St. Pete Pier
St. Pete Pier is an amazing new development with gorgeous modern buildings housing nice cafes. You can walk for 1000m to the end, enjoying the fantastic breeze, chic landscaping, and views on all sides. Two concrete piers converge, and you can look down here at old pilings with pelicans balancing on them. Here you can sit on wide concrete stairs in the shade and look up at a circle of light from an opening in the concrete. At the end of the pier, a triangular hill provides a sloping lawn, a place to hang out on cool days. Another sloping lawn is by the splash pad. These are wonderful public spaces!
The modern building at the end of the pier has an upstairs restaurant called Teak with huge glass windows, and a balcony with sweeping views and a rooftop bar called Pier Teaki. There is a gift shop below with fairly priced, good items such as hats and t-shirts. In the lower level there is Driftwood Cafe, which has great items such as ice cream, shave ice, smoothies, sandwiches, personal pizzas, picnic platters, salads, breakfast items, tea, coffee, and pastries.
My favorite cafe is Doc Ford's Rum Bar and Grill. It is modern with amazing views of the blue-green water. Make sure you sit on the patio- the breeze makes the heat bearable- and enjoy a perfect Florida meal. The food is good and reasonably priced, and the service is very friendly. Indoors there are huge windows looking out on the water. Outside the cafe, an oak tree provides shade, where couples have romantic picnics by a rowboat decoration.
The playground on the pier is something extra! There is a hill with a fort and slide coming down it. There are logs to climb, and all manner of structures to climb and leap up on. At night, by the playground, a gigantic web in the sky is lit up by laser lights that change colors. This is really living at its best!
A beach sits by a large lawn on the north side of the pier and many gather to enjoy the white sand and water. A large shade pavilion provides a spot for picnics. You can see the salmon pink historic Vinoy Resort.
The only problem with the pier is that there is very little shade along the walkways and it feels insanely bright in summer.
Near the center of the pier is the Tampa Bay Watch Discovery Center, which you really have to visit when there's a special class like the lionfish dissection class, otherwise it's just a ten minute visit with some modern fish tanks and plaques.
Once you leave the pier, there are more restaurants along Beach Dr. This area looks hip at night, lit up with gorgeous strung lights and pretty signs. The Museum of Fine Art looks sweet lit up at night. In the park along the water, North Straub Park, huge banyan trees and lit-up trees look magical at night.
The Dali Museum is a twelve minute walk south of the pier and is a must visit while in St. Pete!
Biplane sculpture.
Grasses along the walkway.
A waitress brings out the food at Doc Ford's Rum Bar.
Yellow flowering trees near the splash pad.
Yellow umbrellas and chairs at the splash pad.
Looking toward the end of the pier.
The beautiful color of the water.
Umbrellas on a hill by the splash pad.
Kids having fun at the splash pad.
A couple walks along the pier, with Spa Beach in the background.
A shady spot on the right, and the two long piers that lead to the end of the pier.
Looking back from the pier at Spa Beach.
Pelicans like to stand on these posts.
Taking a photo at the pier.
Pier Teaki, a rooftop bar, in the amazing building at the end of the pier.
Shady spot on the hill by the building at the end of the pier.
You can stand in the shade and watch the water, at the building at the very end of the pier.
A shady spot to watch the water and the city skyline.
The city skyline, from the pier.
The rooftop bar, Pier Teaki.
The gorgeous building at the end of the pier, with a rooftop bar.
Walkway surrounded by wispy grasses and palms.
Metal bench and railing, with pretty sky and water behind.
Circle in the concrete, with nature's lovely shades of blue and green.
A family kicks back in the shade at the stairs.
A bicyclist rides along the pier.
A family rides bikes along the pier.
Pelicans in a nice spot between the two piers.
Kids look down from the hole in the concrete.
Doc Ford's Rum Bar has nice landscaping at the entrance.
Table at Doc Ford's Rum Bar.
Wonderful shades of silver and blue, from Doc Ford's Rum Bar.
Sitting outside at Doc Ford's Rum Bar.
Canoe and picnic table near Doc Ford's Rum Bar.
Outdoor seating at Doc Ford's Rum Bar. Bliss!
Plants with gigantic leaves, catching the light, near the playground.
A boy stands on a log at the playground.
A boy climbs on a log climbey at the playground.
Parents watching the playground from the shade.
A red-haired boy runs through the fort.
The fort and slide at the playground.
The playground is amazing!
A gigantic web in the sky, above the lawn near the playground!
Vinoy Resort with its pink color.
Views of Vinoy Resort at sunset.
People enjoying the pier near Spa Beach.
Gigantic web in the sky!
A picnic pavilion at Spa Beach.
Spa Beach, at the base of the pier.
Playing on the log climbey at the playground at sunset.
The playground with its yellow slide, at sunset.
A tunnel to run through.
Turtle sculptures at the playground.
A boy going down the slide that runs out the fort.
Kids playing on the boat-shaped climbey at the playground.
Banyan tree along Beach Drive, in N. Straub Park.
Museum of Fine Arts, along Beach Drive.
Banyan tree and little lights in the trees in the distance.
Dining with a view of the banyan trees along Beach Drive.
Dining with a view of N. Straub Park on Beach Drive.
There are many cafes along Beach Drive, near the base of the pier.
Strung lights and a cute building, along Beach Drive near the base of the pier.
A couple walks along under the strung lights by the cafes on Beach Drive.
Strung lights at a cafe on Beach Drive.
A cafe on Beach Drive, near the base of the pier.
Strung lights and banyan tree in the distance, on Beach Drive, near the base of the pier.
Huge tree lit in purple, at the base of the pier.
St. Pete Pier sign lit at night, next to a pelican sculpture.
Pelican sculpture on a bench.
The base of the pier, lit purple at night.
Web in the sky, lit with lasers at night, by the playground on the pier.
You can lay on the huge lawn under the web in the sky, watching the laser light show.
Playground at night, with laser-lit web in the sky in the background.
Kids climbing on the playground at night.
St. Pete Pier is located at 800 2nd Ave NE, St. Petersburg, FL 33701. There is parking on the pier for only a few dollars, and some of it is under the shade of solar panels, a wonderful idea!
Last Updated: Fri, 08 Nov 2024 21:45:05 GMT
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