Biking Orlando's Paved Trails

West Orange Trail

Currently 22 miles - Oakland to Apopka. Travels east then north. Planned to connect with the Seminole Wekiva Trail to the east and eventually to the Lake Minneola Trail to the west.

Seminole - Wekiva Trail

Currently 14 miles - Altamonte Springs to Markham Road west of Sanford. Travels predominately north. Currently connects to the 4-mile Crossings Trail that is actually the northern most part of the Cross Seminole Trail.

Cross Seminole Trail

Crossings Trail - northern section reviewed

Currently two non-connecting 4-mile sections are complete. The Rinehart Road - Crossings Trail in the north already connects to the Seminole - Wekiva Trail via a massive pedestrian bridge over I-4 at Heathrow. The southern 4-mile section runs from Oviedo northwesterly to near Winter Springs. Plans connect the two complete four-mile sections with 20 additional miles running predominately north. Planned sections south of Oviedo will connect to the Cady Way and Little Econ Trails.

Little Econ Trail

Currently 4 miles – SR 50 near Goldenrod Road to Blanchard Park. Travels east - west. The trail will eventually extend 10 miles to the northeast linking the University of Central Florida and a short distance to the west to the Cady Way Trail and the Cross Seminole Trail system.

Cady Way Trail

Currently 3.75 miles – SR 50 at Fashion Square Mall to Cady Way Park just south of Aloma Avenue SR 426. Travels predominately north. Currently a second phase of the Cady Way Trail is under construction eventually connecting it to the Cross Seminole Trail (when its section south of Oviedo is complete). A little off-trail road riding to the west can connect you with the Lake Fran Trail. The estimated completion date for improvements to the Cady Way Trail is September 2005. It will also connect with the Little Econ Trail when its western expansion is complete.

Lake Fran Trail

Currently 2 miles – runs predominately east - west and connects Poppy Park with area schools and parks, then through residential streets to the Dr. Smith Center. Lake Fran Trail connects with the north – south Shingle Creek Trail.

Shingle Creek Trail

Currently 3.25 miles complete, 1.25 currently under construction, 33 total miles planned – The trail will some day link Central Florida from the West Orange Trail south to Kissimmee. The current 4.5-mile segment being developed by the City of Orlando is the first part of the ultimate 33-mile Shingle Creek Trail. Phase 1 (3.25 miles) begins at the Lake Fran Trail just east of Poppy Park and travels south along the west shore of Lake Fran and continues across the extension of Metro West Boulevard. It will then loop in a southwest direction around the eagle's nest between two restored wetlands until the trail reaches the Shingle Creek Right-of-Way. The trail will continue south along the creek to L.B. McLeod Road. From L.B. McLeod Road, it will follow the Creek around the water treatment facility and then continue to the southeast along to Conroy Road. Phase 2 (1.25 miles) is under construction as of September 2004 and will follow the creek in the southeast direction from Conroy Road to Vineland Road and then under I-4 to the food court entrance at the Mall at Millennia. Construction of the northern phases that will ultimately link to the West Orange Trail will be the last phases to be built, perhaps by 2010.

Move over Mickey, there’s a new tourist attraction in town – well, almost in town. Orlando’s vision of an expansive recreational trail network spanning from Polk City to the west, circumnavigating Orlando as far north as Lake Mary, east to Oviedo and as far south as Kissimmee is on the drawing board. Large pieces of this giant puzzle are already in place, construction is underway on other pieces and commitments, excitement and funding exist for almost all of the final pieces that should be in place by 2010.

This sprawling network of multi-use pathways could provide the perfect vacation opportunity for those who prefer recreation in the great outdoors over plodding through ubiquitous outlet strip malls and trudging like a zombie through a never-ending manufactured reality theme park. Maybe a trail network, however grand, may never compete with the likes of Disney, Sea World or Universal, but it certainly will better the lives of residents in the area as well as provide a reason for active adventurers to visit the land of make-believe.

I must admit that I discovered the “giant network of bike trails master plan” AFTER riding several of the Orlando area trails. Through my research on each individual trail I learned that some trails were planned to connect with others, and others with others. It wasn’t until I skillfully pieced together a giant map of the metro area that illustrated all of the existing and proposed trails that I saw the “big picture” – and what a big picture it is.

Currently there are two trails, The West Orange and the Seminole - Wekiva Trail that are over 10 miles in length and currently serve, in my opinion, as “anchor” trails. The rest of the pieces of the giant puzzle consist of an abundance of shorter trails that are complete and awaiting connection or are in partial stages of construction. The Cady Way, Lake Fran, Shingle Creek and Little Econ Trails are currently two to four miles in length, while the Cross Seminole Trail has two four-mile sections completed that will eventually be connected by a staggering 20 miles that are on the drawing board.

The plan for this expansive network also sprawls out to the east where the General James Van Fleet Trail (29.2 miles) and the Lake Minneola - Clermont Trail (3.1 miles) are also planned to be connected to the Orlando network. There is a lot of work to be done and a lot of funding to be allocated before this dream can become reality, but the wheels are in motion as new sections and facilities are being constructed all the time. If there were ever questions of commitment, one only need witness the incredible cable suspension pedestrian bridge that is spanning eight lanes of bustling I-4 connecting the beginnings of the Cross Seminole (currently Crossings Trail) with the Seminole - Wekiva trail.

Once this network is complete, it will be very interesting to transition from one trail to the other. As these trails were all developed one at a time by different planners, each has it’s own unique personality that often is reflected by its surrounding landscape and neighborhoods. It should be interesting to ride from the Little Econ Greenway which feels fairly rural and sports one wide lane onto the Cady Way which has separate lanes for pedestrian and bike traffic and traverses a more residential and urban landscape. I for one am looking forward to packing up the panniers on my bike and circumnavigating the greater Orlando area over a period of a couple of days, staying at bed and breakfasts and hotels. My wait may not be too long.