retnav94

I posted this in the regional section but I don't think there is a lot of traffic there so I will post it here. I live about an hour and a half from Tallahassee and someone mentioned a paved trail that goes from Tom Brown Park to the coast. I am assuming the trail is the St. marks Railroad trail but cant confirm this. The only maps I see on the trail says it is about 20 to the coast but i was told it was longer. Anyone have any info on this trail or what trail leaves the park and heads to the coast? I also need info on where to find the trail head. Many thanks

supafast213

If I remember correctly, the trail head is just south of Capitol circle on Monroe/ Woodville HWY ( On the right headed south)

Noobtastic

Lucky I decided to browse to forums tonight, I'm riding the trail from Tallahassee to St marks national wildlife refuge tomorrow morning. The St marks trail does not begin in Tom brown Park; officially it begins at the tunnel behind Doak Campbell stadium but it cuts off on Ocala road and begins again on Gamble street, just south of FAMU (you can find it on google maps). From here you won't meet many people but it is very scenic and the only road crossings are Gaile ave and Capital Circle (right after this crossing you reach the main terminal on woodville highway). Most people are confused when they notice that the main terminal to the Gulf coast is not that long, what they never realize is that Woodville hwy is not the trailhead (But it does have parking spaces, bathrooms, water fountains). If you want to park on woodville, you will find the main terminal on the right if you're headed south out of town, the trail is hard to see but look out for the adjacent propane company and people setting up their bikes in the parking lot.

If you want to ride from tom brown park, you can ride down park avenue all the way to macomb/railroad ave and turn left, going straight down towards FAMU till you hit either Eugenia street or Gamble street where you will turn right( doesn't matter which, both will take you to the trailhead). However, the southernmost 7 miles of the trail are still under construction so you will not be able to ride it from the wakulla terminal to the coast; therefore, you have to get off on SR267 ( I've never had a bad experience on this highway) and go left towards St marks. I think the wildlife refuge is an awesome ride in the meantime since you get to see the lighthouse, the coast and a few deer cross right in front of you for just a dollar.

P.S. Stop at road stands and buy honey, you won't regret it.

retnav94

Many Thanks Noobtastic. I appreciate the detailed directions. I did find the website on the trail that talked about the closing of the last 7 miles. A few more questions if you do not mind. I figure you will most likely be finished with the ride prior to reading this anyway. How was the ride today btw? Our plan is to have the wives drop us off in Tallahassee and drive to St Marks to meet us after the ride. So in order for us to have the longest ride possible on the trail we should start behind Doak Campbell stadium? When you say the trail cuts off on Ocala, it goes from trail to street or is there a bike lane? I see the trail on google from what looks like just south of the intersection of us90 and N Ocala rd. That looks like it is nw of the Stadium. I see it picks up fairly clearly on the map at Gamble st. I can follow the trail on the map from where I think it starts to just south of Bobby Bowden field. I think it jogs south a bit and stops on w gains st. Should we then head down N lake bradford rd. to gamble street where I see the trail picks up again? I am not as spastic as I sound , we have just not been there before.

Ok last question...maybe On the south end you say to get off on 267 then go left toward St Marks. I see where 267 and 365 (shadeville rd) meet. 267 looks to head nw and 365 sw. Should we take 365 sw and then find a road that heads se toward st marks? I see the wildlife refuge and a few roads that eventually get to Wakulla beach road and ends at the southern point in the refuge. Is this where you ride to? We can have the ladies meet us there and drive back to St Marks for lunch. Anyway, sorry for the epic post. I again appreciate the info. The ride looks like a good one.

retnav94

Noob I just googled the entire route. Looks pretty straight forward. The last few miles through the refuge looks like hard pack roads. We are on mountain bikes so I am looking forward to it. Google says it is just shy of 30 miles. The only road that looks tight is 365, not a lot of paved shoulder, however, I would not assume there is a lot of traffic on that road. Thanks again. How was the ride?

Noobtastic

If planning to ride the whole trail I would begin on US90 and ocala and ride up to the Doak campbell tunnel, there is a bike lane on this part of Ocala rd (you can set up in one of the shopping complex parking lots nearby). From Doak Campbell you could take Varsity drive and Lake Bradford towards the trailhead on Gamble but I don't remember a bike lane on Lake Bradford or Gamble (you can prove me wrong with google street view) which are fast roads at some points. For a peaceful ride, you can turn towards the FSU flying circus when you leave the st marks trail onto Chieftain way and ride easy through campus onto Call street, which takes you to Macomb st, and it's then a pretty easy ride to the trailhead; this route is obviously longer though, you can definitely take Lake Bradford Road if you're both attentive and assertive riders.

You'll have a good ride on the mountain bikes, the trail is so bumpy on the most ridden portions that a road bike is somewhat uncomfortable, though it's not bumpy enough that you can't go very fast. In fact it's a great place to go very fast because most Tallahasseans don't know St marks trail exists so you'll probably see two people at most for every mile even on the woodville portion. As far as I saw today, the repaving on the last seven miles of the trail is done (the roadies were so excited) but there are still trucks around so they might still be putting finishing touches on it, you won't have any issues with the construction though because the portion that will be repaved next is adjacent to a rarely traveled road.

My ride was pretty epic; it was my first half century and my first long ride on a singlespeed bike so I'm so excited that it all went well and I'm up right now making plans for another bike that will be awesomely adapted for an even longer trip. I felt bad for my friend who was left in my dust on the FS mountain bike I loaned him, but it was a good inaugural trip for him since he's considering a ride to Gainesville on his singlespeed road bike later this month. I'll be doing this ride again on the weekend after next to camp in st marks for the Monarch Butterfly festival inside the wildlife refuge and the Stone Crab Festival inside the city of St Marks, both happening on October 23. This trip with a backpack is extremely annoying, so I'm definitely investing in a rack and panniers to nerd up my mountain bike. It was the first time that I rode left on SR267 (I normally go right to Wakulla Springs) and I didn't expect to have any annoying experiences from cars because they will normally change lanes completely with you riding on the shoulder, but towards the coastal highway you will get at least one a-hole pulling a big boat who speeds by 5 feet away from you on a deserted highway. I don't know where in the wildlife refuge you plan to go, but travelling down Lighthouse Way you have paved road all the way to the lighthouse where there is a parking lot; bring binoculars or a camera because the ecosystem changes as you cycle through the park and you will no doubt see many birds + meet deer crossing the road, there are black bears but I've never seen one on the main road. The wildlife refuge has a $1 entry fee for cyclists and an awesome visitors center, I don't know about you but I'm a sucker for a good book or souvenir(which you can also get at the outdoor flea market in Tallahassee). For a place to eat there's a great oyster bar close to Lighthouse way called Outz's, you won't miss it when going towards the wildlife refuge. It's a biker hangout but don't let that scare you, the food is awesome, people are friendly, and you can find a nice dock to soak your tired feet in the adjacent St marks river with a beer and sammich.

Btw, look out for awesome pictures on the trail like this guy:

retnav94

Thanks for the update Noob. I am really stoked about the ride now. We are also planning on the 23rd for the ride, it just happened to be a day that works with everyone's schedule. I will have to google your route again to figure out where you suggest we go, and the input is outstanding btw. I may take a ride this weekend with the wife for a little recon of the area. Grats on your single speed 1/2.

retnav94

Just an update Noob. We rode the trail on saturday. They have opened the wakulla to st marks portion of the trail and closed a 5 mile section north of wakulla. We decided to start at the trail head instead of near FSU due to a football home game, we did not want to deal with the traffic. We headed north until we hit gamble st., then turned around and headed south to st marks. We had to leave the trail for the 5 miles prior to wakulla station on to old woodville road (i think) and 2/3 of that was dirt and soft sand, I am not sure how the roadies got through it. When we got to St marks we looked around a bit then decided to head back north. We retraced our route and passed the trail head again and continued to gamble st. I wanted to do at least 50 so we did some doubling. After gamble st. it was back south to the trail head. My garmin said we did 52 miles, but i did not start it a couple times, so I think we did about 55. Google maps has us just over 60. Overall the ride could not have been better. Weather was perfect! It was my first ride over 16 miles on that mountain bike and it rode like a champ. We completed the trip in 4:15 riding time with an average speed of 12mph. The new pavement was sweet. I think I will wait until they finish up the rest of the trail and then ride from the trail head to st marks , the light house and return. That is 60+ round trip. Again thanks for the heads up on the details of things.

Noobtastic

Sorry I neglected reporting the fsu game, I forgot that you planned to be dropped downtown by car which is almost impossible (x2 last weekend because a FAMU game was also going on). You guys are troopers, I would not ride at all if there wasn't a place to ride to but you were just riding for the love of cycling. I salute you. The weather on saturday was indeed perfect, I didn't want to leave st Augustine because the breeze kept blowing but the sky was bluer than spring water. I hope your time in Tallahassee was fantastic and you guys saw some cool stuff. Hopefully after the renovation of St Marks trail the city will eventually consider another bike path that passes through our more scenic areas. Even the mountain bike trails along our railroad tracks have amazing views.