Pass-A-Grille Beach

Where: Located on the southern end of St. Pete Beach, south of the historic Don Cesar Hotel, Pass-a-Grille stretches for about 22 blocks, beginning at 22nd Avenue and going all the way to the end of the island.

Parking: Metered parking, $1.25 per hour or $5.00 per day. Enforced from 8am to 8pm every day. So, if you come after 8pm, parking is FREE!

Hours: Doesn't close.

Beach Facilities: Restrooms, outdoor shower to rinse off, food concession, and beach supply store. Restrooms located at 10th Avenue, across from the Hurricane Restaurant.

Lifeguards: Unfortunately, there are no lifeguards.

Food concession: Yes, the Seaside Grille (pictured below) is located right on the beach and has outdoor seating in the form of concrete tables and benches with umbrellas. It also has a small beach supply store. The food concession is located right across the street from the Hurricane Restaurant on 10th Avenue.

Trolley Stop: Yes!

Surfing hot-spot: Not really.

Pass-A-Grille Beach is my favorite beach in the St. Pete area. There are no buildings (except for the beach concession) located right on the beach. Gulf Way is the street that runs along the beach the entire length of Pass-A-Grille. It separates the beach from the homes. Angle parking and parallel parking spaces are provided for the entire 22 blocks of beachfront. Numerous wooden dune walkovers provide access across the dunes to the long sandy beach. Each walkover has a spray spigot to wash off your feet on the way back to your car.

You can park your car anywhere along the 22 blocks of beachfront and walk a few steps to a nearby dune walkover. Once on the beach, you will find a wide sandy beach stretching a long distance in both directions. You can walk south to the rock jetty on Pass-A-Grille Pass, or north toward the Don Cesar, for as long as you want. Walk all the way to Blind Pass on the north end of the island if you want to (that's a long, long walk).

Above: early morning empty parking spaces on Pass-a-grille beach.

Above: Electronic parking pay station and dune crossover.

If you get hungry or thirsty, you can get something to eat right on the beach at the Seaside Grille, or try one of the restaurants across the street on 9th Avenue, or 8th Avenue. The Hurricane restaurant is one of the most popular. It's a huge 3 story wooden building. It has a top deck where you can get a good view of the beach and is popular for sunset watching while sipping your favorite drink.

Above: Gulf front dining at the Seaside Grille.

Above: Forget your beach supplies? Get them right on the beach.

There are sidewalks along both sides of Gulf Way, so if you don't want to walk down the sandy beach, you can cross the dunes and get on the sidewalk and stroll up and down the beach on the sidewalk. Gulf Way is a wide avenue that is popular with in-line skaters and bicyclists and joggers. If you arrive fairly early in the morning on a weekday there is very little traffic, especially from May through October.

Above: Dune crossovers take you right over the dunes to the beach.

Above: The white sandy beach of Pass-a-Grille.

On windy days you will find a few kiteboarders here, but it's not a hot surfing spot. It's a family beach with people of all ages. You'll see the locals out for their daily power-walk, especially in the mornings and evenings. Turtles nest here during the summer, and fishermen congregate on the rock jetty on Pass-A-Grille pass.

Above: a quiet early morning walk on Pass-a-Grille. This is a view from the south end of the island, looking north. The dunes and beach are to the left. Gulf Way is to the right and is separated from the sidewalk by a low concrete wall. The sidewalk runs the entire length of Pass-a-Grille (22 blocks). Great for walkers and runners who don't want to walk or run on the sandy beach.

Above: Pass-a-Grille is popular, but there's plenty of room for everyone.

Above: Fishermen on the jetty.

Above: a nice selection of shells is left behind by the tide.