What to Do in Clermont When It Rains

The Long Breakfast

Rain in Central Florida tends to arrive in sheets, not drizzles. The sensible move is to get out early and let the storm burn off over coffee. IHOP on S Hwy 27 holds a 4.7 rating from over 7,600 reviews, which is a lot of people who have sat through weather just like this. If you want a second opinion, Keke's Breakfast Cafe sits a few doors down with the same 4.7 score and a shorter line on most mornings. Neither will rush you. That is the point.

The Midday Pivot

When the rain settles into a steady drum, you have options along the highway corridors. Outback Steakhouse on E Hwy 50 and Texas Roadhouse on S Hwy 27 both carry 4.5-plus ratings, and both are built for long lunches. Miller's Ale House on S Grand Hwy is the spot if you want a game on and a booth that faces the parking lot, where you can watch the water rise in the gutters.

For something with more heat, Pepe's Cantina Clermont on W Minneola Ave holds a 4.7 from nearly 5,000 reviews. It is a little off the main drag, which means you are less likely to fight the chain crowd. Carrabba's Italian Grill and Olive Garden Italian Restaurant, both on FL-50 or S Hwy 27, are dependable when the family cannot agree on a cuisine. We will not pretend any of this is adventure. It is shelter, and shelter has its own value.

The Chain Comfort Zone

Let us be honest about what Clermont offers on a wet day: a lot of national names. Cracker Barrel Old Country Store on E Hwy 50 is the one that feels most like a destination, with the rocking chairs on the porch useless in the rain but the dining room warm. Denny's Restaurant on Town Center Blvd has a 4.0 rating, which is fine for what it is. Ruby Tuesday on FL-50 and Steak 'n Shake on FL-50 round out the strip. Culver’s on Johns Lake Rd is there too, and it draws a crowd for a reason. None of these will change your life. They will keep you dry.

The One Real Attraction

If you want to do something that is not eating, Showcase of Citrus on Frank Jarrell Rd is the outlier. It is rated 4.5 from nearly 5,000 reviews, and it is a working farm operation rather than a theme park. On a rainy day, the outdoor parts are a wash, but the place has enough under cover to justify the drive east. It is also a reminder of what this land used to be. The citrus groves that built Clermont are mostly gone, taken by freezes and subdivisions. The Florida Citrus Tower, built in 1956, still stands over that changed landscape. You can see it from the highways, a relic of an industry that outlived its own monument's purpose.

The Rain Is the Point

Clermont adopted the slogan "Choice of Champions" in 2014, leaning on the National Training Center that opened in 2001. Athletes train here because of the hills, and the hills are exactly what you cannot use in a downpour. So you do what the locals do. You eat late. You drink coffee. You watch the rain slide off the awnings on S Hwy 27.

The numbers say this is a town of 44,984 people, with a median age of 42.4 and a median household income just under $80,000. It is a settled place, not a tourist stop. On a rainy afternoon, that works in your favor. The parking lots are full of people who live here, not visitors. The service is efficient because the regulars expect it.

When the rain finally stops, and it will, you step back outside into air that smells like wet asphalt and cut grass. The hills are still there. The groves are not. But the coffee was hot, and the booth was dry, and that is what a rainy day in Clermont is for.