcrafted, American-made motorcycles from the American Chopper TV show in the on-site museum.
The O.C.C. restaurant and entertainment venue is a 25,000 square-foot, covered space, with a partially enclosed pavilion where you can bring your pets while dining. A grassy area facilitates toilet breaks and provides filtered water bowls with ice on request. Your kids are also welcome, with those under 10 eating free with the purchase of an adult meal every Monday and Tuesday. O.C.C. Road House caters for birthdays, graduations, corporate events and more — the restaurant encourages bookings of between 10 and 1,000 people.
Nightly scheduled entertainment, foosball, pool tables and cornhole boards add to the biker atmosphere, meaning you can enjoy a later-evening festive environment after your function is over. The O.C.C. Road House opens at 11 a.m. daily and closes at 8:30 p.m. Sunday through Tuesday. On other days, closing time is 11 p.m.
With a merchandise store that includes a pet section, the O.C.C. Road House & Museum is an ideal indoor venue for eating, drinking, shopping and enjoying an all-around biker-style atmosphere when it’s wet outside.
Summary of the Best Indoor Activities in Clearwater, FL.
| Activity | Primary Theme | Family Friendly | Food and Drink | Unique Features |
| Tampa Bay Grand Prix | Indoor Go-Kart Racing | Yes. | Yes. The Exquisite Café. Licensed. | High-speed electric karts and a pro-designed track. |
| Clearwater Marine Aquarium | Marine Rescue and Aquarium | Yes. | Yes. Café and snack bar. | Focus on animal rescue and the home of “Dolphin Tale” star. |
| Escape Game Over | Themed Escape Rooms | Yes. With provisos. | No. | Immersive and high-tech themed escape adventures. |
| Painting With a Twist | Guided Painting Classes | Yes. With provisos. | No. BYOB. | Social and creative instructor-led art sessions. |
| Pinellas Ale Works | Craft Beer Brewery | Yes. Dogs are also allowed. | Yes. Food trucks and a tap room. Licensed for beer and wine. | Dog-friendly and award-winning local brewery. |
| Clearwater Historical Society | Local History Museums | Yes. | No. Only during special events. | Preserves and shares Clearwater’s rich history. |
| O.C.C. Road House & Museum | Biker Eatery and Entertainment | Yes. Pets are also allowed. | Yes. Full restaurant and bar. | Orange County Chopper bikes, live music and dining. |
Make the Most of Your Rainy Days in Clearwater, FL.
With the number of indoor activities available in and around Clearwater, FL, rainy days and evenings will be anything but tedious. Take time to experience some new sights, sounds and experiences in the city to make your indoor time enjoyable and memorable. There’s something for everybody to ensure your time away from the beach or the golf course is well spent.
