St. Petersburg Recreation Guide: Fishing Piers, Boat Ramps, Marina, Paddling and Sailing

Skyway Fishing Pier State Park, at 4905 34th St. South on the old Sunshine Skyway Bridge, is open 24 hours a day all year and charges $4 per vehicle plus $4 per adult (Florida State Parks, Skyway Fishing Pier State Park).

Florida State Parks says the old Skyway bridge became the longest fishing pier in the world, lists snook, tarpon, grouper, black sea bass, Spanish mackerel and king mackerel among the common catches, and gives the park phone as 727-865-0668 (Skyway Fishing Pier State Park). Two posted notices change a Skyway trip. Since October 27, 2025, after Florida Department of Transportation structural inspections, vehicles and walkers may not go beyond the bait shop, which remains open. And since March 16, 2026, the south Skyway pier has been without power, with limited bait shop service and limited lighting at night.

Downtown, the St. Pete Pier at 800 2nd Avenue NE allows fishing only on the Fishing Deck east of the Pier Point building, from 30 minutes before sunrise until 11:00 PM, seven days a week, and there is no charge to enter the Pier District (St. Pete Pier, FAQ). Gator Jim's Bait and Tackle on the St. Pete Pier opens 10:00 AM to 8:00 PM, Sunday to Saturday.

In Tierra Verde, Pinellas County runs two fishing piers at Fort De Soto Park, open 7 a.m. to sunset; the Gulf Pier has a food and bait concession, and a fishing license is required throughout the park, piers included (Pinellas County, Fort De Soto Park). The St. Petersburg fishing guide covers species, seasons and the piers in more depth.

Anyone landing saltwater fish from a St. Petersburg pier, seawall or boat needs a Florida saltwater fishing license unless exempt, and FWC prices the resident annual license at $17.00 (FWC, Saltwater Fishing Licenses).

The free resident shoreline license covers fishing from the shore or a structure affixed to shore, but it is not valid from a vessel or a shoreline reached by vessel (FWC licenses). Anglers 16 and older targeting sharks from shore, jetties, bridges or piers around St. Petersburg also need the no cost shore based shark fishing permit, required since July 1, 2019 after an online course.

One requirement and one tip from the Skyway: Florida State Parks says its online Skyway Fishing Pier Education Course is required annually to fish on the Skyway Pier, and the bait shop there hands out a free copy of the latest fishing regulations (Skyway Fishing Pier State Park).

St. Petersburg Parks and Recreation lists nine city boat ramps, and each ramp listing says the ramp is open 24 hours even where the surrounding park closes at night (City of St. Petersburg Parks and Recreation, Boat Ramps).

The same St. Petersburg page also carries a general line that boat ramp hours run from 30 minutes before sunrise to 30 minutes after sunset, which conflicts with the 24 hour listings; the Parks and Recreation office at (727) 893-7441 can confirm before a night launch (Boat Ramps).

In the St. Petersburg ramp table, before sunrise means 30 minutes before, and after sunset means 30 minutes after. Commercial vessel operators need a city permit before using certain designated public wharves, and the city says commercial permits for personal watercraft or jet skis are limited; current availability comes from (727) 893-7441 (Boat Ramps).

The St. Pete Municipal Marina at 500 1st Ave. S.E., on the point of Demens Landing next to the St. Pete Pier, has 640 permanent wet slips, a 500 foot transient dock and a public boat launch (City of St. Petersburg, St. Pete Municipal Marina).

The city keeps a minimum 10 foot depth throughout the marina and sells fuel at the marina. Its mooring field has 13 moorings at $40 a day, reserved through Dockwa, and transient dock reservations open no more than 30 days before arrival. The marina office answers at 727-893-7329, 8 am to 5:30 pm, seven days a week, and the transient dock also answers on VHF Channel 16 24 hours a day (St. Pete Municipal Marina).

What is changing: the City of St. Petersburg has selected Skanska as the design build contractor for a full redevelopment of the Municipal Marina, with construction anticipated to begin in 2028 and the finished marina expected to open in 2031 (Municipal Marina redevelopment update).

For lessons, the St. Petersburg Sailing Center, run by Sail St. Pete on the downtown waterfront, says it has been home to novice sailors and expert racers since the early 1940s and offers year round instruction, youth camps, adult courses and a member fleet, with community memberships open to Tampa Bay residents (St. Petersburg Sailing Center). The St. Petersburg sailing guide covers racing, the yacht clubs and community instruction.

St. Petersburg marks its paddling routes as Blueways, and the city says each Blueway trail has parking, designated landings and shorelines open to the public, with many adding ramps, wash stations and storage racks (City of St. Petersburg, Canoe and Kayak Trails).

The city offers a downloadable Blueways Guide, and the St. Petersburg Parks Department helps find a kayak launch inside a city park at 727-893-7335 (Canoe and Kayak Trails).

A county launch serves paddlers in north St. Petersburg. At Weedon Island Preserve the canoe and kayak launch sits next to the fishing pier at the end of Weedon Drive NE, with restrooms and a canoe washing station, and the South Paddling Trail there is a four mile loop through mangroves and seagrass flats (Pinellas County, Weedon Island Preserve Paddling Launch). Canoe and kayak rentals at Weedon Island come from ECOmersion on weekdays and weekends. Pinellas County currently lists the north paddling trail at the preserve as closed (Pinellas County, Weedon Island Preserve).

Fort De Soto Park adds kayak rentals among its concessions, along with bicycle and beach chair rentals (Fort De Soto Park). The St. Petersburg kayaking guide maps the Blueways and launch points in more detail.

The City of St. Petersburg Environmental Compliance Division samples its recreational water sites every Wednesday, and results are usually posted on Thursday (City of St. Petersburg, Recreational Water Quality).

If a St. Petersburg sample comes back below standard, the site is tested again the next day and the second result is posted on Friday; if that test is still poor, the city issues an advisory for the sampling site (Recreational Water Quality). The city page notes that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has recommended a statewide enterococci testing program as a saltwater quality indicator. The practical tip: a Wednesday sample means a Thursday or Friday check of the city map is the freshest reading before a weekend swim.

For a Gulf day trip, Fort De Soto Park runs ferry service to Egmont Key and Shell Key (Pinellas County, Fort De Soto Park). The St. Petersburg beach life guide covers the bay and Gulf beaches, Fort De Soto and the Pinellas shoreline.

Four St. Petersburg recreation guides sit under this section: fishing, beach life, kayaking and sailing.

Last verified: October 15, 2026, on the City of St. Petersburg website, the Florida State Parks website and the Pinellas County website. The St. Petersburg Municipal Marina office is reachable at 727-893-7329 and the Skyway pier at 727-865-0668 (City of St. Petersburg).