Trail Snapshot

Trail Length/Surface:

32 miles, paved

Difficulty:

Easy / moderate

Outdoor Travels Rating:

2.75 out of 5 bikes (as a whole) one route merits at least a 3.5 out of 5 bikes.

Nuts & Bolts

Location:

West central Florida

Fee:

None

County:

Dixie, Gilchrist, Levy

Nearby Cities:

Chiefland, Trenton, Cross City

Access/Directions:

Chiefland Trailhead - From Fanning Springs, head south on US 19. Trailhead is located at the Chiefland railroad depot, 2 blocks beyond downtown Chiefland.

Trenton Trailhead - From Fanning Springs, head east on State Route 26. In Trenton, head north (left) on Main Street (US 129). Proceed about 2 blocks to the Trenton railroad depot.

From Gainesville - Head west on State Road 26. In Trenton, head north (right) on Main Street (US 129). Proceed about 2 blocks to the Trenton railroad depot.

Fanning Springs Trailhead - From Chiefland, head north on US 19. In Fanning Springs, the trailhead is on the right, near the Agricultural Inspection Station.

Old Town Trailhead - From Fanning Springs, head north on US 19. Turn right on CR 349 in Old Town. The trail crosses the road 1 block after the intersection. Adjacent to the Old Town Fire Station.

Cross City Trailhead - From Old Town, head north on US 19. Pass through Cross City and turn right on NE 210th, turn left on NE 106th St., parking is at the Cross City depot.

Contact Information:

18020 N.W. Highway 19
Fanning Springs, Florida 32693
Phone: (352) 535-5181

Facilities:

Chiefland Trailhead provides parking and restrooms, and picnic tables. Trenton Trailhead provides parking, restrooms, and pavilion. Fanning Springs Trailhead provides parking. Cross City Trailhead provides parking, restrooms and a pavilion. Old Town Trailhead provides parking

Activities:

Biking, rollerblading, jogging, walking, horseback riding, etc.

Maps and Stuff

Trail photos

Lots of great photos to give you a good idea of what riding here is like!

It's literally the END of the trail in Cross City

Mountain Biking

Nature Coast Trail

Chiefland, Trenton and Cross City, Florida

Horse poo, hot boring stretches of trail from hell and a little bit of fun!

by Dana Farnsworth, Outdoor Travels

Nature Coast State Trail is officially designated as part of Florida’s Statewide System of Greenways and Trails. Traversing Florida's beautiful Nature Coast region, this trail provides an excellent opportunity to experience the Sunshine State "off the beaten path." The trail consists of two primary alignments built along abandoned rail lines that intersect at Wilcox Junction, connecting the communities of Cross City, Trenton, Fanning Springs and Chiefland. Among the trail's highlights is a historic train trestle that allows trail goers to cross over the Suwannee River near Old Town. The trail is also close to nearby Fanning Springs State Park and Andrews Wildlife Management Area. Don't miss this trail, a jewel of the Nature Coast region.

I had just said “on your left” to a galloping horse when I notice the vast stretch of straight as an arrow trail stretching out seemingly to the end of the earth, or at least California…. The Nature Coast Trail is an interesting trail with several good ride options and at least one less than good option – the one I chose. Shaped like a “Y” with the towns of Chiefland, Trenton and Cross City at each terminus, the nature coast trail offers up 32 total miles of paved multi-use trail. I chose to begin my ride in Chiefland and ride the entire trail system, which would equal out slightly over 64 miles.

There are several notable landmarks along the way, such as the junction of the three trails, the trestle over the Suwannee River and of course the towns at each end. Each portion of the “Y” shaped trail is slightly different from the rest in terms of distance. The first portion of my ride from Chiefland to the junction point is flat, relatively straight and goes through the Andrews Wildlife Management area and Fanning Springs State Park. It was a pretty warm up for what was to follow.

Take me down to Cross City

After saying goodbye to my wife at the picturesque trestle (she was only riding the first part) I began what was to be the least interesting, mind and crotch numbing section of the Nature Coast Trail. From the junction to Cross City is the longest section of the three and coincidentally the straightest and least scenic overall. Now, I’ve ridden many trails before in Florida that were straight as an arrow and repetitive. A few had some redeeming value like a great restaurant at the terminus or a cool little pub along the way. So I held out a bit of hope that Cross City might offer something along those lines. Tirelessly I pedaled and tried my best not to think about the long, open expanse of asphalt in front of me. The most interesting thing that happened was the aforementioned passing of a galloping horse. As I prepared to pass him, I thought to myself how cool was this that I was passing a horse in a brisk gallop! It was pretty cool until said horse decided to unload his oversized horse colon on the trail right before I went by him. So back to pedaling and trying not to look ahead too much… The next several miles went something like this:

Pedal, pedal, pedal, pedal, “man it’s hot, there’s no shade”, pedal, pedal, pedal, “perhaps there will be a cool pub at Cross City”, “Take your mind off of this section, think pub, pub, pub, pub, pub, beer, cold beer, pub…”, pedal, pedal pedal, pedal, pedal pedal, “Crap is this a long boring section! … beer”

As you may or may not guess, when I made my arrival at Cross City, there was no greeting party, no chamber of commerce and no….. yes, no cool pub that I could find near the trail. There might be one there, I just didn’t see it. Navigating along the last portion of the trail, that literally ends abruptly in the dirt, my best option for mid ride replenishment seemed to be a DQ. Waiting in line at the Queen in my biker shorts and outfit, drew a few stares and at least two enthusiastic “hellos” from kids whom I think believed I was some DQ employee dressed up as a cut-rate off-brand super hero giving out free Mr. Misty slushes.

Back on the bike - this was the toughest part, riding back along the same boring section. Oh, what’s this? I now had a gusty stiff headwind to deal with as well. Joy.

The Road to Trenton

Once I finally reached the junction again, I was debating not riding this last section as I was pretty spent from fighting the headwind, but damn it, I came to ride the whole thing and damn it, come headwind, or horse poop, I was riding the whole thing! The section from the junction to Trenton is the shortest section of the three at somewhere around 5-6 miles one-way. Already things were looking up, as the trail in this area was tree lined as it traverse along the edges of some pretty farm land. Fairly soon I found myself at the Trenton Depot. While taking a stretch and looking for a water fountain (to no avail) I struck up a conversation with a local rider who gave me some wonderful advice. The trail ends around100 feet from the main street in downtown Trenton. That meant refreshment, fun, food! Since I was riding on a Sunday, and Sunday is a “dry” day in the area, there were sadly no pubs open but I did find the oasis of the Burger Spot! An ice cream, sports drink and bottle of water later, I felt refreshed and ready to knock out my last 15 miles or so. Of note, there are a few really nice looking little restaurants right off the trail in Trenton. If you want to enjoy a little break, there are a few nice options. I would recommend a Saturday ride though as many places were closed on Sunday.

While tracing my route back to the junction and then back to the Chiefland Depot, I passed several gopher tortoises. I made one giant mistake. I stopped to check out one of these moving speed bumps during a time where I had a great pace going. Needless to say, my communion with the reptile wasn’t worth the effort it took to get back into that wonderful zen groove I had been in previously. At least the tortoises weren’t soiling the trail.

Summary

I recommend skipping the maso-pedal-chistic “Junction to Cross City” section all together, unless you really want the extra miles. A great short ride option would be starting in Trenton and riding a out-and back to the trestle bridge – approximately 15 miles round trip. Longer options would be Chiefland to Trenton, Trenton to the trestle bridge and back to Chiefland. That would be in the 35 or so mile range.