St. Pete Municipal Beach: A Wide Beach on Florida’s Gulf Coast!
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Although technically located in Treasure Island, the city of St. Petersburg owns and maintains this beautiful beach, which happens to be one of the widest on the Gulf coast. At St. Pete Municipal Beach, you will find plenty of room to enjoy the day without any noisy neighbors! If someone is too loud or obnoxious, you can just move to another spot, unlike other Pinellas County beaches where you are mere inches away from the next person. This is a great choice for anyone who wants to avoid the rowdy Clearwater and St. Pete beach tourist crowds. While I love the beautiful Gulf beaches, some of them get too crowded with tourists. As a local, I always appreciate a nice quiet beach day after a few weekends of dealing with tourists.
Great for beach sports!
This beach is also great for recreation; I saw at least 4 volleyball nets (3 right by the parking lot and concession stand). The long stretch of sand is perfect for an early morning jog (outside of the dreadfully hot & humid summer season). Luckily, I got to the beach at 8:30 am on Sunday morning before any major crowds hit. However, there were still a handful of people out enjoying the weekend: swimming, fishing, laying out…you name it. There was just enough people to give the beach that vacation vibe. I had enough room to do my run for the most part, with only a few instances of having to swerve around beach walkers.
If anything, the problem wasn’t the crowds; it was the extreme heat! Even prior to 9:00 am, with the temps in the low 80’s, the sun still felt miserable blaring down on me! Is there any good time to run during the unbearable Florida summer months!? Whether it’s early in the morning or late in the evening, it never seems to cool off!
The sand was a bit rocky – great for shelling, but not the best for beach walking. However, the water was warm, clear, and clean. Swimming was nice as the waters weren’t too congested with people. If you have ever swam in the Gulf, you know the primary draw is the beautiful clear water. It’s fun swimming and being able to see your feet at the bottom. I also feel like you could see a shark easier in non murky water so it makes me feel a bit safer. Shark attacks occur more frequently in murky water as they can mistake you for prey. The water is also really shallow so you would have to go pretty far out to cover your entire body.
Beach Amenities
You will also find a 1 mile walking/jogging path, perfect for enjoying a stroll on a cool morning or evening. This is nice as most beaches in the Bay area do not have a path running alongside the water asides from Clearwater which is almost always too congested to use. Other amenities include: cabana rentals, a concession stand, restrooms (they don’t open until 10:00am), a playground, and picnic tables. Plenty of restaurant options are available within walking distance.
The snack shop, playground, and volleyball nets (the first thing you will see after parking)
Although it is not my favorite beach in the Bay or even St. Pete for the matter (I prefer the quiet local charm of Pass-A-Grille) this beach offers one primary advantage: lots and lots of sand! Having visited many narrow Florida beaches since moving to the Tampa region, the shear amount of sand space was a real treat here. I preferred this beach over many others due to the extra breathing room and amenities (volleyball courts and walking path).
