Free Beach wheelchair in Clearwater, FL
I’m blown away by our recent stay in Clearwater, Fl. One huge reason is the ease of getting a free beach chair for my daughter who has cerebral palsy.
We haven’t returned to an ocean for 8 years because of lack of accessibility and difficulty to get Kaylee safely to the beach.
I had a long list of must haves and safe transportation to the shore was at the top!
After months of research and phone calls- Clearwater was the *clear choice.
Here’s what we learned and conquered in regards to beach wheelchairs on our visit:
3-4 beach wheelchairs are located at the Lifeguard Station Tower 0. At times they have motorized beach wheelchairs but they were being serviced on our trip so we didn’t see them.
They are available beginning at 9am and return time of 4:30pm.
You can leave your personal wheelchair in exchange or your driver’s license.
Half the time I was asked to fill out a form on an iPad and half the time they skipped that part (maybe bc we became regulars?).
If you plan to pick up the wheelchair and take it to another hotel/beach area, you can pull in behind the tower (street side) and a lifeguard will help you load it.
If you will be using the wheelchair close by, just come to the front of the tower (ring doorbell at the door on the side of building if no one is visible) and you’ll meet lifeguards there.
The beach directly in front of the lifeguard station is a public beach. The parking lot had ample accessible parking and the beach was a good size so I think it’s a valid way to stay off the beach but still easily enjoy it.
The manual beach chairs can also go into the water but because the wheels float, enter with caution and don’t go in very far. Be sure to keep your hands on it at all times. (My legs got beat up a bit by the waves pushing the chair into me) Obviously, the motorized chairs would not be ok for water entry.
Tips:
The beach wheelchair brakes are not good. I asked the lifeguard to hold the beach chair as I transferred Kaylee.
You can turn or remove arm rests for transfers.
Try to drive on sand with the inflatable wheels as much as possible rather than the sidewalk— it’s more of a struggle on non sand surfaces.
For extra support, use a neck pillow, lumbar pillow, rolled towels for lateral support. You could even bring an additional belt for the chest. It only has a lap belt for securing.
They also have free life jackets available.
I researched for months to find exactly what Kaylee needed to be able to go onto the beach with us.
I was willing to pay for a rental, but when these perfect ones are offered free, and with multiples (so I never have to feel like someone is missing out while we have one) I knew we were in the right destination.
