St. Pete Beach
Overview
St. Pete Beach occupies a barrier island on the Gulf of Mexico in Pinellas County, west of St. Petersburg and south of Clearwater. It is a broad strand of white sand backed by a mix of resorts, motels and low-rise residential streets, and it is regularly rated among the best beaches in the country.
The landmark is the Don CeSar, the pink hotel at the southern end, opened in 1928. Hurricanes Helene and Milton damaged it badly in 2024, and it reopened in March 2025; much of the island was hit by the same storms. Corey Avenue a few blocks inland is the town's commercial street.
The water is Gulf water: warm, calm and pale green rather than Caribbean blue, over a sandy bottom with very little rock or reef. It is a swimming and wading beach rather than a snorkelling one.
Our current condition score for this beach is .
Photo summary of last month
Each photograph is published unedited and in date order, and is replaced as newer submissions arrive, so what appears here is the most recent view of the beach rather than a promotional photograph.
Position relative to the Atlantic sargassum belt
The sargassum that affects Florida is carried north through the Florida Straits in the Florida Current, which becomes the Gulf Stream along the state's Atlantic coast, and in most years only small amounts reach the beaches of the Gulf coast.
Anyone choosing between Florida coasts in summer should compare both on the live map rather than assume they behave alike.
The sargassum season
On this shore the seasonal variable that most often affects a visit is red tide, a bloom of the alga Karenia brevis that occurs naturally in the Gulf, most often in late summer and autumn. It is unrelated to sargassum, it does not look like weed on the sand, and it is worth checking locally before travelling in those months.
The Florida sargassum picture in full, including why the Atlantic coast behaves so differently from this one, is set out in our Florida sargassum season guide.
Swimming conditions and safety
This is an easy swim by Florida standards: gentle surf, a sandy bottom and a gradual shelf. St. Pete Beach has no beach lifeguard service, so swimmers are on their own, and rip currents can form on windy days, particularly near the passes at either end of the island.
Blind Pass to the north and Pass-a-Grille Channel to the south carry strong tidal flow and boat traffic, and neither is a place to swim casually. In a bloom year the respiratory irritation that accompanies red tide is carried onshore by the wind, and the sensible response is to move inland or up the coast.
On sargassum, for completeness: fresh weed in the water is harmless, and the sulphurous smell associated with it comes from material decomposing on hot sand over a day or more. Neither is a common experience on this coast.
Choosing a hotel on this stretch
The island has a wide spread of accommodation, from the Don CeSar and the larger beachfront resorts to mid-range motels and rentals a block or two back. Almost all of it is on the same beach, so the differences that matter are price and how far you are from Corey Avenue and Pass-a-Grille.
Pass-a-Grille at the southern tip is the quietest and most characterful part of the island, with a small historic district; the central stretch is busier and closer to the resorts. Clearwater to the north is livelier again and we track it separately.
Visitors weighing this coast against the Atlantic side for a summer visit should note that our Gulf scores are consistently higher through the sargassum season. The trade is Gulf water rather than Atlantic surf, and the possibility of a red-tide bloom in late summer.
Access and parking coordinates
Upham Beach Park (St. Pete Beach)
Upham Beach Park is a City of St. Pete Beach access with a paid on-site lot behind the sand at the north end of the island. Payment is at the machines or by app. Additional paid municipal lots serve the central beach by the Corey Avenue district.
6900 Beach Plaza, St. Pete Beach, FL 33706, USA
Without a car, PSTA buses serve the barrier islands and connect to St. Petersburg, and the seasonal beach trolley runs the length of the island. Tampa International Airport and St. Pete-Clearwater International Airport both serve the area. Pete-Clearwater International about 30.
Check live conditions before you go
The Gulf coast sits outside the Atlantic sargassum route, but red tide is this shore's own seasonal variable and is worth checking separately. On the live map we track St. Pete Beach with dated photographs and a current condition score, so you can compare the Gulf coast against the Atlantic beaches before deciding which side of the state to visit.
See live conditions, photos & cams →