Bike, Jog, In-line Skate, Picnic or Playgrounds- Try Pinella's Trail in Florida
Written: May 25 '04 (Updated Jun 01 '04)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: One of, if not the nicest, bike trails on which I've been.
Cons: None
The Bottom Line: Great 37 mile trail with lots to do for everyone. A great destination for the day.
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| jo.com's Full Review: Pinella's Trail |
On a Sunday in December we were in Florida. We discovered Pinellas Trail (The Fred Marquis Pinallas Trail) in Clearwater.
About the trail:
We have been on many bike paths, roads and trails. Pinellas is the best bike trail on which we’ve been. I love the Cape Cod Rail Trail but it doesn’t compare to this one. Sanibel Island in Florida also has great biking but nothing compared to Pinellas Trail. It is 34 miles long going through St. Petersburg, Seminole and Tarpon Springs to name a few areas. I will give you an overview and then concentrate on the section on which we biked.
You will want to get The Guide to the Pinellas Trail, a pocket-size flip chart map for navigating the Trail. It shows rest stops, service stations, restaurants, pay phones, bike shops, park areas and anything else you may need on a 34-mile jaunt. You can get this free Guide at the Trail office, area libraries, the Pinellas County Courthouse Information Desk and on the Internet. We printed ours from the Internet. Some numbers you may want include the Park Ranger: 727-549-6099; bus routes near the Trail: 727-530-9911; and The Pinellas Trail Guidebook- 727-464-8200.
About 90,000 people use the trail each month! In spite of that, it wasn’t crowded. Sanibel was more crowded for sure. The trail itself is really unique. Even just the 11 miles we rode had changing scenery. At times we felt very isolated and at times we were biking through residential neighborhoods. You may pass coastal areas or tidal streams where you may see a various water and land birds.
There are eight overpasses, which I will say more about, but they allow people on the trail to travel above the traffic at busy intersections.
The Pinellas County Security Task Force, Pinellas County Park Rangers and the Auxiliary Rangers patrol the Trail. Bike racks and refreshment stops along the way are provided by the Pinellas Trails, Inc., a not-for-profit citizen's group.
Some necessary information:
~The Trail is only open during daylight hours.
~Alcoholic beverages are not allowed.
~Bicyclists are not permitted to wear headphones at any time.
~Children under 16 must wear a helmet.
~Electric bicycles are not allowed on the Pinellas Trail.
~Pets are allowed on a 6-foot leash.
My experience:
In spite of having our guide we didn’t park in one of the many free parking lots available. We saw a hospital parking lot, parked and got on the trail. Just like the Visitor Center on Sanibel Island we were told that merchants of any type do not mind people parking in their lots!
I noticed that there was a separate lane for joggers, walkers, inline skaters and wheelchairs. Most people were adhering to that lane making for some really nice biking.
I noticed green signs along the Trail with white numbers. These are station numbers. They are 500 feet apart and you can use them to calculate your distance traveled or report the location of any problems on the Trail. (Station number 0 is at the Trail's start at 34th St. in St. Pete.)
We stopped at 2 miles markers. Mile marker 15 has a parking lot, a wonderful catch and release pond, lovely bridges that take you out on top of the pond, some of which took us to strips of land on the pond, a playground, picnic tables and restrooms. This was a wonderful stop. If I were to do it again I would plan on having a picnic lunch here. It is a very large, grassy recreation area where one could spend the day.
At mile marker 10 there was a similar recreation area but this one had a huge playground. If you have children this is the one you want to spend time at. There were restrooms here as well.
You’ll find benches along the way if you want to take a break on the trail. Along our route we passed grapefruit trees (I am reading from notes. This is not a detail I would remember!), residential houses and a huge playing field where baseball games or any kind of game can be played.
Remember I mentioned the eight overpasses? We biked over 3 and they are amazing! They aren’t just bridges that you would bike up and then go down. All along the bridges are slight steps. The reason for these steps we think are for the use of inline skaters. They are very subtle and a really unique design. The overpasses or what I think of as bridges are steep. We bought new bikes with 21 gears. I could never have gotten up these bridges with my 10 speed. Both my husband and myself (Granted we are old!) were in 1-1 at the peak of the bridge! So be aware of this if you are riding and not used to hills or walking. You can take a break anytime you want. The bridges are wide so you won’t be in anyone’s way if you stop or sit for awhile to catch your breath.
Jo’s Final Thoughts:
As you can read this trail is not just for bikers. You can park and spend the day at any number of recreational area, take a short or long walk and enjoy the sites or like we did, bike. If you are in the Tampa, Clearwater, St. Petersburg area, I highly recommend you enjoy Pinellas Trail. If you’ve been there I’d love to know what you think.
As always feel free to leave a comment or question.
Another review from our December/January trip:
Holocaust Museum in St. Petersburg
Recommended:
Yes
Best Time to Travel Here: Anytime
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