Saturday Morning Market St Pete: A Golf Cart Guide
The Saturday Morning Market took all of September off, and it is back. It reopened on October 3 at its fall and winter home next to Al Lang Stadium, and it will run every Saturday from 9am to 2pm through May. If you were here over the summer, you saw the shrunken version across from Williams Park. This is the real one.
Where it is and when it runs
From October through May the Saturday Morning Market sits at 100 1st Avenue Southeast, next to Al Lang Stadium and a few blocks from the waterfront. Hours are 9am to 2pm. In summer it moves to a smaller lot at 212 3rd Street North, across from Williams Park, and runs 9am to 1pm. If an old calendar listing sends you there in November, it is wrong.
The split location is also why event calendars sometimes get it wrong. We caught one such listing in our Labor Day weekend guide, so check the market's own site before you plan around a date.
What you are actually walking into
The market's own count is more than 140 artisan food and handmade craft vendors, with multiple family-owned farms selling produce and international ready-to-eat food from more than 15 countries. It also runs a SNAP matching program. In practice that means you can do a real grocery shop and eat breakfast in the same lap.
Come hungry, and bring something to carry it all in.
Bringing a dog
Dogs are welcome, with rules. Keep them on a short leash under four feet. Extendable leashes are not allowed, and the market asks you to restrain your dog near food vendor tables. Only bring a dog that is consistently friendly around strangers, clean up after it, and know that the market provides water bowls and cleanup materials at its booth. Dogs that cannot follow the guidelines will not be permitted.
Getting there
The market lists several ways in. The Looper trolley is free and runs from 10am to 5pm on a 12-stop downtown circuit, and the SunRunner is fare-free. There are free bike racks on the north side. If you drive, metered street parking within several blocks runs $1 to $1.50 per hour and is payable by meter, card or the ParkMobile app, and the market asks visitors not to park on Beach Drive. The City also operates the SouthCore Garage at 101 1st Avenue South, which is open 24 hours.
Our six passenger golf cart rental is $99 for eight hours or per consecutive day, with free delivery, and it is street legal wherever the posted speed limit is 35 mph or lower. Downtown streets around Al Lang fit inside that. The cart is most useful as the thing that links the market to the rest of your day, not the thing you try to park at the market's door.
What to do after 2pm
The market closes just as the afternoon opens up. The Pier is a short ride away, Beach Drive has lunch, and downtown's murals are a good second act if you want to walk off the produce. Our St. Pete mural tour covers the Central Arts District side of downtown, and it works well on a Saturday afternoon once your bags are somewhere other than your hands.
A Saturday plan we like: market first thing at 9, lunch on Beach Drive, then a lap around the waterfront parks.
Make it a picnic
If you are shopping for a picnic, buy the produce here and the rest across town. Mazzaro's Italian Market is a few miles north and west of downtown, open Saturdays from 9am to 2:30pm, and it has a cheese room, a bakery and a sandwich counter that takes orders ahead of time. Do the market first at 9, then go to Mazzaro's before it closes at 2:30. Carry your haul to the waterfront from there. The market's own site has the full picture of its vendors, and our cart's six seats mean the whole group can come along.
Keep one rule of thumb in mind for any cart day: check the posted speed limit on roads outside the downtown core, since the cart is legal only where the limit is 35 mph or lower.
Frequently asked questions
When is the Saturday Morning Market open?
Saturdays from 9am to 2pm, October through May, at 100 1st Avenue Southeast next to Al Lang Stadium.
Is the market open in September?
No. It takes September off, and it spends the summer at a smaller location across from Williams Park.
Are dogs allowed?
Yes, on a short leash under four feet with no extendable leashes.
Is it a farmers market?
It includes multiple family-owned farms selling produce, plus prepared food and handmade goods from more than 140 vendors.
Does it accept SNAP?
The market runs a SNAP matching program. Check its site for how it works.
BOOK YOUR ST. PETE GOLF CART RENTAL AND MAKE A SATURDAY AT THE MARKET SIMPLE.
