Trail: 46 miles long
This Trip: Inverness to Northern Terminus (15.9 miles one way), return to Inverness, continue into Withlacoochee State Forest Croom Track (approximately 12 miles one way) and returned to Inverness. Total of approximately 56 miles.
Facilities: Food is available at several places along the trail. Water and restrooms as well as picnic shelters can also be found along the trail.
Difficulty: Easy
Resources:
Lodging:
Magnolia Glen Bed and Breakfast: Affordable nice lodging within a long mile of the trail. 7702 E. Allen Drive, Inverness, Florida 34450 (352) 726-1832 website
Crown Hotel: (not reviewed but looked nice from the outside)
109 North Seminole Avenue, Inverness, Florida 34450 (352) 344-5555
Dining/night life:
Inverness:
Coach's Pub - Go for: cold beer, sports bar atmosphere and great pub food!
114 W. Main St. (352) 344-3333 menu
Stumpknockers - Go for: Great seafood especially the catfish and a cold bottle of brew. (beside Coach's Pub) (352) 726-2212 website
Angelo's Pizzeria - Go for: Delicious calzones and a cold bottle of brew.
108 W Main St. (beside Stumpknockers) (352) 341-0056
Floral City:
Shamrock Inn - Go for: Cheap beer and interesting local patrons.
8343 E. Orange Ave. Just east of the trail (352) 726-6414
Bike Shop(s):
Sun Coast Bikes: 322 North Pine St., Inverness, FL 34450 (352) 637-5757 website
Regis Hampton's Edge Trail Side Bike Shop: Specializing in recumbents
9550 E. Atlinson Ct. Floral City, 34684. (352) 799-4979
Outdoor Travels Rating: 3 bikes out of 5
Thumbs Up:
- SCENERY! WST mixes woods, river, small towns and suburban landscape nicely.
- Small towns along the way are charming and provide many opportunities for food, brew and supplies.
- Wildlife: We spotted a large flock of wild turkey, tons of cardinals, pelican, heron and galinules as well as several rabbits and more in just one afternoon.
Thumbs Down:
- It rained our second day and kept us from riding around 13 miles of the WST
- Redneck Citrus Springs' peon brained vandals - for forcing the closing of a nice public facility through arson and destruction
Lessons Learned:
- Plan two days for a fun and relaxed full-trail ride. You can do it in one if you have cars at both ends or if you are at a level that allows you to ride 96 miles a day.
- We could not find really good loging with interesting surroundings near the Northern Terminus or even in the middle of the trail at Floral City. We settled with lodging in Inverness, that proved to be great as well as providing us with several really good choices for post-ride beer and grub consumption
- Don't plan on getting drinking water or using the toilet at the Northern Terminus facilities, they were closed permantly due to vandalism.
- Riding in the dark without a head light through the woods can be a little freaky!
- There are two pubs near each other in Floral City - one intown (Shamrock Inn) and one just north of Floral City (name?) that is right off of the trail. Pace yourself and plan ahead for your Tour De Consumption! We had to pass the second pub by due to darkness!
- There are several nice poty facilities along the trail!
Biking Log: 02/08/03 "Kelli's Tour De Poo"
First off let me say that planning a two-day ride with one night lodging on the Withlacoochee State Trail isn't easy. When my wife Kelli and I rode the Pinellas Trail, we rode from the southern terminus to the northern terminus and spent the night in a quaint bed and breakfast. The next day we reversed our route back to our car.
The problem with doing this on the 46-mile Withlacoochee State Trail is the lack of good lodging choices within riding distance of the northern terminus just north of Citrus Springs, Florida. After a lot of searching I could only find two older motor inn type facilities in Dunnellon, Florida. Both of those added at least an additional three miles minimum to the already fairly long 46-mile ride. Kelli came up with the wonderful idea to start in the middle, ride to the north and back one day and ride south and back the next day. Great idea, but the same problem still existed: the only bed and breakfast I found near Floral City (which is midway on the trail) was around five miles from the trail.
We did find several suitable choices in Inverness, which is seven miles north of Floral City. This would give us a manageable 32-mile round trip ride to the northern end and a long 60-mile round trip to the southern end. Although we decided to stay in Inverness, we planned on riding only 15-16 miles of the southern section, giving us a 30-32 mile round trip the second day. We wouldn't see the entire trail this trip, but we would have good lodging and see the majority of the trail. With a plan as thought out as this, what could go wrong? Nothing ever goes as planned, as we find out on most Outdoor Travels adventures.
We got a good deal on two nights at the Magnolia Glenn Bed and Breakfast in Inverness, so we decided to take off after work on Friday and enjoy a relaxing evening in Inverness before getting an early start on the trail Saturday morning. As it turns out, Inverness is a very quaint and charming old town. There are three major restaurants in downtown; conveniently they are all next to each other. We had a few beers at Coach's Sports Pub and called it a night. The next morning we set off riding north. The trail in Inverness runs along a very pretty lake. We spotted several types of birds, took a few pictures and headed on (incidentally, if you need rentals or repairs, Suncoast Bicycles is located directly off the trail in Inverness). The trail north of Inverness is a mixture of wooded sections, a couple of small towns and suburban sections. As we headed towards the next town of Hernando we couldn't help but notice the abundance of auto repair, racing, towing and spare parts businesses. At one point there was a string of dingy little concrete block shops consisting of a machine shop, towing facility, plumbing supply store, and an auto body shop. I nicknamed it "The Man Mall."
Hernando is six miles north of Inverness and is the next major town along the trail. There are several places to get snacks and supplies. Of note, there is a fried chicken place right off of the trail that was frying up some chicken that smelled mouth-wateringly good. The parking lot was packed with patrons as we passed it on the way back, so I would imagine they fry up some good vitals. It was still early for us to eat, so we continued on. The trail runs pretty close to SR 41 in this area, so although some of the trail runs through forested areas, we never really felt like we were in the wilderness.
Around 12 miles from Inverness and 5 miles from the northern terminus, we found the Citrus Springs trail head. It's a very nice facility that includes handicapped access to the trail, fresh water, neat, clean restrooms and a small picnic shelter. We decided to stop for a break. Well, actually Kelli made the first of several stops at bathroom facilities in what I later named "Kelli's Tour De Poo." By the end of our trip, I joked that she should review the restroom facilities along the Withlacoochee Trail for a feature article!
With only five miles to the northern terminus, we were feeling great. I read earlier that the state of Florida had built a wood-framed restroom facility at the northern terminus that was burnt down by local kids. I had heard that it was rebuilt with concrete block to foil the recreational arsonist in Citrus Springs. As we arrived at the end of the trail and the Citrus Springs facilities, I was ready to visit the restroom myself. The locals apparently had been busy vandalizing the new burn-proof building - all doors were locked and the water fountain removed. A simple sign on the door stated that the facilities were closed due to "excessive vandalism."
I ended up taking a wizz behind the building and thought out loud how sad it is when a place that has very little going for it continually ruins a nice public facility provided by the state that draws tourist dollars. In light of this, I wouldn't recommend leaving your car overnight at this trail access point; it might be burnt to a crisp during some toothless redneck boredom ritual!
After posing for a couple of pictures, we left Citrus Springs and headed back to Inverness. We were getting hungry by the time we reached Hernando again. We contemplated stopping at the Chicken King. Although the smells wafting from the Chicken King smelled heavenly, we decided to continue on to Inverness so that we could have a beer with our lunch. The King sadly doesn't serve brewskis.
I made a quick stop for a few photos at a house just south of Hernando that had tons of bicycles in the front yard for sale. There were several very old bikes that I photographed. Kelli was eagerly waiting back on the trail for me to finish my diversion. She was very hungry, and when Kelli is hungry it's in your best interest not to impede her from consuming for very long.
We arrived back in Inverness none too soon and chose to eat at Angelo's - a little Italian restaurant that proved to be excellent! After a delicious lunch and several beers, I commented that I wasn't tired at all and since it was only 2:00 p.m., we should ride more of the trail. I thought that we could complete most if not all of Sunday's planned ride of 36 miles. Kelli was a little reluctant to agree to ride all of the 36-mile round trip, but was willing to try.
The trail south of Inverness is notably more forested and rural. It runs through pretty wooded areas, along the Withlacoochee River and through scenic fields. We passed a very interesting pub around four miles south of Inverness, just outside of Floral City, which was our next major stop. Floral City is around six to seven miles from Inverness. There is a nice gazebo and, as Kelli quickly ascertained, restroom facilities next to the trail. As I took some pictures, my wife made stop number two in "Kelli's Tour De Poo". Floral City is also home to The Shamrock Inn a nice, friendly little pub. There is a very succinct sign along the trail that sums up the pub in six four-letter words: Good Food, Cold Beer, Next Left. We still had several miles to ride before turning around, so we made a mental note to stop on the way back for a few brews.
I figured we could go at least ten more miles before turning around. This would put us in the Withlacoochee State Forest. South of Floral City the trail runs through some of the most remote sections of land yet. The next stop of note is Hampton's Edge Bike Shop. They are around six miles south of Floral City and are open only on the weekends. Just south of the bike shop we found Lake Townson Park. They have picnic shelters, fresh water and provided stop number three on "Kelli's Tour De Poo"!
We continued on for another two to three miles and got within approximately 12 miles from the southern terminus when we decided to turn around and head back. We were both pretty tired and thoughts of a cold beer in Floral City consumed our thoughts! We stopped again at Townson Park and headed to the Withlacoochee River access east of the trail for a little side exploration and a little rest. We rode our bikes over the water and along a cyprus forest on a dock and took a small rest before heading back out. Along the way Kelli spotted something in a field along the trail that turned out to be a large flock of wild turkeys. I estimated that there were around 50 60; I have never seen this many turkeys in one place - there's gotta be a joke there somewhere!
The eleven miles north to Floral City seemed to be twice as long as they did earlier. Thoughts of cold beer motivated us to continue on. When we reached Floral City, we couldn't have been happier. We parked our bikes in front of the Shamrock Inn and went in for a few cold ones. Needless to say, we had a good time there and had a well-deserved rest. We were also treated to a little local flavor: Several older guys were cutting a rug to the sounds of a karaoke saxophonist who was equipped with his own mini-light show! (see this bonus pub-spy-cam Trail Video) It was a big night in Floral City but, sadly, we had to go as almost seven more miles were ahead of us before we reached Inverness. As we stepped out of the Shamrock's door, we were a little shocked: it was getting dark! As we hit the trail with renewed energy, dusk gave way to night. We were peddling in the dark! This would have been exactly the same scenario as the late night post-drinking ride on the Greenbrier River Trail in West Virginia, with the notable difference of Kelli and I not leaving each other to fend for ourselves. In an uncharacteristic move, we even passed the next pub that was just outside of Floral City.
When we finally made it back to Inverness, it was dark and we were really tired. We returned to our bed and breakfast, got cleaned up and had dinner at Stumpknockers, one of the three restaurants in Inverness. Good food and a few cold beverages were our reward for what turned out to be an interesting 56-mile ride! I was hoping that we could check out the next morning, drive to southern terminus and ride the last 12 miles of the Withlacoochee State Trail that we didn't get to ride today.
We awoke Sunday to a cold rain that had settled in for the day. It was a good thing that we rode as much of the trail Saturday that we did. The rest of the trail was going to have to wait for another day.
In summary, the Withlacoochee State Trail is a really fun ride that can be enjoyed by anyone. I recommend riding the southern sections from Inverness to the southern terminus if you can only ride a portion of the trail. The scenery is nice and the towns of Inverness and Floral City are nothing short of charming.
