Tampa's Riverwalk is dog friendly!
Tampa's Riverwalk was established in 1989 and has become an almost instant success! People love walking along this 2.6 mile walk on the east side of the Hillsborough River through downtown Tampa. It's not only for people, yep, you guessed it - the dogs love it too! There are two dog parks that at least 2 small dog parks along the Riverwalk (one slightly off the main path, one right along the main path). There are some dog friendly places to stop and eat like Ulele (1810 N Highland Ave, Tampa, FL 33602) which has outdoor sitting if your dog is with you. Armature Works (1910 N Ola Ave, Tampa, FL 33602) also has outdoor seating that allows you to bring your dog(s) along.
Recently we took our little dog family to walk along part of the Riverwalk as the sun started to rise. We parked at the Poe Parking Garage located at 800 N Ashley Dr, Tampa, FL 33602. Make sure you have your trusty smart phone with the Mobile Parking app as you'll need it to park in most places in downtown Tampa.
As we began our walk, I took a few photographs in the early morning light. This is a bridge house next to one of several bridges that cross the Hillsborough River.
As the sun rises, the clouds pick up the beautiful colors. The old railroad bridge stays in an upright position most of it's life. While I have never seen it down, I hear that it does come down on a semi-regular schedule for a very short train line to deliver supplies into the downtown area.
The Tampa River Center is located on the west side of the Hillsborough River at 1001 North Boulevard
Tampa, FL 33606. The University of Tampa keeps the boats for the rowing team in this building, but it can also be used for many different types of events. To visit their website, click here.
The Riverwalk goes under Interstate 275 which is one of the main interstates in our area. There are a few free parking spots located here under the interstate - 4 hour parking if you're lucky to get one of these.
Well, after about an hour, perhaps a little more of being 'pulled through' the Tampa's Riverwalk by my three fur kids - I had them pose for a few photographs before we headed back to the garage to pick up the car.
As we were in a fairly busy area with respect to possible things to chase - I was careful to just let Abby be our first model for this photograph of downtown Tampa from the park along the Riverwalk.
Rue and Ollie were pretty interested in the treats that Abby was getting for sitting so nicely while I tried to get a few photographs - so they joined in. These two girls, being siblings from the same litter, spend a lot of time posing close to each other naturally.
In this last photograph, I realized that the kiddos were all facing in the same direction, east, as the sun was starting to come over the downtown buildings to the east of the river walk.
Rescue dogs enjoying a day out on the Tampa Riverwalk
Sometimes we take a dog out of the shelter or boarding facility to enjoy a little time outside - often we head to the river walk in downtown Tampa allowing them to experience some sunshine, smells, people and whatever else comes along during the few hours of 'freedom'. Here's some dogs that we took out when they were looking for their forever home (they have since been adopted).
Lola is enjoying the dog park near Armature works while posing for her photography session.
Interested in Pet Photography Session?
If you would like to discuss or book a custom pet portrait session, send an email to [email protected] or give us a call/text Linda at 813-610-2671 in the Tampa Bay area (Hillsborough/Pinellas/Pasco/Polk counties in Florida). We have flexible rates and packages to fit most everyone’s budget as we believe that having wonderful photographs of your pet is important to so many people.
Blogging with Pet Photographers
This is a personal project that I try to participate in each week (as much as possible). This post is part of a 'blog circle' which is with several other Professional Pet Photographers around the world. Each week a different theme is provided to the group and we, as pet photographers, interpret the theme in our own way. Follow the link provided at the end of each of my blogs to the next pet photographer's blog - and when you arrive back at my blog - you've completed the entire circle of blogs for this theme. For more pet photographers sharing their take on this theme, head over to Carol Mudra of Apawture Studios in Milan, Italy "notes" one of her favorite locations nestled within Parco Formentano that makes a great backdrop for dog portraits.