Must-visit St Andrews State Park beach in Florida! (views!) 🌞 swimming, picnic in Panama City Beach FL 🌞 Florida travel blog

Hi there!

The St Andrews State Park beach is one of the best beaches in the Florida Panhandle.

So St Andrews State Park is one of the many spots where you can get gulf coast beach access in Florida.

If you are going to be driving in the Florida Panhandle near Panama City, then you can make a stop at a St Andrews State Park beach!

 

 

St Andrews State Park is one of the Florida state parks with white sand beaches.

Whether you’re going for swimming or just a quick stop, you will be treated to amazing VIEWS!

 

 

By going to the St Andrews State Park beaches, you can also see coastal dunes!

 

 

And it is just to SEE the dunes!

You don’t want to walk across the sand dunes in St Andrews State Park in an effort to preserve them.

 

 

Dune grass is said to be fragile and an important part of the coastal ecosystem so take care not to step on any no matter where you are!

 

 

Now first, the quick list of the beaches in St Andrews State Park.

Then, a little bit about going to these St Andrews State Park beaches.

 

 

St Andrews State Park beaches

 

Whether it’s for swimming, picnic, or VIEWS, you will want to go to one of these 3 beach areas for beaches in St Andrews State Park!

 

 

1. Jetty beach (jetty day use area)

 

This St Andrews State Park beach is near the jetty directly along the gulf coast.

 

 

The Jetty day use area is the most popular area of St Andrews State Park.

 

 

2. Tidal pool beach (jetty day use area)

 

Another beach spot in the popular Jetty day use area is the tidal pool beach, which is connected to the main jetty beach.

The tidal pool is also near the jetty, but it is not directly along the gulf coast.

It’s along the channel between the Gulf of Mexico and St Andrews Bay.

This tidal pool beach has also been called the “kiddie beach.”

The water here is more sheltered compared to the other beaches, so it can be more kid-friendly.

 

 

 

3. Gulf pier beach (gulf pier day use area)

 

And then another section of St Andrews State park beach is near the gulf pier.

 

 

 

St Andrews State Park beach walk

 

The main jetty beach and the gulf pier beach are connected.

It is one long beach in St Andrews State Park.

 

 

It is just a matter of which section of beach you want to go to! 

So you can make it a beach walk from one day use area to the other.

From the gulf pier beach to the jetty beach… and back! Or in the opposite direction!

You can even make it a beach walk to St Andrews State Park from the beach in front of Panama City Beach resorts.

 

 

You will “enter” St Andrews State Park on the gulf pier side! (There is no official entry, you will just keep walking along the beach!)

 

👆 On this St Andrews State Park map, off to the left is the gulf pier day use area (and towards Panama City Beach hotels), and towards the bottom is the jetty day use area. Download the St Andrews State Park map (pdf).

 

 

St Andrews State Park day use areas

The 2 popular day use areas are the Jetty area and the Gulf Pier area.

The areas with gulf coast access that you can drive to in St Andrews Park are the Jetty area and Gulf Pier area.

There is also the lagoon pier area that you can drive to (no beach) and Shell Island (yes beach) that you can take a boat shuttle to get to.

 

 

Here, we will focus on the amazing views of the gulf coast beaches that you can drive to!

 

 

See more for your St Andrews beach trip:

• Why swim with an open water swim buoy
• What to pack for a Florida beach trip
• St Andrews State Park campground

 

More of the Florida Panhandle and beyond

• Best beaches in the Florida Panhandle
• Driving from Florida Panhandle to Orlando with nature stops
• Driving from Destin to Tallahassee with nature stops

 

More below about going to the St Andrews State Park beaches!

 

 

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Can you swim at St Andrews State Park?

 

Yes, it’s possible to go swimming at St Andrews State Park!

That is, if you can don’t think the water temperature is too cold for swimming!

In the winter, spring, and fall, the highest water temperature you will encounter will probably be in the low 60s… mid 60s if you’re lucky! 🥶

For many people, this is too cold for swimming.

But there will almost always be a few people swimming along Florida’s gulf coast even in these temperatures!

The more shallow the water, the warmer the water may be if it’s a sunny day.

I was at another Florida Panhandle beach and there were people who had just come out of the water when the air temperature was in the 40s!!! 🥶🥶🥶

As one of them said… when you’re in the water it’s not so bad, but it’s coming out of the water that you’ll feel it!

Well, I’m pretty sure I would feel it IN the water too. 😜

 

 

St Andrews State Park beach parking

So to go to the beach, you will follow the sign for the jetty area or gulf pier area.

That will take you to a beach parking lot.

 

 

And then from there, you can walk to the beach!

 

👆 The jetty beach parking area is bigger and there are a few beach access spots depending on where you park. You can take a boardwalk to the jetty beach.

 

👇 Path to the gulf pier beach.

 

Or, you can take the long way to the beach!

 

👇 Walk the St Andrews State Park pier, and then take the stairs to the beach.

 

 

St Andrews State Park beach facilities

Most notably beach facilities means that there is a bathroom.

 

 

There is also a changing room in the bathroom.

 

 

There are also basic outdoor beach showers so you can rinse off sand.

 

 

 

Day use picnic areas in St Andrews State Park

 

And as day use areas of St Andrews State Park, there are also many picnic tables so you can eat with views just a short walk from the parking lot!

 

👆 St Andrews State Park gulf pier picnic area.

 

Stop by a Publix grocery store on your way to St Andrews State Park, and have a picnic along the coast!

There is the Publix at Magnolia Plaza near St Andrews State Park around 5 minutes away in Panama City Beach FL (map).

 

 

As a Publix in a beach town, you can buy some of your Florida beach essentials here too if you didn’t bring it from home, including beach chairs and floats.

 

 

 

St Andrews State Park beach store

Also for some beach basics, St Andrews State Park has beach stores at both areas of the beach.

There’s the Jetty Store.

 

 

And there’s the Pier Store.

 

 

You can buy beach basics like snorkeling gear, water shoes, and floats at a St Andrews State Park beach store.

 

See more for your St Andrews State Park beach trip: What to pack for Florida beach vacation

 

 

St Andrews State Park lifeguards

There are no lifeguards at St Andrews State Park beaches.

The beach is open without lifeguards… at your own risk!

 

 

There is no lifeguard, but you can go swimming in St Andrews State Park.

 

 

The boring safety message for swimming in St Andrews State Park and any of the beaches in Panama City Beach!

The ocean is powerful! The Gulf of Mexico is powerful!

Rip currents exist! Know before you go!

 

 

Take care out there!

Look for the beach flag warnings… and take extra caution based on the color of those beach flags!

 

 

Once you pass through the St Andrews State Park entry station, you can look for the beach flag.

 

 

You will also see a beach flag at the St Andrews beach of your choice.

 

 

 

Cost to visit the St Andrews State Park beach

 

In order to go to a St Andrews State Park beach, you’ll need to enter St Andrews State Park.

 

 

So the cost of the beach is the cost of entry into St Andrews State Park. This is around $8 a car for a one-day pass. See current fees.

 

👆 In 2022, the cost of St Andrews State Park was $8 a car.

 

If you plan to make this a year of going to a ton of Florida state parks, then there is also the Florida state parks annual pass.

 

 

Beachcombing and shelling at St Andrews State Park

I wasn’t looking very hard for shells in Florida, but I did find some small shells along the shoreline of St Andrews State Park.

 

 

So for shelling in Florida, you might try beachcombing when you are at St Andrews State Park!

 

 

Panama City beach wedding in Florida: Can you have a beach wedding at St Andrews State Park?

 

If you’re looking to have a beach wedding in Florida or a wedding in Panama City Beach, you can get married on the beach at St Andrews State Park and have a beach wedding!

Just note that if you hold your wedding in a public area, there can be onlookers!

 

👆 Spot the wedding!

 

 

Also make sure to emphasize to your wedding guests to show up to the right area of St Andrews State Park!

As I was walking on the gulf pier, there were wedding guests who were running to the beach saying they were late because they went to the wrong area!

 

 

And that’s a bit about St Andrews State Park in Panama City Beach!

 

Also see:

• What to pack for Florida beach vacation
• Driving from Pensacola to Orlando

 

HAPPY OCEAN VIEWING OR SWIMMING AT ST ANDREWS STATE PARK!