Vinoy Park Bayfront

The bayfront grass here takes its name from the pink Vinoy Hotel across the street, one of St. Petersburg's most iconic landmarks. Built in under a year by developer Aymer Vinoy Laughner, the hotel threw open its doors for a lavish New Year's Eve party on December 31, 1925, and quickly became the "grand dame" of the city's waterfront, hosting presidents, baseball teams, and Hollywood celebrities for the next fifty years. After falling into disrepair and closing in 1974, it sat vacant for nearly two decades before a $93 million restoration reopened it in the early 1990s. The park in its shadow has since become an unofficial off-leash gathering spot for locals.

Popular in early mornings and evenings, this stretch of bayfront grass along Beach Drive is best for dogs with rock-solid recall, since there's no fencing to rely on.