Lately we’ve been discovering some fun Central Florida bike trails near home to enjoy.
Since we aren’t traveling a lot at the moment, hitting the local biking trails on two wheels has been one of the best ways to fulfill our travel itch!
Today we’re exploring the Lehigh Greenway Rail Trail in Flagler County, Florida. We’ve decided to call it the BLACKBERRY TRAIL. (You’ll see why.)
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Lehigh Greenway Rail Trail
There are a ton of biking trails in Florida to discover and this is a very nice paved biking trail in Palm Coast, Flagler County. The total length of the trail is 6.9 miles (one-way) but the nice thing is that you can park in the center and bike the east or west portion as an out-and-back and even take a break in between. It’s great!
The Lehigh Greenway Rail Trail is a biking trail that has been converted from an old railroad line by the national Rails-to-Trails Conservancy that had delivered cement ingredients to and from an old cement plant called the Lehigh Portland Cement Company.
On different parts of the trail you can still find the old railroad ties that are left alongside the trail. It’s a cool little reminder of the trail’s history back to the old cement company.
A Biking Trail with Wild Blackberries!
As we rode along the west side of the trail, Sarah began to notice little red and black dots popping out in the bushes. As soon as we stopped, we realized we were looking at a ton of wild blackberries!
Note to self: the trail was full of ripe blackberries at the end of June so keep in mind the time of year.
Now we definitely don’t recommend eating anything in the wild that you’re not absolutely sure of but we’ve eaten a lot of blackberries in our time on many trails including the Appalachian Trail. The nice thing about identifying blackberries is that they don’t have any poisonous lookalikes. The closest type of berry that might look like a blackberry are raspberries which are also not poisonous.
You can identify blackberries by common telltale signs:
- Blackberries grow in berry clusters (not as a single berry)
- They grow at the end of the stem
- Blackberries are black when ripe and red when unripe
- Blackberry stems are thorny
- The leaves and flowers are recognizable
In any case, always be sure when eating anything in the wild! On this trail though, they were delicious! We made sure to only eat a handful and leave some for the wildlife.
Directions & Features: Lehigh Greenway Rail Trail in Palm Coast, FL
You can access the Lehigh Greenway Rail Trail in a handful of locations but there isn’t a lot of parking at the ends near the trail. You can park near the middle of the trail which turns out to be a nice positive! From there you can ride either the east or west and have a snack break in the middle.
On the corner of Belle Terre Parkway and Royal Palms Parkway in Palm Coast you can park in two unpaved parking lots. One right next to the trail and the other a little further under the power lines.
West Trail Features (6 miles round-trip)
Lots of blackberries in June! The entire trail is paved, shaded on most parts, and you’ll come across some foot bridges. The majority of the trail is also mostly straight. We saw a snake, a lot of birds, butterflies, and many pretty flowers. There’s also a couple complimentary bike pumps on the trail. Great for walking and biking as there aren’t any major road crossings.
East Trail Features (7 miles round-trip)
It starts off similar to the West Trail but we didn’t see any blackberries. This portion of the trail has the remnants of the old railroad ties that are right off the trail. There’s also an opening to a nice flowing creek. There are two spots on the east trail that have major road crossings and you also go under an overpass. There’s also about a one mile portion that doesn’t have any shade. Once you get past the road crossings, there’s a lot more water and good chances of seeing alligators as you’ll see from the sign postings. At one point you’ll even cross a nice long wooden boardwalk that passes over marshland.
One thing to keep in mind is that there’s no bathroom on the trail so you’ll have to keep that in mind! There are bushes however. ?
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Florida Paved Bike Trails
Biking this trail was a delight. It’s an easy trail with a lot of great features and a lot to see. We went in the middle of the day so it was pretty hot but the break in the middle helped a ton. We saw lots of birds, butterflies, turtles, and we’ve heard alligators and deer are spotted frequently in the area. If you’re bike riding in Florida and are near Palm Coast, be sure to check out this trail!
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