Upham Beach has a habit of disappearing and coming back. The sand runs off south every year because the beach sits on the downdrift side of Blind Pass, four rock T-groins were built to slow the loss, two hurricanes in 2024 stripped it anyway, and a 125.7 million dollar county renourishment that finished in February 2026 put the sand back. Upham's share was pumped ashore in October and November 2025. That comeback, plus what it means for where Upham fits on the St Pete Beach strip, is the whole story worth telling.

Where Upham Sits on the St Pete Beach Map

Upham Beach is the northern tip of Long Key, the barrier island that holds the city of St Pete Beach. Directly to the north across Blind Pass is the south end of Treasure Island, the next barrier island up. Directly to the south is several continuous miles of St Pete Beach sand that runs all the way down to Pass-a-Grille. The city's Upham parking runs from Beach Plaza and 67th Avenue up to 75th Avenue, and the main lot, the Paradise Grille concession, restrooms and picnic tables are at 6850 Beach Plaza.

The name is not a geographic accident. It is a family name. Bill Upham, the first mayor of what was then St Petersburg Beach, came from the family that donated the beach, according to local beach histories.

The usual St Pete Beach visitor drives right past Upham without stopping because Don CeSar further south gets the postcard attention. What Upham actually offers is less corporate frontage, the unusual sight of black rock fingers reaching into a pastel Gulf, and sunsets that catch those rocks in silhouette in a way no other beach on this strip does.

How to get to Upham Beach

Upham Beach is at 6850 Beach Plaza, on the south side of Blind Pass. Follow Gulf Boulevard to 67th Avenue and Beach Plaza, where the main 183-space lot is.

  • From Tampa International Airport: about 26 miles by car, roughly 40 minutes without traffic.
  • From St Pete-Clearwater International Airport: about 14 miles, roughly half an hour.
  • By trolley: PSTA's Suncoast Beach Trolley runs down Gulf Boulevard from downtown Clearwater every 30 minutes for a 2.25 USD fare. It ends at 75th Avenue and Gulf Boulevard, under a mile north of the main lot. Checked November 2026.

Why Four Giant Rock Fingers Stick Out Into the Gulf

The T-groins are the thing that defines Upham visually and physically. There are four of them, built in 2017 and 2018 from limestone rock, angled out perpendicular to the beach then turning at a T so the seaward end runs parallel to the shore. They are there because Upham has been losing sand at a brutal rate for decades. The Blind Pass inlet and its jetty interrupt the sand drifting south from Treasure Island, while the prevailing longshore drift keeps carrying Upham's own sand further south, so the top of Long Key is permanently starved.

The T-groins you see now are the second generation. In the mid-2000s the county tried five sand-filled geotextile tubes, the cheaper temporary version. They slowed erosion, but by 2017 they were worn down and some had been slashed open, according to ABC Action News. A 9.5 million dollar county project that began in August 2017 replaced them with four permanent rock T-groins. The spacing between them catches fresh sand from renourishment projects and holds it longer than a flat beach would. That is the purpose. Not aesthetic. Not wave protection for swimmers. Engineered coastal accounting.

The 2024 Hurricanes and the $125M Comeback

Helene made landfall in the Big Bend on 26 September 2024, and the National Hurricane Center's report puts its storm surge at 5 to 7 feet above ground from the Anclote River south to Longboat Key, which takes in the Pinellas barrier islands. Milton landed near Siesta Key on 9 October 2024, two weeks later. Together they left Upham and the rest of the county's Gulf beaches badly eroded. Paradise Grille's Pass-a-Grille location did not reopen until late January 2025, 122 days after Helene. The Don CeSar began its phased reopening on 26 March 2025, its Society Table restaurant and Rowe Bar came back that September, and its new Royal Ballroom opened on 1 January 2026, according to the hotel.

The rebuild ran into early 2026. Pinellas County approved a 125.7 million dollar emergency renourishment in June 2025 covering Sand Key, Treasure Island and Upham, funded mostly by local Tourist Development (bed) Tax dollars plus 14.2 million dollars in state grant reimbursement, according to the county's project page. The US Army Corps of Engineers, which had paid 65 percent of earlier projects, was not part of the funding because the county could not get easements from every beachfront owner. The project would have waited otherwise, so the county paid for it itself.

That standoff is over. On 29 May 2026 the Corps and the county signed an agreement under which the Corps goes back to paying 65 percent and owners no longer have to grant permanent easements, Bay News 9 reported. Pinellas County's easement page says the new easements last for the duration of the federal project authorization, and that it still needs them from every beachfront property in a project area before the Corps will share the cost of the next renourishment. Checked November 2026.

Construction began in Indian Shores in September 2025, with crews working around the clock. More than 2.5 million cubic yards of sand were planned for the Pinellas coast, and the contractor scheduled about 66,000 cubic yards for Upham, starting the week of 20 October 2025. The county marked the end of the work on 9 February 2026, ahead of spring break, and Fox 13 reported that in places the finished beach extended more than 100 yards.

Swimming, Red Tide, and the Gulf Reality

The Gulf of Mexico at St Pete Beach is warm and, at Upham, usually calm. NOAA's averages for nearby Clearwater Beach run from about 62 F in January to 88 F in August. There are no lifeguards on St Pete Beach, so you swim at your own risk.

The actual Gulf variable worth checking is red tide. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission says Karenia brevis blooms occur in the Gulf nearly every year, usually starting in late summer or early autumn, and are most common between Clearwater and Sanibel Island, which puts Pinellas inside the usual range. Before a swim visit, check the FWC red tide status page, updated weekly, rather than assuming. Its 30 October 2026 update reported no K. brevis in Southwest Florida samples. Checked November 2026. A green Gulf does not mean a clean one.

The water clarity at Upham is green-turquoise rather than blue. It is not the Florida Keys and it is not Destin. The sand is pale and soft. Different beach character. Easier to reach from Tampa.

Parking, Paradise Grille, and What's Actually Open

The main Upham lot at Beach Plaza and 67th Avenue has 183 pay-by-plate spaces, and the City of St Pete Beach's parking payment page lists 5 USD an hour Monday to Thursday and 6 USD Friday to Sunday, with a 1 USD an hour surcharge from 1 February to 30 April. Pay by card at the stations (no cash) or through ParkMobile. Checked November 2026. Smaller sections on Sunset Way, 69th and 75th Avenues add a few dozen spaces. Arriving early is the way to avoid circling, because the lot fills quickly on weekends and holidays.

Paradise Grille is the food option on the beach itself. Open-air, with picnic tables, and Visit St. Pete/Clearwater lists grouper sandwiches, steamed shrimp and burgers. Simple beach food.

Public restrooms, including a large accessible stall, are at the main access point. Visit St. Pete/Clearwater's accessibility guide lists a ramp and boardwalk over the dunes and two beach wheelchairs that can be borrowed from the Grille, first come, first served, while it is open. That guide is inconsistent on whether a Mobi-Mat is down where the boardwalk meets the sand, so ask at the Grille before relying on one. No alcohol on the public sand: the city's 2017 exception covers only guests in Gulf-front hotel cabana areas.

Dogs are not allowed on the sand at Upham or anywhere else on St Pete Beach's Gulf frontage. The only dog beach in the city is on the Bay side at the south end of Pass-a-Grille Way.

When to visit Upham Beach

Spring is the best window, though also the busiest and dearest. Month by month, starting with the coming winter:

  • December to February: the Gulf averages 61 to 65 F, better for walking than swimming.
  • March to May: NOAA's nearby Clearwater Beach station averages about 69 F in March and 81 F in May, and the beach still holds sand from the renourishment finished in February 2026. Spring break and the 1 February to 30 April parking surcharge make it the busiest stretch, so go on a weekday.
  • Summer: hot and humid, with frequent afternoon lightning.
  • October: a quieter shoulder with water near 79 F, though hurricane season runs to 30 November.

Is Upham Beach Worth It in 2026?

Yes, more than most years. The renourishment that finished in February 2026 put fresh sand back between the groins, and the T-groins that make the place structurally unusual also make it photographically distinct. Come for the sunset, come for the fresh sand, come for a calm-water swim. Do not come expecting Keys-clear water. Check red tide before you drive. Pay the meter. Skip the dog. And understand that the beach you are walking on is the product of a 125.7 million dollar bet by Pinellas County that the Gulf is worth keeping wider than nature would leave it. Upham is the Florida beach that keeps coming back because someone keeps paying to bring it back, and that is its own kind of coastal story.