Is Hiawatha Highlands safe?
Tampa, Florida · safety score updated nightly
Mostly yes, with normal city awareness.
VibeLoco rates Hiawatha Highlands as “Go, stay aware”.
Gogo's take on Hiawatha Highlands
“Go with care. Hiawatha Highlands is a quiet, predominantly residential enclave in North Tampa that is generally peaceful for residents and visitors. While the residential core experiences minimal violent crime, visitors should exercise standard urban caution, particularly along the perimeter commercial corridors.”
About the area
Hiawatha Highlands is a modest mid-century residential neighborhood centered around residential lakes in North Tampa. It features single-family homes, mature oak canopies, and straightforward road access to major thoroughfares like Busch Boulevard and Armenia Avenue.
- Quiet Residential
- Car-Dependent
- Mid-Century Suburb
- Tree-Lined
Walking and biking in Hiawatha Highlands
Walk score: 42/100 · Bike score: 48/100
There are no municipal bike-share stations in the neighborhood, and cyclists share residential roadways with vehicular traffic without designated bike lanes.
Reasons to go, and reasons to think twice
Pros
- Quiet, low-traffic residential streets with a high share of owner-occupied single-family homes
- Lower violent crime rates compared to adjacent North Tampa commercial corridors
- Convenient driving access to North Tampa parks, golf courses, and diverse local dining
Cons
- Occasional property crimes such as vehicle break-ins and package thefts
- Lack of continuous sidewalks and dedicated street lighting on interior residential blocks
- Direct adjacency to busier, higher-incident commercial strips along major perimeter avenues
Homelessness: Visible homelessness is minimal within the interior residential streets, though individuals experiencing homelessness and occasional panhandling are visible along the perimeter retail intersections of Busch Boulevard and North Florida Avenue.
What Hiawatha Highlands is like at each time of day
- Morning · 5a – 11a
- Peaceful and active with residents jogging or walking dogs along low-traffic residential streets.
- Afternoon · 11a – 5p
- Calm and quiet with standard suburban traffic patterns and a safe daytime environment.
- Evening · 5p – 10p
- Subdued and residential, though limited street lighting makes reflective gear recommended for pedestrians.
- Late night · 10p – 5a
- Very low foot traffic; generally quiet inside residential pockets, but walking alone along outer arterial corridors is discouraged.
Transit, parking and getting around
Hillsborough Area Regional Transit (HART) provides bus service along surrounding thoroughfares via routes like Route 16 (Armenia Avenue) and Route 39 (Busch Boulevard); there is no rail or BRT service in the area.
Free residential driveway and street parking is readily available throughout the neighborhood, and commercial plazas on the perimeter offer free surface parking lots.
Things to do in Hiawatha Highlands
- Enjoy a round of golf or walk the perimeter path at the historic Babe Zaharias Golf Course nearby
- Take a quiet walk along the scenic residential lakefronts such as Lake Hiawatha
- Sample regional Latin bakery specialties and casual dining along adjacent Waters and Armenia avenues
Local favorites
- Babe Zaharias Golf Course · Public Golf Course · 4.2★ (540)A historic, community-focused 18-hole municipal golf course located just northwest of the neighborhood.
- Mauricio Faedo's Bakery · Bakery · 4.7★ (1650)A legendary 24/7 North Tampa bakery renowned for fresh Cuban bread and traditional pastries.
- Ceviche Hut · Peruvian Restaurant · 4.5★ (420)Popular local eatery serving classic Peruvian ceviche, lomo saltado, and seafood specialties.
Scores are safety-driven — recent reported crime and local news plus Census income, poverty, housing, education, household and access data — refreshed nightly. Walk and bike scores are shown separately and do not affect the safety score. A guide, not a guarantee — conditions change street to street.