Visitors pack Tampa Bay area beaches, parking lots for Fourth of July

ST. PETE BEACH, Fla. - People packed the beaches across the Tampa Bay Area for the Fourth of July on Tuesday, and in many spots, parking was hard to come by.

"It’s miserable to try to park here," Timothy O’Connor, who took an Uber with friends from Tampa to Pass-a-Grille Beach, said. "It's just extremely congested. You've got an issue because you've got a lot of businesses. They want you to park for their business and not for the beach. So, a lot of the business say no beach parking. So, it's very limited if you want to come out to the beach."

Locals said the parking woes are a familiar sight intensified by the holiday.

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Michele Korff and her family, who was visiting her from Michigan, searched for a spot for three hours.

"Every lot is at capacity, so we parked a ways away and walked," she said. "It’s alright. We’re still spending time together even if it’s in the car."

Cindy Wheatley and her family, who’ve been vacationing in St. Pete Beach for nearly three decades, said they got to the beach Tuesday before 7 a.m. to get a parking spot.

"We love it here, but the parking is crazy and if you don’t get here early, you may not get it, or you’ll have to keep driving around," Wheatley said.

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Other beaches across the Bay Area weren’t much better. The Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office said by 8:30 a.m., Siesta Key Beach’s lot was already full. 

Beach goers, though, said they didn’t let their search for parking ruin the holiday.

"It’s worth it. Every minute of it. It’s absolutely worth it. It’s beautiful," Wheatley said.