Gainesville Florida Historic Districts Running Route

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Length 4.7 km (2.9 miles), terrain: flat

Photos courtesy of Google Maps. Thanks!

For more running routes, see Route List.

Gainesville FL, although it is now a sprawling city that covers a wide swath of land, still has a heart that could be found in a thousand southern small towns. There are quiet streets lined with old wooden homes with wrap-around verandas, yards full of dogwood, azaleas and giant live-oak trees, dripping with Spanish moss. There are three historic districts in the center of town, all with beautiful old streets.

There is also a (partly) old-fashioned downtown with a lively restaurant scene. In short, it's a nice spot for a run! I should know, I lived there for 10 years, and it's the place where I began running. And my last years in this dynamic town were spent in this neighborhood.

Live-oaks in the Northeast Section

The downtown itself was partly redeveloped some years ago and is livelier today, with new apartment buildings full of students and young professionals, with restaurants and bars on their ground floors. Before that, the old stores had been dying off, one by one, and were only partially re-purposed with lawyers' offices and bail-bondsmen, a process common in towns all over America during the last 50 years.

The three historic districts surrounding the downtown are the Northeast Section (Duck Pond), the Pleasant Street district, and the Southeast Section, each with its own character. This route will loop through all three, but you might want to later zig-zag through more of the neighboring streets in further runs. They're worth discovering!

The start at the clock tower. Head up that street on the left!

So let's get ourselves ready for this little run by going to the corner of University Avenue and NE 1st Street, right in the heart of Downtown. There is a little clock tower there. The tower houses the clock from the old courthouse which was torn down there earlier. This is now a little square in front of the new City Hall. There is a another square across University Avenue, the Community Plaza, but we'll come through that later, when we finish the run.

The author with his Gainesville clock tower T-shirt

Now turn north and run up NE 1st Street, with its green divider strip. In just four blocks, turn left onto NE 4th Avenue, and run westwards into the Pleasant Street Historic District. This is traditionally the black part of town, as every Southern town once had. Blacks were forced to live here then, and they were often glad to get out. But in recent years, local pride has grown, and the neighborhood has undergone a renaissance. Some of the old wooden houses have been nicely restored, and the city has improved sidewalks and street-lighting, and the section earns its "Pleasant Street" name. All the streets have the newer, numbered names, plus the original, more poetic names.

Entering Pleasant Street Historic District

First, though, you have to run through two blocks of boring offices and parking lots, but when you cross 1st Street NW (Garden Street), the homey little houses with their big porches and gingerbread-woodwork begin. The house with the wheel-shaped porch-beams is my favorite, just before 3rd Street NW. Many of the houses are small and simple, but each one has a character its own.

At NW 4th Street (Grove Street), turn right and run north for two blocks until you pass the red-brick church, where you turn right (east) onto NW 5th Avenue. This street has a few shops and new sidewalks, forming the heart of the neighborhood.

Along Grove Street

Turn right onto NW 3rd Street and then turn left immediately at the first side-street, NW 4th Place, to continue running eastwards until it also ends in a block.

Now turn right onto NW 2nd Street (Pleasant Street) and run south until you get to NW 3rd Avenue, where you turn left and soon leave the Pleasant Street District.

NOTE: The Pleasant Street Park, a pleasant playground (what else would you expect on Pleasant Street?) surrounded by white picket-fences, is just a block north of here, if you want to take a quick little detour!

You'll cross NW 1st Street, where we started, but continue eastwards into the Northeast Section. This is already the next historic district. The Northeast Section is known for its jungley yards, wide verandas and its huge live-oak trees.

Houses in NE section

Run straight to NE 4th Street, past houses with wrap-around porches. Now turn left to run north through this pleasant neighborhood, home to a mix of students, professors and townspeople.

NOTE: I used to live just a block from here, and it always does me good to be back in this beautiful neighborhood.

Homes along NE 4th Street

Run until the street ends at the Thomas Center, a hundred-year-old former hotel and college. Now it's used as an event venue. This is the side entrance, so turn left to run to the next driveway, so you can now turn right and run past the beautiful front side of the building, looking like an Italian villa, and through its park-like grounds.

At the north end of the building, at NE 7th Avenue, turn right and run downhill the two blocks to the little stream that defines the neighborhood: Sweetwater Branch Creek. Sweetwater runs through a park-like median strip between the two halves of NE Boulevard.

Turn right here and run south along the creek. In just a block, the creek widens to become the Duck Pond, with a little island full of cypress trees in the middle.

Along the Duck Pond

At the far end of the Duck Pond, take a look to the right, up along NE 5th Avenue, to see a couple of the most spectacular live-oak trees in town, covered in Spanish moss.

But now turn the other way, heading east along NE 5th Avenue two more blocks to NE 7th Street, where you turn right and head south, exiting the Northeast section, and coming back to University Avenue in a few blocks.

Now continue south into the third, and smallest, of the historic districts, the Southeast Section. Unfortunately, some of the old homes have been torn down near University Avenue, and downtown buildings have encroached from the west.

Continue to the first cross-street, SE 1st Avenue, and turn right. Many of the houses are a bit funkier here, and smaller, than in the Northeast Section, more like cottages.

In the Southeast Section

In a block, the street turns to the left, but continue running straight along the public footpath that goes into a small park ahead. This is another bit of parkland along Sweetwater Branch. The path bridges the creek and continues westwards into the downtown.

You'll now pass the typical, bunker-like buildings you find in most American downtowns, like the federal building and the county building. When you pass the parked sheriff's department patrol cars at the Alachua County Courthouse, you'll run past a square, the Bo Diddley Community Plaza. It's named after the creative founder of rock and roll (who lived his last years outside Gainesville).

You'll see a little brick building with a roofed-over entrance, next to the street. This is the Bethel filling station, the town's oldest gas station, now used by a snack bar. We'll be back at the plaza in a few minutes, but first comes one, last little detour.

Downtown Gainesville

Turn left at the old filling station, onto SE 1st Street. There are newer apartment buildings along the left side, and original downtown buildings on the right, now full of bars and restaurants. The new residents, mainly students, have revitalized the area. This neighborhood has become a fun spot for hanging out in the evenings.

You're heading for what looks like a Greek temple straight ahead: the Hippodrome Theater. The former post office houses a theater troupe which began as a group of theater-loving hippies in the 1970s, who quickly built a reputation for creative experiments. And they're still going strong.

The Hippodrome Theater

Turn right at the theater, onto SE 2nd Place, and run the one block to Main Street, at still another modern county courthouse. Now turn right and run two blocks past more traditional downtown buildings to SW 1st Avenue again, where you turn right and run the one block back to the Community Plaza and the Bethel filling station. The plaza is home to a lot of live music in its bandstand.

Now run through the plaza, towards the left and you'll come back to the bell tower where you started. Nice little town, huh?

Miami Key Biscayne Running Route

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Length 5.3 km (3.3 miles), terrain: flat (like all of South Florida)

Most pictures courtesy of the creative folks at Flickr Creative Commons. Thanks!

Miami Running Routes:
South Beach
Coconut Grove
Key Biscayne
For more running routes, see Route List.

Here's a little corner of the real, original Florida, hidden away. And surprisingly, it's right inside Miami: Bill Baggs Cape Florida State Park, on Key Biscayne. You can get to this island by driving over the Rickenbacker Causeway from the south end of Miami. You have to pay a few dollars to get into the park, but you'll be glad you did.

Key Biscayne is the southernmost island lining the north end of Biscayne Bay, just north of the natural entrance into the bay.

View from the lighthouse south to Cape Florida, photo by Tach_RedGold&Green

The island is split into three parts: the northernmost section (just after the bridge) is occupied by Crandon Park, with a great beach and nature center along the eastern shore, facing the Atlantic. When I was a kid, growing up just north of Miami, Crandon Park also housed the zoo, south of the parking lots. The western side of Crandon Park is occupied by a golf course, a gigantic tennis center and a lot of inaccessible mangrove thickets.

Then, in the middle part of the island, comes Key Biscayne Village, with beautiful homes on the west side of the main road, and stupid high-rises lining the east side.

And then -- on the southern third of the island, with Cape Florida -- comes the best part. It has been preserved as Bill Baggs Cape Florida State Park. It has the nicest beach around (voted as one of the 10 best in the US), a lighthouse, a little harbor, loads of trails and great views in every direction. As a state park, you just have to make sure that you go there during opening hours: from 8 a.m. till sunset every day.

And, hey, once you've made the effort to go there and you've paid your money, you might as well plan to make a day of it: bring your swimming gear, maybe some picnic food or even a fishing pole. The beach is more natural -- and normally much less crowded -- than Miami Beach. This is the place to kick off your running shoes later and enjoy paradise for a bit longer!

After you pay at the park entrance station, drive past the first picnic area to go south to the main swimming area, with the snack bar, near the lighthouse. Now walk out over the boardwalk to the beach and look around before you start running. The Cape Florida lighthouse is directly south of you, along the beach. The lighthouse was built in 1825 to guide sailors into Biscayne Bay.

The Bill Baggs beach and lighthouse, photo by Keith Hauser

We want to run past the lighthouse, running clockwise along the shore, following the southern tip of the island (Cape Florida), then back up the west shore to No-Name Harbor, see a few mangroves, then cut across the island back through the picnic area to the beach, then head back south to the starting point, right here at this wonderful beach.

The lighthouse, photo by Ron Wiecki

Unfortunately, the beach is blocked by a fence directly in front of the lighthouse. The lighthouse and the lighthouse-keeper's house and a 100-meter section of beach are all fenced-off. So we'll first have to take the last path through the dunes on the right, back to the parking lot, then take the trail leading past the lighthouse to the south. You might want to run to the lighthouse first, just to see it from close-up, then back to take the path that takes you back to the beach, south of the fenced-off area.

From now on, there are no more obstacles. Just run along the water's edge, with the Atlantic waves rolling over the sand, and the seagulls and pelicans winging overhead.

You'll round the tip of Cape Florida, and start heading north, going by the end of the parking area. On the bay side of the island, there is no beach, and the rocky shore is used by fishermen and nature lovers, with occasional docks for fishing and bird-watching scattered along the shore. The trail is lined by Florida's state tree: the sable palm. You can see westwards across Biscayne Bay, and the sunsets here can be beautiful.

Sunset along the trail on the west side of the island, photo by dania102100

At the 2-km mark, you come to No-Name Harbor, a little anchorage with a restaurant, the Boater's Grill. Follow the path as it curves around the little bay.

When you pass the restaurant and parking lot, keep running along the water, until -- about halfway around the north side of the harbor -- you come to the trail that leads off through the mangroves north of here. Turn right onto the mangrove trail and follow it to the end, where there is a lookout over the lagoon, and then head back to the harbor again.

Pelican on a seawall, photo by onebrowncookie

Most of the Florida bays were once lined with such mangroves, and this area is also being restored. The whole area north of No-Name Harbor had been buried under sand dredged up from the bottom of Biscayne Bay to build more houses, but Miami Herald editor Bill Baggs started a campaign to save this corner of Key Biscayne, and the State of Florida bought the land. Since then, Florida naturalists have been restoring the land to a half-way natural state.

When you get back to the harbor again, run back to the parking lot near the restaurant and now follow the bicycle path eastwards, cutting across the island.

When you get to the main road, cross the road into the picnic area parking lot and follow the boardwalk out to the beach. The beach is narrow here, and not many people swim at this spot.

Crossing the dunes to the beach, photo by Keith Hauser

Now turn right to head south along the sand to the starting point. It's easiest to run on the wetter, hard-packed sand right at the water's edge. I like to take off my shoes when doing a beach run: there's nothing like the feel of sand between your toes to make you feel like you've just landed in paradise.

You'll see the lighthouse down the beach as you approach. And when you get back to the start, you can jump into the water to cool off with a good swim, take a freshwater shower and enjoy some more of that good old Florida beach life.

St. Petersburg Pass-A-Grille Beach Running Route

Click here for route map
Length 7.3 km (4.6 miles), terrain flat

Pictures courtesy of the creative folks at Flickr Creative Commons. Thanks! Other pics taken from Google StreetView (thanks there too!), and one picture of my own.

Tampa Bay running routes:
St. Pete Bayside
Tampa Downtown
Pass-A-Grille Beach
For more running routes, see Route List.

NOTE: Hopefully, you're not doing this in the summer, otherwise you'll need to jump into the water a couple of times to avoid heat stroke! It's best to run early in the morning or in the evening.

My favorite Gulf of Mexico beach neighborhood in the Tampa Bay area (I lived there for 3 years) is Pass-A-Grille, at the southern tip of St. Petersburg Beach. This is the place to be for relaxed Florida living, the way it should be.

Sandpipers along Pass-A-Grille, with Don CeSar in distance, photo by Steve Webel

Pass-A-Grille is a collection of little cottages -- some of them are nice and some are a bit junky -- and a sprinkling of smallish apartment buildings at the end of St. Pete`s main beach island. There isn't much traffic, and there are views over the Gulf to the Shell Key preserve to the south. It hasn't been spoiled by gigantic condominiums, hotels and loud streets that infest most of the Gulf beaches, making it an ideal spot for a nice run, especially at sundown, when you can watch the sun set out over the Gulf.

NOTE: see the Destinations Tips page for tips about spending your free time!

The only big hotel in the area is the beautiful, big, pink wedding cake, the Don CeSar, a Spanish-styled legend dating from Florida's earliest tourism days (1928, ancient by Florida standards). The Don marks the north end of Pass-A-Grille. Beyond that is a solid line of hotels, condos and tourist stores along St. Pete Beach.

Nobody knows how Pass-A-Grille got its name. Like about all Florida beaches, it occupies a sand island separated from the mainland by a lagoon. The north-south-oriented island is only 100-200m wide for its whole length, with a beach along the western shore, facing the Gulf of Mexico. The road called Gulf Way runs along the beach. Pass-A-Grille Way runs along the eastern shore, facing Tierra Verde, an island at the entrance to Tampa Bay. The area south of 15th Avenue is the oldest part, Historic Pass-A-Grille.

The Pass-A-Grille Route
This run will basically loop once around the town, from the southern tip to the Don in the north, with a few zig-zags along the side streets to get a taste of the neighborhood.

Pass-A-Grille at the snack bar, photo by Ariel Ophelia

We'll start at the beach, at the corner of Gulf Way and 10th Avenue. There is a snack bar on the beach here, the Paradise Grille, and beach showers. This is the hangout every evening when the sun goes down: people sitting on the colorful Adirondack chairs, the cement ledge or just sitting in the sand, sipping their drinks and waiting for the magic to do its stuff. There's nothing like a Florida Gulf sunset. Maybe plan your run to get back here in time to shower off and drink a sun-downer!

Look around you: the beach stretches north and south of here, with sea-oats growing in the dunes. Right behind you is Pass-A-Grille Park with its shuffle-board courts, and the big grey 2-storey restaurant is the Hurricane, a good place to hang out with a beer and a grouper sandwich.

Turn south, with the water to your right and run down along the beach. You could either run on the sand or on the paved sidewalk, as you prefer. If you decide for the sand, you can just take off your shoes for this part. I would recommend to run down next to the water, where the sand is packed together. The loose, dry sand is pretty tough going, more like "spinning" than running.

Run the 800 meters, all the way to the south end of the island. There is a little fishing jetty going off to the right, into the Gulf. Run to the jetty to get a view of Shell Key and its mangroves to the south, in the mouth of Tampa Bay.

But because the southern tip of the island is covered by a boring apartment building, turn north and run back a block to 2nd Avenue, where you turn right and run eastwards from there, past the little cottages.

Along 7th Avenue, photo from Google StreetView

In just 150 meters the street ends at Pass-A-Grille Way, where you turn left and run north along the water on that side, with a view of the waterfront homes of Tierra Verde in the distance.

Now run north till you reach the little fishing pier at 7th Avenue, where we'll turn left and run down this nice side-street, too.

Back at Gulf Way, turn right and run north for just a block to 8th Avenue, where we'll turn right again. This is the old business block for the neighborhood, now housing mainly tourist boutiques.

8th Avenue shops, photo from Google StreetView

You'll hit Pass-A-Grille Way again at the Merry Pier and its bait shop, where you turn left and continue northwards. In just a block you'll come back to Pass-A-Grille Park. Run to the north end, 10th Avenue, and turn left to run west past the shuffle-board courts. This used to be St. Pete's favorite sport: you could find retirees everywhere shuffling their discs from one triangle to the other. I don't know how much they're still used today.

On the right side, you'll pass the Gulf Beaches Historical Museum in a little beach house. Also notice that there are some little white-dirt alleyways connecting the side-streets north/south. I like running down them to get an even better feel for the neighborhood, maybe try out a few!

At Gulf Way, turn north and run till you get to the next little park, Hurley Park, at 15th Avenue. Turn right here and you'll go by basketball courts, a baseball field and tennis courts, for those of you interested in other sports. The houses on the south side of the street are also quaint enough.

Along Pass-A-Grille Way, photo from Google StreetView

At Pass-A-Grille Way, turn north again (Maybe getting tired of this? OK, no more zig-zagging from now, I promise!)

Now we'll run up Pass-A-Grille Way for a while, passing a big blue barn of a place on the right, the Pass-A-Grille Marina. Just after the marina, you'll pass my favorite Pass-A-Grille restaurant, the Wharf. The Wharf has a line of tables out back along the water where you can sit and fight the seagulls for your fish. Boaters come right up to the dock and get out to eat.

View from Wharf restaurant waterfront tables, my own picture

Run a block past Pass-A-Grille's only traffic light, and turn left at 22nd Avenue.

This nice street marks the northern part of town, with no street directly on the beach. Turn right onto Sunset Way and there are homes lining the beach here as we run north again.

Sunset Way, heading north, photo from Google StreetView

At 28th Avenue, you have to make a short detour to the right, and at 31st Avenue a zig-zag to the left to continue northwards.

But at 32nd Avenue, that's the end of quiet back-streets. An apartment building, called Marina Bay, is blocking your way. You have to turn right here and run to Gulf Boulevard (Pass-A-Grille Way changes its name here) and turn left to keep heading north. There is more traffic along this section, but it's still not bad.

And in just 400 meters, you'll be coming up to the gigantic pink monstrosity of the Don CeSar Hotel. Just past the hotel, you'll see a big intersection, where the Bayway heads off to the right to go island-hopping past the southern tip of St. Pete. But let's stay away from traffic.

Amazing shot of the Don CeSar by Matthew Paulson

Just before you get to the Don, turn left and run through the little parking lot. Continue westwards on the sand path through the dunes towards the back of the hotel, then follow it as it curves to the right, onto the hotel's section of beach, with its beach chairs and pool. It's a beautiful spot.

Pass-A-Grille shells, photo by kakela

This is the northernmost spot on the route. Now, just head south along the water (shoeless is the way to go here!), and enjoy your 2-kilometer-way back, dodging the waves, watching the gulls, sandpipers and pelicans, viewing the shells. Soon you'll be back at the snack bar and your shower.

Try to stick around for the sunset. When a few clouds line the western horizon, the sunsets are especially spectacular, with the clouds glowing when the red sun lights them from below, sending a shower of sparks off across the water.

Watching the sunset at the Paradise Grille, photo by Michael Sullivan

Time to try that well-deserved sun-dower, my good runner!

Pass-A-Grille sunset with sea oats and palm, photo by HerLanieShip

Gainesville University of Florida Running Route

Click here for route map
Length 7.8 km (4.8 miles), terrain fairly flat

Thanks to Flickr CreativeCommons for the photos! 

For more running routes, see Route List. 

This is for me, personally, my original running route. Back in about 1975 I started running (after a couple of fizzled attempts, previously) exactly this route. Back then, I lived in the "student ghetto" neighborhood, just north of the University of Florida (UF) campus. For me, the most scenic place to head was through the campus to lake Alice, a nature preserve that had long provided me a quiet haven among my many youthful storms, so I ran this route hundreds of times.

This route also takes you on a tour of the UF campus, the navel of the Gator Nation, with its lush tropical vegetation and brick buildings.

Sledd Hall on campus, photo by StevenM_61

We'll start at the busy corner of NW 13th Street and University Avenue, at the northeast corner of campus. Across the street from the campus, some developers have torn down three square blocks of property for a project that then deep-sixed. Poor Goering's Bookstore and the others that had to close their doors for nothing...

Start the run here, photo courtesy of Google Maps StreetView

Enter the campus into the park-like spot with the "University of Florida" gate. Follow the sidewalk that heads diagonally into the campus for about 50 meters, until the red-brick Bryan Hall comes up on your right. Turn right to run westwards right behind the building, towards Matherly Hall straight ahead.

Just before you reach Matherly Hall, turn left and then right to run along Matherly's south side, still heading west. This is the College of Business Administration complex.

You will then run between Anderson Hall and the old Smathers Library until you run straight into the newer Library West.

Smathers Library, with statue of Albert Murphree, photo by jeffrojr

Turn left to run into UF's cultural heart, the Plaza of the Americas, where students relax between classes, reading, playing frisbee, while others hand out political pamphlets or club information. I spent many a time manning the tables for various political- and ecological groups here in the 1970s, like the Environmental Action Group.

Century Tower at night, photo by MattPendletonPhotography

Head diagonally across the plaza towards its southwest corner, where you hit Newell Drive. Head south on Newell for one block, passing the gothic auditorium and Century Tower, a campus landmark, on the left.

Just after the tower, turn right to run between the two buildings across the street, heading west again. The building of the left is the Computer Sciences Building. When you pass the building, turn left to run into the big open lawn (the "Green Banana") sloping downhill to the southwest.

Running across the green banana towards Reitz Union, photo by Gregory Moine

You are now running towards the Reitz Student Union complex. Run past the union buildings on your left, then turn left to run by the main car entrance for the union hotel. Now turn right to run into the little woods, the Reitz Ravine to run along the path with the wooden railing. This is just one of the many sink-holes found on campus, some filled with water, some, like this, just a hole in the ground. It was formed when the limestone rock beneath was hollowed-out by water and collapsed.

You'll come out of the ravine at Museum Road and Lemerand Drive. Cross Lemerand to run westwards along Museum Road.

On your right you'll see the Graham dormitory sinkhole, then you'll run uphill for a bit, passing Hume dormitory on the left side.

Soon, you'll see a few fraternity houses curving up along the right side. That's Fraternity Row, home to many, but not all the fraternity houses.

We're now getting to the best part of the run, the Lake Alice area. The whole side along the left is now a nature preserve. You'll see a little dirt parking lot on the left, where you can take a little side-trip out on the Lake Alice boardwalk. I actually helped build the original boardwalk (I don't know if it's been replaced since then). If I may say so, it's really worth the extra few-minute detour to run to the end of the boardwalk to view the waterbirds and jungle. The lake is full of alligators, turtles and other life.

Waterbirds at Lake Alice, photo by RubyShoe

After the boardwalk, turn left to continue running westwards along Museum Road.

It will curve to the left along the lakeside. Towards the end of the lake, you'll see the Baughman Meditation Center, looking like a chapel on the lakeside.

Baughman Center, photo by MattPendletonPhotography

After the chapel, turn left to continue running along the south side of the lake. There is a big complex of university agricultural buildings to the right. You'll see a path to view the lakeside from the south, so take that to get one last view of the lake. This was always one of the best spots to view alligators.

Lake Alice gator, photo by MattPendletonPhotography

So now, we'll turn around and head back. But to keep it interesting, we'll change the route a bit on the way back.

When you again reach Fraternity Row, turn left and run northwards, uphill as the street curves to the right past all the fraternity houses. When the road has curved towards the east, you will see UF's impressive sports complex coming up on the left: baseball, basketball, football, tennis, the running track. It's amazing to see what kind of money has poured into the sports program in the last decades.

It's always fun to join the other runners on the track for a couple of quarter-mile laps, if you feel like it.

Keep running eastwards along Stadium Road, passing Florida Field (the "Swamp") on the left. Before it was
extended, the School of Journalism had its classrooms under the bleachers, where I tried to learn how to write.

Stadium Road will turn to the left, becoming Buckman Drive, and heading north.

Sledd Hall details, photo by jeffrojr

Pass Leigh Hall on the right, and you'll see Buckman Hall and Sledd Hall dormitories on the left, some of the oldest buildings on campus. Right after Leigh Hall, turn right to run straight into the Plaza of the Americas again. Turn diagonally to your left to follow the same way out as we first entered the campus.

An empty Plaza of the Americas, photo by jeffrojr

Tampa Downtown Running Route

Click here for route map 
Length:  8.3 km (5.2 miles), terrain flat

Pictures from Google Maps StreetView (Thanks Google!) 

Tampa Bay running routes:
St. Pete Bayside
Tampa Downtown
Pass-A-Grille Beach
For more running routes, see Route List.

Running in the downtown Tampa area is definitely getting better. The city's Tampa Riverwalk project, to create a waterfront promenade along the Hillsborough River and the harbor has already added some great spots to run. But the project isn't complete, and there are still large gaps in the riverside walkway.

Luckily, there are a few other very scenic spots in the town center, and we'll combine some of them in this run: the University of Tampa, the Hyde Park neighborhood, and the southern part of the new Riverwalk.

Riverwalk in downtown Tampa

But first, a few words about Tampa. Like most Florida cities, it's a vast stretch of suburbia surrounding a fairly unexciting downtown. And even though, built as it is on a peninsula in Tampa Bay, it has a long waterfront, there are only a couple of small sand beaches around. Most of the bay around here used to be swampy mangroves, not beachfront. You'll have to head west across one of the causeways to the Gulf of Mexico if you want real beach life.

The downtown has been searching for a new lease on life ever since the suburban malls killed off all the shopping in the 1960s. Nowadays the downtown is a quiet collection of banks and lawyers' offices, dotted with parking garages and empty lots, ripped to pieces by the bisecting freeways.

In the days when I lived across the bay in St. Pete, I only came to Tampa to see a Bucs- or Rowdys-game, watch an off-beat film at the beautiful old art-deco Tampa Theatre, or to eat out in the great Ybor City neighborhood (see the Destination Tips article!).

Slowly, though, new projects are turning the area into a tourist destination: the Aquarium, the convention center, the Forum (a sport- and concert-venue), a cruise-ship terminal, waterfront hotels and the Channelside collection of shops and nightlife have brought back life to the area. May this worthy effort be crowned by success!

This run will start right in the heart of downtown Tampa: at the art-deco-style City Hall building, at the corner of Franklin Street and East Kennedy Boulevard. This sleepy intersection was once the bustling heart of Tampa commerce, and Franklin Street was lined with the biggest stores.

Along Kennedy Boulevard

Face west on Kennedy (towards the river), and start running, with Lykes Park square on your right.

In 2 more blocks, you'll pass the cylinder-shaped Rivergate building, known locally as the "beer-can". You'll now run across the old draw bridge over the river. If you look to the right, you'll see the new Curtis Hixon Park, part of the Riverwalk.

Hillsborough River looking towards Univ. of Tampa

When you cross the bridge, take the first entrance to the right into the next park, Henry B. Plant Park. Plant was a railroad tycoon who built the railroad to Tampa, and also built the Tampa Bay Hotel resort straight ahead of you. If you run diagonally through the park, past the fountain, you'll run straight towards the strange silver towers of the moorish-style ex-hotel, now part of the University of Tampa.

Plant Hall at Tampa University

When you're done staring at this fascinating building, turn left and run south down Hyde Park Avenue. Hyde Park is one of the oldest and nicest Tampa neighborhoods, full of pleasant old homes, huge trees and jungle-like gardens. This is the place where Tampa's dentists, lawyers and brokers live (lucky people!).

But first, you have to run along this unscenic business street. Let's get into the neighborhood as soon as we can: When you get to Azeele Street, turn right and run 2 blocks, where you turn left on Magnolia Avenue, and then turn right after one block again at Horatio Street, running west.

Along Newport Avenue in Hyde Park

Now you're on a fairly residential street, and it will get nicer from here on. When you reach Newport Avenue, turn left (south) and just enjoy the scenery from now on. To see more of Hyde Park, turn right on Morrison Avenue to run a few blocks, until Oregon Avenue. Turn left here and run past the pleasant homes until it ends at the pink house at the bayside.

Oregon Avenue

This is the turnaround spot for the run. Cross Bayshore Boulevard and turn left, running north along the water, with the water on your right side. This long boulevard is lined with big villas overlooking Tampa Bay.

Across the water you can see the waterfront homes on Davis Island. If you're in the area for a few days, I'd also recommend a run through that beautiful island neighborhood as well.

Bayshore Boulevard

Personally, I think Bayshore is too loud, though. So if I were you, I'd turn back into the leafy Hyde Park paradise. After just 6 blocks, just before the shore curves leftwards, turn left up South Boulevard.

At Swann Avenue, turn right and head back to Bayshore again. At Bayshore, turn left to continue running northwards again. You'll see two bridges going across to Davis Island. (NOTE: Only the northernmost of the bridges has a sidewalk, in case you want to run over there sometime.)

Along the docks on Bayshore, with Gasparilla Mardi-Gras pirate boat

The water narrows at Tampa General Hospital, at the north point of Davis Island. You'll now run along a stretch of sportboat docks.

After the docks, you'll see the downtown skyscrapers looming ahead, and another drawbridge going across to the convention center. Cross the bridge (Platt Street), and turn right at the waterfront walkway on the other side. You will run with the water still on your right side, and the convention center on your left.

Platt Street bridge back to downtown Tampa

You're now running along Riverwalk. You'll run under the Harbour Island bridge, running past the Marriott Hotel. After the hotel, there's a park, Fort Brooke Park, location of the first US settlement in the area after the US bought Florida from Spain.

The Riverwalk ends at the end of the park, but there are some interesting sights ahead: the aquarium, Channelside, the cruise terminal, and a World War II liberty ship, the SS American Victory.

But because you have to run inland a couple of blocks to get there, we'll turn around at the east end of the park and run back to the Harbour Island bridge again. At the bridge turn right and run up Franklin Street the 6 blocks to the City Hall again. The last 2 blocks are a pedestrian way.

Last part of Harrison Street

Miami Beach, South Beach, Florida Running Route

Click here for a route map

Length: 11.5 km (7.1 miles), terrain flat

Ocean Drive picture courtesy of the fabulous Matt Ball, street pix from Google StreetView. Thanks!

NOTE: First, the standard Florida warning: in summer, it's HOT! Avoid sun-strokes, and run at sunrise, or in the evenings.

Miami running routes:
South Beach
Coconut Grove
Key Biscayne
For more running routes, see Route List.

I grew up just north of Miami, but moved away before I started running, so I only knew the South Beach as a place to cruise (or in a weirder memory, I was also arrested there once, on Collins Avenue, and spent the night at the Dade County Stockade, but THAT'S another story). But a business trip there a few years ago let me get to know it from the viewpoint of my running shoes, which is a very nice memory indeed.

NOTE: see the Destinations Tips page for tips about spending your free time in this great town!
 
Miami Beach is a long, thin sandbar out across Biscayne Bay from mainland Miami. Almost all of Florida is lined with such protective coastal islands. Miami Beach is almost never wider than a mile (1.6 km), and narrows to a point at the south end (appropriately called South Pointe), where there's an inlet to the Port of Miami, where all the cruise ships land.

The beachfront is all on the east side, facing the Atlantic. The west side was originally swampy, and is mostly built up with faceless condos now, and has no continuous walkways: talk about total lack of urban planning. There are a few bridges across the bay to Miami, including the MacArthur Causeway near South Pointe.

Typical Ocean Drive scene in South Beach, photo by Matt Ball

The South Beach Route
In this route, we'll do what I consider the classic tour of the beach: running Lincoln Road, Espanola Way, Ocean Drive, the South Pointe Marina and back again. We'll start at the heart of Miami Beach, the corner of Collins Avenue and Lincoln Road. Collins Avenue is the main north/south road, also known as route A1A, the Florida coast road. But it's got a lot of traffic, so we'll avoid it.

Let's start by running west along Lincoln Road. This is one of America's greatest pedestrian streets. The whole street has been turned into one great hangout, with a park-like atmosphere and one wonderfully-smelling restaurant after the other and their outdoor tables. It's called Lincoln Road Mall, although it has nothing to do with a typical American shopping mall. This is definitely the place to spend an evening.

Lincoln Road street scene

The nice part of Lincoln Road ends at Lennox Avenue, so turn around here and head back up the other side of Lincoln Road. But we won't run all the way back to Collins Avenue again. At Meridian Ave., turn right and run 3 blocks south to Espanola Way where we turn left, heading east again. This is another great street, semi-pedestrian, with Spanish-style architecture, and a flair all its own.

Espanola Way

When you get back to Collins Avenue, you'll pass Jerry's Deli, one of my favorite places to eat in the world. This is a relict of the New York-influenced past. In the 1970s, Miami Beach was a sleepy place for Jewish retirees from New York. It looked like Coney Island with palm trees: delis and Nathan's hot-dogs and old folks pushing aluminum walkers all over the place. But when Miami Vice made the South Beach cool again, the world's entire jet-set poured in and drove the rents up.

Cross Collins and run just a few steps south, and turn left again on 14th Place. After just 100 meters, you have now entered the famous Art Deco neighborhood called South Beach.

Turn right onto Ocean Drive, and you will have the old hotels on your right, and Lummus Park on your left. On the other side of the park is the beach itself. It's hard to decide where to go here: run by the great old hotels, run through the park, or run directly on the sand. But we'll run back on the sand, so we can save that for later. Enjoy the street theater, there are lots of people around here who are experts at making themselves conspicuous. The most interesting, and loudest, hangout is at 8th Street, the biker bar called Wet Willies.

Ocean Drive at Lummus Park, by Google Maps StreetView

At 5th Street, where the park ends, the street gets less interesting, so we'll turn left and run the 100 meters to the beach promenade, just behind the beach hotels, and turn south (right) again. When you come to the gigantic high-rises, you've just about reached South Pointe. This is a great place to look out at the ships and boats constantly cruising through the inlet. Across the water to the south you can see Fisher Island, Virginia Key, then Key Biscayne, with its lighthouse (see the link above for the Key Biscayne route!).

Turn right, heading west, staying along the water now, heading through South Pointe Park along the inlet. Soon you will come to the marina, full of hundreds of boats peacefully bobbing at the docks. We'll just run along the dock all the way to the end (hey, I'm a sailor, what do you expect?). When you hit the end of the marina, just before the MacArthur Causeway bridge, turn around and head back east along the water.

Now run northwards, up the beach all the way back home, staying on the wet, close-packed sand, near the water. It's hard to tell exactly when you get back to Lincoln Road, but look out for the Loewe's and Ritz-Carlton hotels. When you see them, you're just about home. Just turn left and run back the block to Collins Avenue.

And while you're at it, let's not forget that we're at the beach in Florida: the best thing at the end of a run is to kick off your shoes and jump in for a swim. Even in winter, you can enjoy the water. And there are showers along the promenade to wash off the saltwater. Hope you have as much fun as I did...

The author taking his own advice