We were amazed at how few people were there the entire glorious week we stayed at the nearby Vinoy hotel.Great little white sand beach all to ourselves.

The Spa Beach Park houses the Spa Beach Bistro on the new St. Petersburg Pier. There's a nice manmade beach there and a place to buy drinks and pizza. The plaza often has music. When we were there, the music was too loud, but the mushrooms on the pizza were authentic. Additionally, the beach was a pleasant stop from which to end the water for swimming -- either freestyle, back crawl, or miscellaneous.

Ok, so for a city beach with all of the options for fun it is nice. The water can be a little nasty sometimes so check. It is mild there so ok for small children. However, the beaches on the gulf side of town are the real reason to go to the beach.

It was a very hot day, and I found this park by sheer chance, just walking into it. It looked like there were only four people in the park, including myself. A young couple was swimming in the bay, a man was sitting on the wall, and I found myself in the open grounds of this park, taking pictures. The park sits on almost seven acres of waterfront land of the downtown area, right next to the huge parking lot, near the Beach Drive. I am sure, it has some events going on there throughout the year. What interested me mostly was the beach -- a tiny, white sand spot with the even tinier island of green sitting in the center of it. This beach reminded me of Paul Gauguin and his mesmerizing Tahitian paintings -- too beautiful, too quiet. Contrasting were the endless vast grounds of the park, its waving walking paths, and pink colors of Vinoy at the distance. And Lynx docked across from Vinoy. The park has the mood, the quietness and peace.

St. Petersburg is fortunate to have many parks, venues for many of the attractions that makes the area popular. But as major events (Blues Festival, MainSail Art Festival, etc.) are correctly scheduled for the larger areas, there are fun and different activities occurring at Spa Beach Park. In the past year we have attended a couple of unique events, most recently the Purina Pro Plan Incredible Dog Trials. Before that, the Mud Games drew us to SBP. This park is centrally located, and served by the Downtown Trolley and the ferry. Local Segway tours often include SBP. Don't forget the views of the Bay from the park. Certainly this area will benefit from the visibility of the reconstruction of the Pier. In the meantime don't forget to check the schedule at Spa Beach Park when looking for fun things to do in St. Pete.