Universtiy of Southern Florida runs a kayak rental concession on the Hillsborough River. I don't know the name of the street it is on but if you ask around someone will know. Its a big busy street. It's in a large park on the riverfront and they have a large parking lot. They have several different types of kayaks, mostly sit-on-tops as I remember. You can paddle several hours out and back. The current isn't strong enough to be a problem. Very scenic. You'll see some gators and lots of birds and turtles. There is also a place called Canoe Escape near the huge flea market that rents canoes and provides a livery service on the Hillsborough. Going towards the huge flea market, Canoe Escape is on your right and the flea market is on your left further down. Again I don't know the name of the street but it is on the north side of Tampa and if you ask anyone where the big huge flea market is they will know. Hillsborough River State Park rents canoes. The river has a different personality there. Much deeper and much clearer. You won't be able to paddle as long there though because eventually the river is blocked by downed trees. Too bad Agua Azul went out of business. They were at the foot of the bridge to Honeymoon island on Curlew in Clearwater. Maybe there is another vendor around there you could rent from and go for a paddle around Caldesi Island and Honeymoon Island. Oh you gotta eat at Pipo's. GREAT Cuban and Puerto Rican cuisine, served cafeteria style. There are a few of them around. The one I go to is on a street called Norwest or something like that. Going north from Border's bookstore it is several lights down and turn left. It is in a little strip mall about 1/2 block from the light. Most locals will know where it is. -Bob Matter Wet and freezing in Hammond, Indiana RBHoltKayak_at_aol.com wrote: > > Hello fellow Paddlewisers, > I will be in the Tampa area for business and am considering staying > over for a weekend of paddling. If all works out, I will be able to paddle > on Friday December 1 through Sunday December 3. I would appreciate > suggestions on where to paddle and where to rent/beg/borrow a decent boat. If > you have any trips planned and wouldn't mind an experienced visitor, please > let me know. > Sorry if this is a repeat topic. Due to work demands this last > summer, I had to go to the digest version and even then couldn't keep up with > the posts. I've never been to the Tampa area, so any advice (and web sites) > would be most welcome. Thanks all, > > Robb Holt > (cross-posted to Chesapeake Paddlers Association list) *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************Received on Sat Nov 11 2000 - 00:58:34 PST
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.4.0 : Thu Aug 21 2025 - 16:30:34 PDT