Manatee County Rest Area

Had no problems sleeping one night, however a few nights later we were woken up and told there is a three hour time limit.

Smallish RV lot, only 12 spaces for trucks & trailers plus one long handicap spot. Amazing scenic view of the water.  I pulled in to escape a severe thunderstorm and high winds, decided to stay overnight. Got woken up at 1:45 a.m. by two men banging on my door, one of them a security guard who could barely string together five words of English in a row. "Get out, get out you can only stay three hours.". The maintenance man did most of the talking because the security guard was basically incoherent. Turns out there's a 3-hour limit sign the entrance to the car parking, angled away from the truck parking which none of us could see from our entry into the truck parking.

They didn't kick out any of the camper vans or people sleeping overnight in their cars, even though some of them had arrived before I even got there.

Pull in to watch a beautiful sunset over St Pete Bay and ended up staying the night with about 10 other campers.  Someone even had a tent set up overnight.  Except for the traffic noise it was a great stay.

Now being renovated Go to renovated reopened rest area north of Skyway Bridge

Closing in April 2019 for renovation, dated but clean now. About 15 RV/ semi-truck parking spaces, and plenty for cars. Vending machines for coffee and snacks. Spectacular Bay bridge view, and frequently see egrets, herons, etc. 

Saw no signs saying no overnight; plenty of trucks and Class A, B, C campers there. Amazing water view. Can be windy, and high winds can cause Skyway Bridge closure periods. Check FDOT website for bridge status or watch overhead electronic signs. 

Great views....no signs saying no overnight parking. Water was broken when we stopped. 

This rest area is amazingly beautiful, you have all of the perks of a rest stop with a view of the bay. We stopped on our way to Clearwater as the campground checking was at 3pm. Great place to kill some time, Verizon/T-mobile reception is not too good but it gets the work done.

Would give it 5 stars but...no overnight parking! :(