Bayshore Boulevard and All Its Beauty

A tribute to my favorite place in Tampa, Florida.

As the school year comes to an end, my days in Tampa are dwindling down.

After I go home for summer, I won’t be back in Tampa until August 2016 at the earliest, and that fact actually depresses me. Ok “depresses” might be a strong word, but Tampa has become my home for the last two years, and I’ve spent more time here than anywhere else recently.

(Check out my College Town Guide to Tampa, Florida for more info about the city!)

When I leave Florida, one of the places I will miss the most is the infamous Bayshore Boulevard. The 4.5 miles of uninterrupted sidewalk border the Hillsborough Bay, and fun fact: it is supposedly the longest sidewalk in the world.

The sidewalk is ten feet wide and perfect for running, walking or biking. Next to the pavement is a parallel strip of grass dotted with palm trees, which is amazing because sometimes I like to walk barefoot in the grass and pretend I’m in the woods or in my backyard rather than the middle of the city.

That’s the beauty of Bayshore: it acts as a little oasis of bliss in the middle of a bustling city. The adjacent water is always sparkling, and turtles, fish, manta rays, and dolphins often pop up to make sure your day is going well.

Sunrise and sunset are hands down the best times to stroll Bayshore because of the wide open sky that always fills up with color. As the atmosphere bleeds pink, purple, and orange at the end of the day, the vibrant hues reflect in the water and you can feel the temperature dropping slightly as the evening breeze creates a sense of calm and peace. A sunset run on Bayshore is always a perfect end to the day.

Likewise, running around 7:30am is the perfect start to the day. Tampa is always so quiet early in the morning, so sunrise runs are almost surreal. The sun slowly emerges from behind Tampa’s few skyscrapers, and the sky completes a graceful transition from streaks of yellow and orange into a bright blue as the day begins.

Honestly, my attempts at describing sunrise and sunset on Bayshore are decent but only those who have been there can truly understand the bliss of being on this beautiful sidewalk. I’ll add some pictures below so you can try to picture the scenes I’ve described, but just know that pictures obviously never do the scenery justice.