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Walkers, joggers, and cyclists enjoy time in the outdoors along the Hillsborough River on the downtown Tampa Riverwalk. Image by Tom Adkinson

TAMPA, Fla. – Communities with waterfronts of any description could take lessons from Tampa about turning a narrow parcel of land into a major asset for everyone – local citizens and visitors alike. Tampa accomplished that goal with a lively 2.6-mile-long ribbon called the Tampa Riverwalk.

The Tampa Riverwalk is a treasure in the heart of the city. It is a winding path featuring the Hillsborough River on one side and an array of attractions, businesses, and public spaces on the other. Walkers, joggers, and cyclists make it a vibrant landside space, while boaters, kayakers, and paddleboarders complement their activity on the water.

A river taxi from Pirate Tours motors away from Armature Works on its way back to Sparkman Wharf on the Tampa Riverwalk. Image by Tom Adkinson

The hospitality and tourism industry has a symbiotic relationship with the riverwalk. Businesses and entertainment venues thrive in an environment so inviting to outdoor activity.

Restaurants such as Anchor and Brine at the Marriott Water Street overlook the walkers and joggers, and so does the nearby Columbia Cafe, an offshoot of the Columbia Restaurant, Florida’s oldest restaurant, in nearby Ybor City. (Both Columbia locations are good spots to sample a Cuban sandwich and begin your education about whether Tampa or Miami lays true claim to its origin.)

This bust of railroad and hotel magnate Henry Plant is one of many that tell Tampa’s history along the Tampa Riverwalk. Image by Tom Adkinson

Massive Caribbean-bound cruise ships are perhaps the largest attractions along the riverwalk. They dock at Port Tampa Bay, just a short distance from Sparkman Wharf, which much smaller vessels call home. Rental paddleboards and kayaks are available at Sparkman Wharf, and the fleet of Pirate Tours river taxis and excursion boats come and go frequently. The river taxis operate like other cities’ hop-on/hop-off buses, offering 17 stops along the riverwalk and elsewhere in Tampa. A river taxi ticket lasts a full day.

Between the cruise port and Sparkman Wharf is another big attraction, the Florida Aquarium. The aquarium’s 500,000-gallon Coral Reef Gallery is home to sand tiger sharks, sea turtles, Atlantic stingrays, and hundreds of reef-dwelling fish. In addition to its aquatic animals, the aquarium also has an aviary where birds fly freely in a setting of lush mangroves.

Children can play checkers on a grand scale at the Heights Public Market at one end of the Tampa Riverwalk. Image by Tom Adkinson

History comes alive along the riverwalk in various ways. Of particular note is the Tampa Bay History Center, a 60,000-square-foot museum that explores 12,000 years of Florida history. Complementing this curated collection is a series of busts of people important to Tampa’s development, all along the riverwalk.

A riverwalk plaque features this photo of Tony Jannus, pilot of the first scheduled commercial airplane flight. That 1914 event ended with a landing in the Hillsborough River. Image from State Archives of Florida

Among the busts of educators, civic leaders, civil rights icons, and entrepreneurs is one of Henry Plant, a railroad pioneer who also developed Tampa’s port for deepwater shipping. He also became a hotelier, and among his properties was the Belleview, notable for its seemingly out-of-place minarets that became Tampa landmarks. The hotel survives today as the University of Tampa, and its minarets are conspicuous from the riverwalk.

Among the historic tidbits remembered along the riverwalk is the fact that Tampa is the site of the first scheduled commercial airline flight in history. On Jan. 1, 1914, pilot Tony Jannus, along with one passenger and a bag of mail, flew 21 miles from St. Petersburg to Tampa in a seaplane that landed in the Hillsborough River. Two thousand people awaited his arrival.

Celebrity Cruise’s Celebrity, docked next to the Tampa Riverwalk, dwarfs a pleasure boat as it motors by. Image by Tom Adkinson

Among the historic tidbits remembered along the riverwalk is the fact that Tampa is the site of the first scheduled commercial airline flight in history. On Jan. 1, 1914, pilot Tony Jannus, along with one passenger and a bag of mail, flew 21 miles from St. Petersburg to Tampa in a seaplane that landed in the Hillsborough River. Two thousand people awaited his arrival.

Farther along the riverwalk is the Tampa Museum of Art and the Glazer Children’s Museum, and at the far end is Armature Works, a destination unto itself. Armature Works is a 50-acre mixed-use district whose highlight is a massive structure that originally was the 1910 maintenance facility for the city’s streetcars. Today, it is the Heights Public Market filled with restaurants and bars that can fortify you for a return to wherever you started your stroll on the riverwalk.

Trip-planning resources: VisitTampaBay.com, PirateWaterTaxi.com, and Marriott Waterstreet

(Travel writer Tom Adkinson’s book, 100 Things To Do in Nashville Before You Die, is available at Amazon.com.