Touring Tuesday - Florida Trails

In Florida you will encounter an occasional alligator on bike trails

It's almost December and some folks will soon be heading to Florida for some warmer weather. I ran across the Bike Florida website, which listed the top ten bike trails in the state (according to Mudfish & Bobcat). One trail on the list is the Pinellas Trail. It is a paved, 47 mile-long trail, running from St. Petersburg to Tarpon Springs. It is in the Rail-Trail Hall of Fame.

Mudfish & Bobcat especially recommend the northern third of the trail from the depot in Dunedin to Tarpon Springs. There is also a short spur trail that connects to Honeymoon Island State Park. They also recommend getting just off the trail a bit to visit the Historic Tarpon Springs Sponge Dock. The sponge industry was started by Greeks, so it is no surprise there are plenty of good Greek restaurants in the area.

At the south end of the trail, Demens Landing Park offers a nice view of Tampa Bay. In St. Petersburg you might want to visit the Salvador Dali Museum. It has over two thousand works of the artist from throughout his career, including 96 oil paintings.