Towns / Dunedin and Clearwater

Dunedin's Golf Cart Zone (and Why Clearwater Beach Is LSV-Only)

Dunedin runs a mapped golf cart zone with signed crossings, a child lap-belt rule and no carts on the Pinellas Trail. Clearwater regulates for-hire LSVs on the beach, not private golf carts.

Plain golf cart (no tag)

Limited

Dunedin only, inside the city's mapped zone on streets posted 30 mph or less, crossing state and county roads at signed crossings. Nothing found for Clearwater.

LSV (tagged, titled, insured)

Yes

Roads posted 35 mph or less in both cities. Clearwater Beach licenses for-hire LSVs under a 2012 ordinance; Memorial Causeway only to reach Island Estates.

County: Pinellas County
Who sets the rules: City of Dunedin; City of Clearwater
Last checked: October 16, 2026

Partly checked: some points rest on local reports. Not sure what counts as a golf cart or an LSV? Read the Florida law explainer first.

The short version

Dunedin is the Gulf coast’s model golf cart town. The city publishes a mapped zone, posts crossings on the state and county roads, adds a lap-belt rule for children, and no longer charges for a registration sticker. Outside the zone, and anywhere in the City of Clearwater, we found no street designated for plain golf carts, so treat them as not permitted there. An LSV (low-speed vehicle: the tagged, titled, insured kind that every rental company on this coast actually rents) may use any road posted 35 mph or less in either city, and Clearwater Beach has a 2012 ordinance that licenses the for-hire LSVs you see there. The thing most people get wrong is the Pinellas Trail. No carts, ever. If the difference between the two vehicles is new to you, start with golf cart vs LSV under Florida law.

Who makes the rules here

Both cities sit in Pinellas County, but each sets its own golf cart rules under s. 316.212. Dunedin’s rules are on the city’s Getting Around page and in city code sections 74-201 and 74-209, which list the permitted streets. Clearwater’s only cart-related ordinance we found governs for-hire low-speed vehicles, pedicabs and surreys on Clearwater Beach.

Two state roads run through Dunedin: Alternate US 19 (Bayshore Boulevard) and SR 580 (Main Street). A plain golf cart may not travel along either. It may cross them only at the signed cart crossings the city has arranged, and the same applies to county roads inside the zone. Nearby unincorporated Pinellas County has its own designated cart communities at Ozona, Palm Harbor and Crystal Beach, run under the county’s rules rather than Dunedin’s.

Plain golf carts

Dunedin’s published rules, as of the city page we read on 16 October 2026:

Carts may use only roads posted 30 mph or less inside the city’s GIS-mapped zone. The 30 mph figure is Dunedin’s rule, not state law.
20 mph maximum on designated streets and public land.
Cross state or county roads only at signed cart crossings.
No carts on the Pinellas Trail, sidewalks, parks or city property unless a spot is designated for them.
Park in vehicle spaces; where there are no cart spaces, two carts may share one car space side by side. During downtown events, carts use vehicle parking only.
Highlander Park has its own cart paths and a parking map.
The city no longer requires a local registration sticker or fee.

The Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office brochure for Dunedin adds that children under 16 must wear a lap belt, lists a horn among the required equipment alongside the state’s brakes, steering, tyres, mirror and reflectors, requires the statutory night equipment (headlights, brake lights, turn signals and windshield) for any after-dark use, and notes that DUI law applies in a golf cart. State operator rules also apply: a learner’s permit or driver licence under 18, government photo ID at 18 and over.

The zone has grown since 2012, when the city moved to a zone-based network, with crossing expansions in 2014, 2017 and 2018. In September 2023 the commission backed further expansion and a $50,000 business plan after a survey of 2,200 residents found 68 percent wanted more crossings. The city published a Final Golf Cart Program Report in July 2024 and has a Micro-mobility Infrastructure Plan under way. A 2017 description you may still find online put the zone roughly between Curlew Road, Bayshore and Broadway and Edgewater, Union Street and Keene Road, with Patricia, Main Street to Skinner and Virginia excluded except at crossings, and a $10 decal. That description is superseded. Use the city’s live GIS map, not an old blog.

Clearwater. We found no City of Clearwater ordinance designating any street for private golf carts. Until the city confirms one, treat plain golf carts as not permitted on Clearwater streets, including Clearwater Beach.

LSVs

An LSV may use any street posted 35 mph or less and cross a faster road at an intersection (s. 316.2122). It must be titled, registered and insured, and the driver must hold a driver licence. Florida seat-belt and child-restraint law applies inside an LSV; belt every seat and use a proper child seat.

Clearwater Beach regulates the commercial side. An ordinance effective 15 April 2012 covers for-hire low-speed vehicles, pedicabs and surreys. Under it, for-hire LSVs may run on roads posted 35 mph or less, which is nearly all of the beach, and may use the Memorial Causeway, posted 45 mph, only to reach Island Estates. The ordinance set a safety certificate at $75 with a $50 renewal and requires driver permits, as reported in 2012; current fees may differ. Nothing in it designates streets for private golf carts.

In Dunedin, an LSV is not confined to the cart zone, but it is still a motor vehicle: 35 mph postings and the licence, title and insurance rules apply, and the driver gets any ticket.

Renting here

We found no published rental snapshot for Dunedin. On Clearwater Beach, for-hire LSVs operate under the city’s 2012 ordinance with certificated vehicles and permitted drivers. Wherever you rent on this coast, expect a 21-and-over rule, a licence check and proof of your own auto insurance, and remember that the driver, not the company, receives any citation. GolfCartNearMe lists rental companies by town at golfcartnearme.com, and our renting guide covers deposits and waivers.

Parking, paths and the beach

In Dunedin, park in a vehicle space, two carts side by side where no cart space exists, and use vehicle parking only during downtown events. Highlander Park has cart paths and a parking map. The Pinellas Trail, sidewalks and parks are closed to carts unless the city has designated a spot. On Clearwater Beach, park an LSV where a car parks; no carts on the sand. For the kit that keeps a child legal and a cart visible at dusk, see beach cart accessories and safety.

What we could not confirm

The current boundary of Dunedin’s zone and the full list of designated streets. Use the city’s GIS map or ask the city clerk; the code sections are 74-201 and 74-209.
Whether Dunedin permits night operation on any specific street. Ask Dunedin Police non-emergency.
Whether Clearwater has designated any street for private golf carts. None found; ask the Clearwater city clerk.
Current Clearwater Beach for-hire LSV fees and whether the 2012 ordinance has been amended.
The status of Dunedin’s Micro-mobility Infrastructure Plan and any crossing added after July 2024.