Winding via a forested setting for nearly sixteen miles, this multi-use paved path illustrates the terrain of the Ocala Highlands.
Operating down the middle of North Central Florida, this rocky ridge is understood for its caves, sinkholes, and boulders. Undulating hills imply regular climbs and descents.
Ascending a sequence of hillsCentrally positioned within the footprint of what was as soon as to be the Cross Florida Barge Canal, it crisscrosses many different leisure trails.
Amongst them are singletrack, equestrian trails, carriage trails, and the statewide Florida Nationwide Scenic Path, all sharing the Land Bridge over Interstate 75.
Coloured posts mark adjoining and cross trailsOur journey begins at Santos, residence to Santos Campground, at a trailhead shared with the Florida Path and the destination-worthy offroad Santos Trails.
The pavement presently ends inside earshot of SR 200, a turnaround level as no trailhead is close by. Sooner or later, the path will lengthen to Dunnellon.
Nice spot for a breakSources
Overview
Location: OcalaLength: 15.6 milesTrailhead: 29.105647, -82.094408Address: 3080 SE eightieth St, OcalaFees: FreeRestroom: On the trailheadLand Supervisor: Florida State ParksPhone: 352-236-7143
Open 8 AM to sundown. Leashed canine welcome. Reserve tenting at Santos or Shangri-La upfront.
Instructions
Path Particulars
The paved path begins adjoining to the restrooms on the unique Santos trailhead adjoining the campground.
A connector to the Florida Path takes off into the forest on the left. A sidewalk coming in from the precise brings in visitors from the bigger Santos Trails trailhead.
Start line at SantosFrom the beginning of the path to the primary highway crossing two miles forward, count on to come across many walkers and households with kids on bikes, even on weekdays.
Curving via a mature sandhill forest, move an interpretive signal about gopher tortoises on a gentle downhill.
First Florida Path crossingA crosswalk marks the place the hiking-only Florida Path bisects the trail at first of a curve. Many extra crosswalks are forward.
The broader striped crosswalks are horse-and-carriage crossings. The paved path was laid atop a limestone highway used for land administration and emergency entry.
Diamond markers are for horse trailsThe regular downhill development continues beneath tall pines and oaks. In winter, the orange blazes of the Florida Path are apparent on bushes to the precise.
At a crosswalk adjoining a picnic desk, cross a spur of the singletrack Pine Tree Path headed east to the Santos Bike Store.
Regular downhillPast a number of equestrian and carriage path crossings within the piney woods, an indication at 1.4 miles calls consideration to the Whimcycle Path.
Heading east, that quick singletrack results in a campground with cabins. Previous it, maintain gently descending below the pines.
Whim Cycle turnoffAttain a broad striped crosswalk with a set of highway indicators seen forward. Cease for this highway crossing at SE twenty fifth Ave.
It’s a slim canopied highway in Belleview and automobiles barrel down it effectively above the velocity restrict.
SE twenty fifth AveAn open space past the bushes is an previous pasture. Close to it, the stays of a former constructing crumble beneath a load of vines.
The forest is basically older laurel oaks, a typical sight round Ocala the place pastures have been deserted.
In contrast to the extra stately reside oaks, laurel oaks develop rapidly and taller however lead shorter lives, dropping a number of branches when shaken by the wind.
Amid the laurel oaksThe shiny leaves of southern magnolias stand out within the understory. Move a trailside picnic bench at 1.9 miles. The downhill continues.
Fern-covered boulders adjoin the highway crossing at SE ninety fifth St 1 / 4 mile later. It’s not a busy highway however drivers don’t cease to allow you to cross. Cease and look.
SE ninety fifth StFortunately, there aren’t any extra highway crossings after this. As a substitute, tunnels and a bridge carry path customers throughout and below busy highways.
Contained in the fence, an previous pasture was planted in pines, an equestrian path main via it.
Woodland meandersStart a light uphill previous a picnic bench at 2.5 miles, cresting earlier than a gentle downhill.
Simply past a path crossing for the Florida Path, movement via a curve previous a picnic bench adjoined by a limestone cairn.
CairnOn a motorcycle, it’s simple to select up velocity via this part, however there are numerous crosswalks marking cross trails.
Occasional indicators level out what they’re, such because the one to the Spider Kingdom singletrack space at 4.6 miles.
The orange-blazed Florida Path cross the trail once more. Accomplished in 1999, it’s the oldest of the greenway trails.
A gradual downhillThe regular downhill turns into extra sharp, accompanied with a velocity restrict warning as the trail makes a pointy curve.
Proceed via an underpass beneath CR 475. The curve turns sharply on the other aspect. Leveling out in a meadow, it attracts subsequent to a fence.
Underpass for CR 475Comply with the sting of a giant equestrian advanced, the Florida Horse Park. The following sharp flip alerts the lead-in to a descent to an underpass beneath CR 475A.
This can be a near-horseshoe of a curve whipping by an entry level to a community of singletrack trails extending west.
Florida Horse ParkAt 6.3 miles, an incoming paved path joins in from the Land Bridge trailhead at a T intersection.
One of many largest trailheads alongside the greenway, it has restrooms and a water fountain at its picnic space.
Flip left to remain on the primary path. This forest is older and denser, with many reside oaks.
Slightly west of the T junctionAll the trails be a part of collectively to cross the Land Bridge over Interstate 75 at 7.4 miles.
Devoted Nationwide Trails Day 2000, it was the primary constructed within the US: an enormous planter of crammed with rocks and grime and native bushes, suspended over a significant freeway.
Atop the Land Bridge eastboundMoreover path customers, wildlife began crossing it. Paving this path throughout it radically modified its character.
A slender unpaved strip adjoins for equestrians, who even have a horse trough useful on the other aspect.
Descending with a left flip in the direction of a not-so-natural bowl within the pine forest, the paved path enters “the diggings.”
The eastbound method to the Land BridgeThese have been the primary of a sequence of excavations began within the Thirties to create a canal throughout the Florida peninsula.
A centuries-old concept, it took root throughout a federal infusion of money throughout the Despair through the Works Progress Administration.
This explicit excavation in a scrub forest was hand-dug and resulted in an enormous “sand dune” seen to the left. It’s value a cease to stroll up.
Sand pine scrub west of the diggingsClimbing out of the in any other case imperceptible excavation, stay in a scrub forest the place gopher tortoises thrive. The uncommon endemic Florida scrub-jay has additionally been sighted right here.
Cross the Florida Path twice extra earlier than reaching an intersection with a paved aspect path resulting in the SW forty ninth Ave trailhead at 9.7 miles.
Downhill to SW forty ninth AveThe trailhead has transportable bogs and a water-bottle filling station. Previous that turnoff, all trails meet once more on a steep slope for the SW forty ninth Ave underpass.
On the uphill, the Florida Path and Path 1 veer off to the precise. On the crest, the equestrian path heads into the woods on the left.
Sweeping into the sandhillsOrange blazes parallel the trail briefly as the trail winds into restored sandhill habitat. Path 1 crosses at a crosswalk.
Street noise rapidly abates as a straightaway yields to a mild curve. Immersing in nature, maintain alert for wildlife. We’ve seen fox squirrels and flocks of untamed turkey alongside this stretch.
Florida Path crossingOrange blazes on the precise hail the method of the Florida Path at a crosswalk at 10.8 miles. Curve proper, noting the open understory that stretches into the gap.
Now edging oaks on the left, move an orange marker for an equestrian path that veers onto a fireline. Quickly after is a crosswalk for the Nayls North bike path.
Nayls NorthCurve previous a bench. Within the woods on the left, steep inclines change into apparent. These are the remnants of grime piles from the digging of the Cross Florida Barge Canal.
They date again to the Thirties, slopes now lined in forest. Laurel oaks infilitrate the sandhills on the curve previous a broad grassy path to the left.
Bend previous a grassy pathProceed previous a bench round a mild bend, and the sandhills open up once more on the precise.
The following crosswalk is the Florida Path once more at 12.8 miles. A broader outlined crosswalk previous it’s the entry path to Shangri-La Trailhead, 0.9 miles southeast.
It’s pure floor however arduous packed, resulting in restrooms and a campground.
Shangri-La crossingClimb a reasonable summit to the sound of visitors noise on the method to the CR 484 underpass.
On the Nayls Path signal, all trails merge in to hitch this paved path. Take a steep plunge beneath the freeway with a pointy left into the climb on the opposite aspect.
Descent to SR 484 underpassAttain the lined bench at 13.2 miles. All unpaved routes once more diverge from the paved path.
Because of not-so-gently rolling hills, this ultimate section to Ross Prairie is hard on a motorcycle. Curve left previous an incoming path from a walk-through entry off CR 484.
The broader profile of the pavement marks the place the terrain suggestions sharply uphill.
Begin of the ascentFlattening barely at a crest, the path retains climbing into sand pine scrub. Proceed climbing into sandhills with reasonable zigzags.
Mild curves assist disguise the relentless uphill. At a grassy spot, a two-track vanishes northward from a crest.
Preserve climbing the curves, staying alert for cyclists whizzing downhill.
Heading for a crestAttain a straightaway into a fair steeper grade, the pavement broadening as if to point a passing zone.
After this crest, chill out into an fulfilling downhill via scrubby flatwoods. Spherical a number of curves earlier than a steep incline over a ridge topped in pines.
Descent from the ridgeRace downhill, utilizing your momentum for the subsequent reasonable climb. The encompassing forest turns into denser. Preserve climbing.
Attain marked path crossings for equestrian trails flanking the Past West mountain bike path. White-tailed deer are inclined to browse this space.
Descent in the direction of the final set of path crossingsA ultimate reasonable downhill brings the path to its present conclusion, a this circle in entrance of a picnic bench. There is no such thing as a paved entry to parking at this finish of the bike path.
Site visitors on SR 200 is seen forward the place the Florida Path crosses the freeway. Parking isn’t permitted alongside that highway shoulder, nonetheless.
That is the turnaround level at 15.6 miles. Fortuitously, you’ve already tackled the steepest grades on this ultimate stretch.
Turnaround level going through SR 200For those who’ve hiked this quite than biked it, stage a automotive for a linear stroll. Ross Prairie Trailhead isn’t far through the east aspect of the Ross Prairie Loop.
If on foot on a round-trip, the primitive Ross Prairie campsite is close by alongside the Florida Path. Use the FT as a return path to Santos.
Returning by bike is simpler eastbound however nonetheless difficult in a few spots.
Relying in your begin level, it’s a 11.7 mile round-trip from SW forty ninth Ave, 18.4 miles from Land Bridge trailhead, or 31.2 miles for the total round-trip from Santos trailhead.
We’ve ridden this a number of instances because it first openedPath Map
Discover Extra!
Be taught extra in regards to the Cross Florida Greenway
Cross Florida Greenway Spanning 110 miles between the St. Johns River close to Palatka and the Gulf of Mexico, the Marjorie Harris Carr Cross Florida Greenway is a mile-wide leisure hall.Slideshow
See our images from this path
Close by Adventures
Florida Path, SW forty ninth to Land Bridge Trailhead 3.6 miles. Bookended by tender sand pines and historic oaks, this significantly fascinating hike alongside the Cross Florida Greenway features a large dune-like slope and the Land Bridge over Interstate 75. 
Florida Path, Ross Prairie to SW forty ninth Ave 6.5 miles. With hilly terrain, fern-covered boulders, and enormous sinkholes beneath the pines, it is a rugged and fascinating section of the Florida Path on the Cross Florida Greenway.
Florida Path, Pruitt to Ross Prairie 7.5 miles. With switchbacks, scrambles, and historic oaks, the Pruitt part of the Florida Path alongside the Cross Florida Greenway presents an enchanting hike into the historical past of the Cross Florida Ship Canal.Official Map (PDF) Official Web site
