Seascapes Restaurant, Beach, and Famcamp on MacDill Air Force Base - Tampa, Florida

“An ocean breeze puts a mind at Ease.”

Anonymous

Just another beautiful day in Florida. Today we decided to head to MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Florida for the day. This is an active base located four miles south of downtown Tampa that was built in 1939 and been in use since 1941 and is gorgeous. Joe and I spent time here years ago and brought in the new year sitting on the beach with a bottle of wine. If I remember right, we fell asleep before midnight and woke up after the new year was a couple hours old.

The beach was beautiful today with the clean white sands, gorgeous water, and blue sky. There is a large covered pavilion with picnic tables and grills where you can eat and stay in the shade while the children run and play on the beach. We were the only ones there when we arrived and it was very serene and beautiful. Later other families came down to picnic and have a day at the beach.

The water in Tampa Bay felt great and was perfectly clear. From the beach we could see St. Petersburg off in the distance. This beach has a tropical feel to it with palm trees that were swaying in the warm tropical wind. This was a great place to spend some time as there were convenient and clean bathrooms nearby as well as the Seascapes Restaurant for grabbing something to eat.

We enjoyed watching the Wrack community of birds enjoying the beach with us. It was great fun watching them running on the sand.  While there we also go to see some huge military flights go over us while watching Dolphins jumping in the ocean close to the shore.

We went to Seascapes for lunch and the food was great. They had great fish’n’chips, wings, fish tacos, and many more items. They are open during the week from 11-2 for lunch. They also have dinner hours from 4-9 Wednesday through Saturday from November through March and 4-9 from Thursday through Saturday from April through October. We got a nice table outside with a view of the ocean and playground so as we waited for the food to come out, the children took off to play on the playground. It was perfect. The food and the drinks were very good and reasonable. They also serve cold drinks to enjoy while relaxing at this glorious place.

Right across the street is where the Raccoon Creek Recreation Area is located. Active duty, Retirees, National Guard, 100% DAV, and DoD civilians can use this campground. They take reservations for up to year in advance with a $100 deposit and it is recommended. The maximum stay is 180 days and it fills up quickly during the winter. If you are driving in a large RV, you need to come in the Tanker Gate between the hours of 0600 and 1400.

There are 268 spaces that are on paved grass with full hookups that run $20 a night and $520 a month. There are also 21 sites on grass for $17 at night. There are 100 paved sights for $20 a night and $520 a month with full hookups. And last but not least, there are tent sites for $10 a night. They have a free breakfast for all who stay there at least twice a month on Sunday.

MacDill Air Force Base also has a marina to store your boat or to rent boats. They have Twin Vee boats, pontoon boats, bass boats, Kayaks, Canoes, and paddle boards to rent. That is a great option so you can cruise around beautiful Tampa Bay.

This is a great place to spend some time whether for the day or the whole winter. Check them out. You will not be disappointed.

“I could never stay long enough on the shore; the tang of the untainted, fresh, and free sea air was like a cool, quieting thought.”

Helen Keller