Coffee Pot Bayou
Central bay launch
Coffee Pot Bayou is a central-bay kayak and paddleboard launch, free to park, clearest on an outgoing tide.
The perfect first paddle. A small, sheltered bayou in northeast St. Pete, surrounded by handsome 1920s neighborhood with palm-lined streets. Coffee Pot Boulevard is one of the prettiest residential streets in the city. The water is shallow and almost always calm, even when the open bay is choppy, because the bayou is tucked behind a peninsula. Manatees use it as a winter warm-water refuge; in summer, mullet schools flash silver under your board and dolphins occasionally chase them into the bayou. There's a small park with parking and a sandy launch point. If you've never been on a paddleboard before, start here. Fall in five times, no one will see, and the water is two feet deep most places.
Where do I park, and is it free?
- Cost
- Free
- Parking
- Limited
Small free lot plus free street parking, but it often fills by about 7:30am on peak days, so arrive early. No restrooms here. The zero-entry launch and two-foot-deep water make this one of the best true-beginner spots in the area.
How clear is the water?
Cleanest when the tide is going out: the outgoing pulls neighborhood runoff out into the open bay
What will I see?
- Manatees use the bayou as a warm-water refuge
- Mullet schools and the dolphins that chase them
What's the fishing like?
Snook around the docks and seawalls, redfish and trout on the flats; sheepshead on structure in the cooler months.
How do I share the water here?
In the cold months manatees pull into this bayou for the warmer water, so a dark slow shape near your board is likely one of them. Watch your speed, keep your distance, and remember it is passive observation only by law: no chasing, no touching, no following them around.