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        John's Pass


Pictures and Information

Location

John's Pass is located between Maidera Beach, FL and Treasure Island, FL near St. Petersburg.
Map of John's Pass

Description

   John's Pass is located between Madeira Beach, FL and Treasure Island, FL. It's within 10 miles of St. Petersburg. John's Pass was created in 1848 by a tropical cyclone known as the Tampa Bay Hurricane.

The pass itself is no place for a canoe or a kayak, but on the ICW (Intercoastal Waterway) side of the bridge at John's Pass is a good place to canoe or kayak. There is a large "no wake" zone so boats will be going slow. There are also a lot of residential channels in the immediate area and all of these have no wake zones. There are 3 islands on the sound side of the bridge. One of these islands has a fresh water spring it the middle of it, you are not allowed to set foot on this island though. The other 2 islands you are allowed to walk on but both are heavily treed.



These islands are surrounded by shallow water and are a great place to swim or wade. The currents can be very strong though. There are usually dolphin in the area of John's Pass and I have also seen manatees around the islands. Madeira Beach is on the north side of the pass and Treasure Island is on the south side. A lot of boats use the pass and courtesy is often in short supply. You will also find people that rent boats using the pass and these people are often unfamiliar with boating etiquette and sometimes lacking in common sense so be careful going through the pass no matter what kind of boat you're in.

John's Pass boardwalk has near 100 shops and businesses. There are a number of restaurants with outdoor seating overlooking John's Pass and the surrounding Gulf. There are a few places around the pass that have boat rentals or where you can rent jet ski's. There are also dolphin tour boats and parasail rides. Although dolphin are usually in the area, you can never be certain you will see them if you go out on one of the dolphin tours. There is plenty of great fishing in the John's Pass area and no shortage of charter boats to rent.

Pictures



Restaurants, Marinas and boat rental places at John's Pass

These dolphin hung out near my boat for about 15 minutes and entertained me with some acrobatics
       
One of the 3 small islands on the east side of the bridge near John's Pass

Maidera Beach as seen from the ocean. Maidera Beach is on the north side of John's Pass