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Florida Gulf + Keys · St. Petersburg · Pinellas County

Lassing Park

beginner-friendlymedium crowds

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec

On this page

Wind
- Month by month
Forecast
Water
Level
The scene
Launch
- Rescue
Hazards
Rules & access
Schools
Tips
Getting there
FAQ

Nearby Skyway Beach 9 km · Pass-a-Grille Beach 12 km · Picnic Island Park 14 km · Fort Desoto Park 18 km · Cypress Point Park 24 km · Dunedin Causeway 37 km · straight-line distance

SeasonJan, Feb, Mar, Apr, May, Oct, Nov, Decthe months riders and schools name How windy12-16 knotsmixed LaunchGood grassy rigging area for a public urban park; keep clear of pedestrians, homeowners and the street side.access rules on record, below Waterbay30°C in summer · 10 things riders flag LevelBeginner to advancedwith a caveat, in the Level section Schools2named at this spot From the airport30 minTampa International Airport (TPA)

On the clock

15:00 · 17:00 · 21:00

Two different patterns share the year. From October to May the wind is frontal: it holds day and night, the hourly curve is nearly flat, and if anything the strong hours are slightly more common overnight and in the early morning than at midday, so a front can be ridden whenever it arrives. From June to September the seabreeze takes over, mornings are the weakest part of the day, the wind lifts from about 15:00 and holds from 17:00 until 21:00. Bayside airfield 1.5 km north of the park, 2010-2026.

The marks are the clock times the record names, laid on a 24-hour day. The bar between the first and the last covers those hours; it is not a promise of wind.

Lassing Park is a grass launch on the Old Southeast waterfront in St. Petersburg, on a shallow cove of Tampa Bay. An outside sandbar knocks the bay chop down and leaves a flat patch to ride on.

NE, E and SE all work, but straight east is the one you want: on NE and SE the land breaks the wind up and it arrives weaker than at Skyway or Fort De Soto East.

Shallow flat water and grass to rig on make this one of the more forgiving St. Petersburg launches for freeride and supervised progression, though it is still a city park, with power lines by the street, houses to the south, trees and people walking through.

Tide matters less here than at some Tampa Bay spots, but a very low one can leave almost no water in Lassing Bay. The beach opens 30 minutes before sunrise and closes 30 minutes after sunset, and swimming is not permitted (2026). The season is winter and spring fronts plus the warm-season seabreeze: January-May and October-December.

The wind

Direction

onshoreNE

Kite sizes

7891011121314151617

metres · typical quiver highlighted

Character

mixed

fills in: Two different patterns share the year. From October to May the wind is frontal: it holds day and night, the hourly curve is nearly flat, and if anything the strong hours are slightly more common overnight and in the early morning than at midday, so a front can be ridden whenever it arrives. From June to September the seabreeze takes over, mornings are the weakest part of the day, the wind lifts from about 15:00 and holds from 17:00 until 21:00. Bayside airfield 1.5 km north of the park, 2010-2026.

Typical strength

12-16 knots on a working day, with the strongest one day in ten around 18-20. Measured at the bayside airfield 1.5 km north of the park, 2010-2026, on the same stretch of Tampa Bay.

Best on straight east wind; NE and SE can work but land breaks up the wind, making it less strong than Skyway or Fort De Soto East.

Winter and spring frontal wind plus the warm-season seabreeze, giving a January-May and October-December window. October is the strongest month at the station next door, with 12 knots or more in about 28 percent of hours, followed by April, November and May. July is the flattest at about 8 percent, less than a third of October.

Thermal or synoptic

thermal and frontal

Also on record

7.7

The quiver, in words

For a 75-85 kg rider on this flat water, 12 m is the default and covers the common 12-16 knots. Drop to 10 m when a front pushes it to 18-20 and 9 m above that. On the lighter seabreeze evenings a 14 m or a foil is what gets you riding at all.Indicative, derived from the wind range rather than from what riders here actually use.

Direction to shore

E is generally onshore into the west-side bay launch; NE and SE are more side-onshore but can be disturbed by land.

Dominant direction

NE, E, SE

Forecast

Month by month

Jan, riders' month68
Feb, riders' month62
Mar, riders' month70
Apr, riders' month82
May, riders' month70
Jun51
Jul22
Aug34
Sep34
Oct, riders' month51
Nov, riders' month60
Dec, riders' month51

per cent of the month at force 4 or more

Ringed months are the ones riders and schools name: Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, May, Oct, Nov, Dec.

13Jan17°
12Feb19°
13Mar23°
14Apr25°
12May28°
11Jun30°
10Jul32°
11Aug32°
11Sep31°
12Oct26°
12Nov23°
12Dec19°

avg knots per month · water °C below · season highlighted

Month	Force 4+	Knots	From	Air	Water
Jan	68%	12.7 kt	S	16.3°C	17°C
Feb	62%	12.1 kt	NNE	18.1°C	19°C
Mar	70%	13.2 kt	S	21.2°C	23.1°C
Apr	82%	13.8 kt	E	23.1°C	24.9°C
May	70%	12.2 kt	E	26°C	28.1°C
Jun	51%	11.4 kt	WSW	27.6°C	30.1°C
Jul	22%	9.5 kt	E	29°C	32.1°C
Aug	34%	10.9 kt	E	28.7°C	31.7°C
Sep	34%	11.1 kt	ENE	27.1°C	30.5°C
Oct	51%	12.4 kt	NE	23.9°C	26.2°C
Nov	60%	12.1 kt	NE	21.6°C	23.2°C
Dec	51%	11.7 kt	NE	17.6°C	19°C

modelled

A weather model's cell over this place, not a station on it. Good for comparing places, weaker for one beach.

Modelled from weather reanalysis on a 10–25 km grid (2022-2024), not a ground station: reliable for trade and synoptic winds, understates thermal sea breezes and valley winds. The typical daily max and the direction are columns of the table above, month by month. Highlighted months are the riding season from the spot record.

ERA5 reanalysis grid point (modelled) · Open-Meteo historical weather API — ECMWF ERA5/ERA5-Land reanalysis, not a ground station · 2022-2024

The water

Type

bay

Standing depth

Shallow flat water you can stand in, though a very low tide can leave too little of it.

Tides

A small tide on a shallow cove. The mean range at the St. Petersburg gauge in Tampa Bay is about 0.48 m, the great diurnal range about 0.69 m, which is why tide matters less here than at other bay launches.It still matters: a strong low can leave Lassing Bay with almost no water in it, so check the table before you drive over.

Temperature

30°C summer · 21°C winter

Wetsuit

Boardshorts or a rash vest in summer, a shorty or light suit for some winter cold-front sessions, going by regional St. Petersburg and St. Pete Beach water temperatures.

17–32°C water

Tampa Bay cove with shallow, flat water. An outside sandbar breaks Tampa Bay chop and creates a very flat riding area.

Your level

beginnerintermediateadvanced

Shallow flat water and a grass launch make it workable for beginners with instruction or supervision. Riders still have to handle a public park launch, low-tide shallows and the hazards downwind and near shore.

The scene

What riders come here for

flat waterfreeridegrass launchlessonsdownwinders

Neighbourhood park with local riders, quieter than Skyway and Fort De Soto, shared with pedestrians and the houses next door.

Launch and rules

three ways on to the water, and what each one asks of you

With a school or a boat

2 schools name this spot

See who they are

On your own

Room to launch: Good grassy rigging area for a public urban park; keep clear of pedestrians, homeowners and the street side.

access rules on record

Somewhere else

Skyway Beach, 9 km

Skyway Beach Pass-a-Grille Beach Picnic Island Park

Every spot within 40 km is on the map at the top of this page, with its distance under it.

Rescue

No lifeguard and no kite-specific rescue. Swimming is not permitted at this beach, so there is no guard tower and nobody watching the water.

The shallow cove lets you walk yourself back in from most of the riding area, but the power lines, the trees and the houses downwind mean a plan for a dead kite matters more here than the depth suggests. Emergency number is 911.

Launch

Grass waterfront park launch in Old Southeast St. Petersburg, reached from 22nd Ave S, with parking near 18th Ave S.

Space

Good grassy rigging area for a public urban park; keep clear of pedestrians, homeowners and the street side.

Rules & access

2026: Lassing Park Beach opens 30 minutes before sunrise and closes 30 minutes after sunset, and swimming is not permitted at this beach. Local kite practice is to stay clear of swimmers and crowded launch areas, skip jumping close to the beach, and stay off the water in offshore conditions.

Access rules drift faster than anything else we hold — check locally, and propose an edit if this has changed.

Rider tips

Check the tide before you commit; a very low one leaves the bay too shallow to ride.
Wait for straight east if you can, because it is the only direction the land does not chew up.
Launch and land well away from pedestrians and the power lines on the street side.
Stay off the shore while riding, and keep noise and kites away from the houses to the south.
In the October-to-May season the wind does not follow a clock. Fronts blow through the night and the early morning as readily as the afternoon, so ride the front, not the hour.
In summer it flips: the seabreeze is weakest at midday and best from 17:00 to 21:00.
Bring a 12 m as the workhorse and a 10 m for frontal days; there is no rental shop at the launch.

Getting there

Airport

Tampa International Airport (TPA) or St. Pete-Clearwater International Airport (PIE)

Route

Take 22nd Ave S east, turn left at the end and park near 18th Ave S. Tampa International is roughly 30 minutes from downtown St. Petersburg and about 45 minutes from the beaches.

Transfer

30 min

Cost level

medium

Staying

Urban hotels, rentals and waterfront accommodation in downtown St. Petersburg and the St. Pete Beach area.

No-wind days

Downtown St. Petersburg museums, waterfront parks, the Pier district, Fort De Soto, St. Pete-Clearwater beaches and Tampa Bay restaurants.

FAQ

Is Lassing Park suitable for beginners?

Yes, its shallow flat water and grass launch make it one of the more beginner-friendly St. Petersburg spots, though riders still share a public park.

When is the best time to kite here?

NE, E and SE winds work, with best months from October through May, and straight east wind gives the cleanest conditions.

What is the wind like?

Thermal and frontal winds from the NE, E and SE are typical, though NE and SE are broken up by land and weaker than nearby Skyway or Fort De Soto.

Are there rules to follow?

As of 2026, the beach opens 30 minutes before sunrise and closes 30 minutes after sunset, and swimming is not permitted.

What are the hazards?

Power lines near the street, houses to the south, pedestrians and trees are nearby, and a very low tide can leave too little water in the bay.

Last updated: August 2026