Pass-a-Grille is a small beach neighborhood at the southern end of St. Pete Beach. The community includes the Pass-a-Grille Historic District, Gulf Beaches Historical Museum, and Pass-A-Grille Beach. The area has restaurants, retailers, and waterfront areas on the Gulf of Mexico as well as the intercoastal waterway.
Though officially part of St. Pete Beach, Pass-a-Grille begins where Gulf Boulevard passes The Don CeSar. There are no high-rises, crowds, or shopping malls, just four miles of undeveloped, public Gulf Coast beaches along Gulf Way wrapped around the end of the key to meet Boca Ciega Bay on the harbor side. Go on a shelling or snorkeling excursion to Shell Key, an uninhabited barrier island, or watch the dolphins play and enjoy gentle sea breezes on a sunset cruise.
Eighth Avenue is where there are small galleries, boutiques and restaurants in a charming setting of an Old Florida historic town. There are more cute bungalows than mansions or hotels, and there are no condo towers. The core of the town is on the National Register of Historic Places and is a block wide, with the beach on one side and the Intracoastal channel on the other.
Surrounded by water on three sides and located at the very end of the barrier island, Pass-a-Grille feels like an island out of another era.
Photo: Grendelkhan [CC BY-SA 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)]
