Tavares

Tavares is a town in Lake County, Florida.

Understand

Firehouse and former rail depot

History

Tavares, like its neighbors Mt. Dora and Eustis, is a small town, and in 2020 its population was 19,000. In 1880, New Orleans businessman of Portuguese ancestry Alexander St. Clair-Abrams founded and named the town. St. Clair-Abrams hoped the town would be made Florida's state capital, but that honor ultimately went to Tallahassee, and Tavares was made the Lake County's seat instead. However, the businessman and founder continued his efforts to promote the town by building a railroad connecting it to Orlando to the east. Today, the town is known for its seaplane base and is consequently known as "America's Seaplane City".

Alexander's son Alfred, a local politician who killed one of his political rivals following an allegedly rigged election, lived in Tavares and died in the town nearly twenty years after the assassination.

Geography

Tavares is on an isthmus between Lake Eustis to the north and Lake Dora to the south. Meanwhile, the city of Eustis is to the northeast, and Lake Harris is to the west of Tavares.

Get in

By car

US-441 passes Tavares on its north side, between the lakes. From this road, North St. Clair Abrams Ave goes south to the downtown area near the north shore of Lake Dora. FL-19, Duncan Dr, goes from Howey-in-the-Hills north across Lake Harris to Tavares.

Get around

The downtown area is small, and the town is spread over a small area due to its presence between two lakes, Dora and Eustis.

See

• 1 Lake County Historical Museum, 317 W Main Street (southeastern corner of junction of Main and Sinclair), ☏ +1 352 343-9890. Tu–F 10AM–3PM. (updated Oct 2021)

Do

• 1 Tavares Recreation Park, 2030 W Burleigh Blvd, ☏ +1 352 742-6319. Offers a boat ramp onto Lake Eustis on the northwest side of town. (updated Oct 2021)
• 2 Tavares Seaplane Base, ☏ +1 352 742-6267. 9AM–5PM. A labeled picture of the marina/seaplane area can be found on the city website. (updated Oct 2021)

Eat

• 1 Fish Camp on Lake Eustis (Fish Camp Restaurant Waterfront), 901 Lake Shore Blvd, ☏ +1 352 742-4400. Su–Th 11AM–8PM, F–Sa 11AM–9PM. medium. (updated Oct 2021)
• Hurricane Dockside Grill, 3351 W Burleigh Blvd, ☏ +1 352 508-5137, hurricane1104@rrremcrestaurants.com. Su–Th 11AM–9PM, F–Sa 11AM–10PM. One of four of the restaurant's locations. (updated Oct 2021)
• 2 Ruby Street Grille, 221 E Ruby St, ☏ +1 352 742-7829. American and Italian-American cuisine. Live music W–Su. Bar and indoor and outdoor dining. (updated Oct 2021)

Drink

• 1 Brü Tap House, 143 E Main St, ☏ +1 352 508-9321. Tu–Th 3–11PM, F–Sa noon–midnight, Su noon–9PM. The BTW is down the road at 115 E Main St. (updated Oct 2021)
• 2 O'Keefe's Irish Pub, 115 S Rockingham Ave, ☏ +1 352 343-2157. M–F 4–9PM, Sa 11AM–10PM, Su 11AM–8PM (2021). (updated Oct 2021)

Sleep

• 1 Holiday Inn Express & Suites Tavares - Leesburg, 3601 W Burleigh Blvd (US-441), ☏ +1 352 742-1600, holidayinntavares@hdghotels.com. Check-in: 4PM, check-out: 11AM. $99+ per night (2021). (updated Oct 2021)
• 2 Key West Resort, 199 W Ruby St, ☏ +1 352 508-5344, toll-free: +1 888 693-8262, Tavares@staykeywesthotels.com. Check-in: 4PM, check-out: 11AM. (updated Oct 2021)
• 3 Mission Inn Resort & Club, 10400 County Road 48, Howey-in-the-Hills, ☏ +1 352-505-1104, toll-free: +1 800 874-9053, reservations@missioninnresort.com. Golf-oriented resort with the El Campeón and Las Colinas Golf Courses. (updated Oct 2021)

Go next

• Mount Dora to the east, on the other side of the lake