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Treasure Island Beach, St. Petersburg,Florida

 

Treasure Island is located between Sand Key to the north, and St. Pete Beach to the south. Treasure Island generally is another overbuilt, over-commercialized beach town, where you can't even get a glimpse of the water until you've parked your car and walked past the beachfront resorts and condos.  Treasure Island does provide good beach access, and the County beach actually has FREE parking. The nicest beach in my opinion is down at the south end of the island in an area called Sunset Beach. See for yourself by checking out the photos below. Treasure Island is easily accessed from the City of St. Petersburg, Florida. There are plenty of beachfront rental condominiums and some hotels and beach houses for rent. Treasure Island has no shortage of restaurants and small shops that cater not only to visitors, but also to a large population of residents.
 
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Treasure Island has really nice water for swimming. Generally the drop-off is gradual on most beaches. Treasure Island beaches are very kid-friendly. One thing you must consider is that the Treasure Island beaches are VERY wide. This means that it is a long walk from the parking area, or from your hotel or condo, to the water's edge. If you have to carry small children and beach gear, or if you have difficulty walking long distances for whatever reason, keep this in mind.
One of Treasure Island's extremely wide beaches. It's quite a walk to get to the water. The Gulf is out of sight on the left side of the photo.
You might encounter a gigantic inflatable slide on Treasure Island beach. If you don't like big things like this on the beach, don't worry, the beach is so huge that you don't ever have to get near it (unless you have kids, of course).
The snack bar and restrooms at Treasure Island Municipal Beach; a long way from the water. A very long way.
Here is the front entrance to the beach. You have to walk through the snack bar, a rather dated structure, a relic from the 70's it looks like. Definitely this beach needs some redesign work.

This beach facility is actually owned and maintained by the City of St. Petersburg, not by Treasure Island. (Thanks to Jeff Jensen, Public Information Officer, City of Treasure Island, for bringing that to my attention.)
A little further south is the beach access provided by Pinellas County, another unbelievably wide beach. As you can see, it is manicured daily by heavy machinery.

Note the famous Bilmar hotel, the largest building in the photo, also pictured below in a closer view.
Here is a photo of the Treasure Island Beach Trail as it runs past the Bilmar Hotel. It runs for about a mile, from 104th St to 119th St.

There are plans to extend the trail the entire length of the island. Opponents to the plan exist.

I think the trail extension is a great idea. If you'd like to know more about the trail, visit the Treasure Island Beach Trail website, edited by Gary Becker of the Treasure Island Beach Bums.

I highly recommend visiting all of the above sites if you like Treasure Island.

Here is yet another angle of the Bilmar Hotel Resort, taken from the dune area in the late afternoon. Late afternoon is by far the best time for photography on the Florida Gulf Coast. Colors are much richer and it's much easier to deal with the sharp contrast between white sand and dark vegetation.
The southern end of Treasure Island is known as Sunset Beach, which is without a doubt the best part of the island. It's mostly residential and is definitely where the locals go to the beach to relax. Here is a quiet morning on Sunset Beach with a few morning strollers out.
The most northern reaches of Sunset Beach have a few beach restaurants and bars which attract a small and devoted crowd. This is a busy Sunday morning on Sunset Beach. The Church of the White Sand Beach.
The beach pavilion at the Treasure Island Beach Center, built I believe in 2002, is an attractive structure overlooking a great beach. It is the southernmost public beach access on Treasure Island.

The Treasure Island Beach Pavilion is available for weddings. It is a nice place for a wedding, but there is no electricity available. But, the price is right. For non-residents: $300 for 6 hours. For more information visit the link above.
A boardwalk stretches from the parking lot at the Treasure Island Beach Center, south to Blind Pass, a distance of about a quarter-mile. It's a nice walk, especially in the early morning and during the sunset hours.
Sunset Beach lives up to its name. Here it is in the rosy glow of sunset on a cool spring evening.
Keeping up with the weather is important. On this day I drove up to Treasure Island to snap a few photos. This late summer thunderstorm followed me all the way. I ended up in a serious downpour on the way home through rush-hour traffic. This was not part of my plan.

Here is a good citizen weather station that reports St. Petersburg, FL weather, marine forecast, and tides. It is very detailed and has a great doppler radar image of Florida.

 
Video of surfing Sunset Beach in the 1970's

When the surf is up you will always find some surfers out trying to catch a few waves. It may not be the best surf break on the Gulf coast, but it's home to many fine surfers of all ages.

There is a lot more surfing in Florida than most people realize.
   
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