A wide resort beach with a lively beach bar scene.
St. Pete Beach is in Pinellas County, Florida, on the Gulf coast.
Resort towers back the sand at St. Pete Beach rather than dunes. Parking runs on meters along the main strip, and a seasonal lifeguard watches the busiest stretch. Restrooms are available at the public accesses, and Madeira Beach is about five and a half miles north with Indian Rocks Beach a bit over thirteen. The pink Don CeSar hotel has stood over this sand since 1928.
Today's flag, water temperature, surf, wind, UV and tide times for St. Pete Beach load on this page automatically. Conditions change through the day, so nothing on this page is a substitute for the flag flying when you arrive.
Amenity details are Coasti's own notes and can go out of date. Fees, lifeguard seasons and dog rules are set locally.
Flags run from green for low hazard to double red for water closed — see what each flag color means.
Tide predictions come from NOAA station St. Petersburg (8726520).
Weather and marine forecasts come from the National Weather Service at Albert Whitted Airport (KSPG).
Red tide readings come from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission monitoring map.
St. Pete Beach sits in Pinellas County, and most years the bloom cycle builds through late summer and crests sometime between September and November. Karenia brevis occurs naturally offshore regardless of the season. A bloom can settle in at St. Pete Beach while Madeira Beach, five and a half miles north, stays clear. See today's statewide red tide status.
That depends on the flag and the surf, and both change through the day. Coasti shows the posted lifeguard flag when a current one exists, and estimates from surf, wind and rip-current risk when it does not. Today's answer for St. Pete Beach loads at the top of this page.
St. Pete Beach has lifeguards in season. Outside those months no flag is posted, and no flag flying does not mean the water is safe.
Parking at St. Pete Beach is paid. Metered. Fees and lot hours change, so check locally before you go.
Dogs are not allowed on the beach at St. Pete Beach. Nearby rules vary, so check locally before you go.
It is quartz rather than crushed shell or coral. Quartz reflects more light, so it looks whiter and stays noticeably cooler underfoot on a hot afternoon.
More Pinellas County beaches · All beaches Coasti covers · Red tide status · What the flags mean