Tampa Recreation Guide

Three Tampa recreation guides sit under this hub: the Tampa boating guide, the Tampa Bay fishing guide and the Tampa city golf courses guide.

This Tampa hub also answers the questions those guides do not: which City of Tampa beaches are open and what parking costs, which city pools stay open after summer, where dogs can run off leash, and what sits along the Tampa Riverwalk. Tampa Parks and Recreation describes itself as the 100th nationally accredited parks agency, accredited in 2011 and re-accredited in 2016 and 2021 (City of Tampa Parks and Recreation). Last verified: October 14, 2026, on the City of Tampa and Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission websites.

The City of Tampa runs four public boat ramps, at Ballast Point, Lowry Park, the Davis Island Seaplane Basin and Picnic Island Park, and rents slips at Marjorie Park Yacht Basin on Davis Islands (City of Tampa boat ramps).

Two of the Tampa ramps, the Davis Island Seaplane Basin and Picnic Island, are open around the clock, which suits an early start on Tampa Bay; the Seaplane Basin ramp has no restrooms (City of Tampa). Lowry Park, across from Zoo Tampa, is the only city site with two ramps, and it has both trailer and regular parking. The city lists the Ballast Point, Lowry Park and Seaplane Basin ramps as ADA accessible.

Marjorie Park Yacht Basin sits at the mouth of the Hillsborough River, a block from the Davis Islands business district, at 97 Columbia Drive, phone (813) 259-1604, open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily (City of Tampa marina). Transient slips cost $2.00 an hour for up to 4 hours, $2.00 per foot per day for stays of 5 to 24 hours, and $7.15 per foot plus tax by the week. Its 32 monthly slips have a waiting list. Fuel pumps sit at the dock, pumpout service runs during operating hours, and the dock master building has restrooms, showers, a laundry room, a weather station and a ship store. The Tampa boating guide covers boating in more depth.

The City of Tampa manages four beaches on Tampa Bay, at Picnic Island, Cypress Point, Davis Islands and the Courtney Campbell Causeway, open from sunrise to sunset (City of Tampa beaches).

Ben T. Davis Beach, at 7740 W Courtney Campbell Causeway, has metered parking at $2.50 an hour. Cypress Point Park, at 5620 W Cypress St, has free parking Monday to Friday until noon and metered parking at $1 for the first hour and $2 for each hour after at other times (City of Tampa). Tampa beach water is tested by the Florida Department of Health in the Florida Healthy Beaches Program, and the city points swimmers to those results before a trip.

Checking matters this week: on October 14, 2026, the Tampa Parks and Recreation home page carried a Davis Islands beach advisory for October 8 to 15 (City of Tampa Parks and Recreation). One detail on the city pages does not match: the Davis Islands Seaplane Basin is listed at 864 Severn Ave on the beaches page and at 846 Severn Ave on the boat ramps page, both updated March 19, 2026 (City of Tampa beaches; boat ramps).

Anyone landing saltwater fish in Tampa Bay needs a Florida fishing license unless exempt; a resident annual saltwater license costs $17.00 and a non-resident annual license $47.00 (Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission).

Florida residents who fish only from the Tampa shoreline, or from a structure affixed to shore, can get the no-cost resident shoreline license, but it is not valid from a boat or from a shoreline reached by boat (FWC). The license is required to land saltwater species in Florida whether they were caught in state or federal waters. The Tampa Bay fishing guide covers fishing in the bay in more depth, and the city lists a bait shop inside Ballast Point Park (City of Tampa).

Four City of Tampa pools are marked open year round: Bobby Hicks Pool, 4120 W Mango Ave; Danny Del Rio Pool, 10105 N Boulevard; Loretta Ingraham Pool, 1611 N Hubert Ave; and Roy Jenkins Pool, 154 Columbia Drive (City of Tampa pools).

Cuscaden, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Spicola Family and Williams pools show closed for the season, and Sulphur Springs Pool is listed as closed for repairs (City of Tampa). Bobby Hicks Pool opens at 5:30 a.m. Monday to Thursday and has diving and a kiddie pool; Danny Del Rio Pool opens at 6 a.m. on weekdays and also opens Sunday afternoons; Roy Jenkins Pool is closed Mondays and opens Sundays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. (City of Tampa). Every City of Tampa pool closes on November 26 and 27, December 24 and 25, and January 1. Seasonal schedules change, and the city notes that business hours do not reflect programming hours, so the daily schedule for each pool is the one to check.

The City of Tampa lists 18 dog parks and leash-free areas, including two dog beaches, at Davis Islands and Picnic Island; dogs other than service animals are not allowed on other city beaches (City of Tampa dog parks).

The Davis Islands Dog Park and Dog Beach is at 1002 Severn St, and the Picnic Island Dog Beach shares 7409 Picnic Island Blvd with the boat ramp. Other Tampa leash-free areas include Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park, Julian B. Lane Riverfront Park and Queenie's Dog Park at Water Works Park along the Riverwalk, the James Urbanski Dog Park in Al Lopez Park, Gadsden Park and the New Tampa Rotary Dog Park (City of Tampa). Every area is fenced or bounded by water. Outside them, city ordinance requires dogs to stay leashed, including in the parking lot on the way in.

The City of Tampa lists four parks and four museums along the Tampa Riverwalk, as part of a partial list of its attractions (City of Tampa Riverwalk).

The Riverwalk parks are Cotanchobee Park, Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park, Julian B. Lane Riverfront Park and Water Works Park.

The museums listed on the City of Tampa Riverwalk page are the Glazer Children's Museum, the Henry B. Plant Museum, the Tampa Bay History Center and the Tampa Museum of Art, with Benchmark International Arena, Armature Works, The Florida Aquarium, Sparkman's Wharf, the Straz Center for the Performing Arts, the Tampa Convention Center and Tampa Theatre among the attractions (City of Tampa). Three of the Riverwalk parks double as leash-free dog areas, so a single Riverwalk outing can take in a museum and a leash-free dog area.