The Pinellas County Trail
The Pinellas Trail is one of the most well known trails by Florida locals. Consistently being voted in the top 10 trails in Florida, nearly 1 million trail goers find themselves on The Pinellas Trail each year. It spans nearly 50 miles and the county has plans for future expansion. With the most recent expansion project opening a roughly 5 mile addition in 2017.
Traveling through numerous quaint, small towns on its way from North St. Petersburg to Tarpon Springs, there are plenty of places to pick up your journey or stop for a bite to eat at dozens of local restaurants located just a few steps from the trail. It’s not uncommon to see groups of cyclists gathering for breakfast at a local cafe located just off the trail in the mornings.
The trail strings together parks, coast line, small towns and some cities. The trail takes strategic routes crossing generally lower traffic road ways and where that isn’t possible pedestrian overpasses have been installed. Whatever it is you use the trail for you will find yourself mostly undisturbed by the worry of crossing a busy roadway.
One of the most popular stretches of trail is the 1/4 mile bridge crossing Boca Ciega Bay. Towards the northern section of the trail you’ll come across downtown Clearwater, Dunedin, and more. The trail seamlessly merges into the local towns’ sidewalks. One of the most recommended of stops being downtown Dunedin where it’s teeming with shops, restaurants, restrooms, a marina, views of The Gulf of Mexico and beautiful sunsets just a few blocks away.
In Palm Harbor you’ll find a similar experience to Dunedin with gorgeous Gulf views on the Bayshore Blvd. Pedestrian Bridge. Further north you’ll come across East Lake Rd. S where the trail branches off a just over 4 mile section taking you to John Chesnut Sr. Park. Which is full of nature trails and a lookout tower over Lake Tarpon. The other branch takes you to an end point at the Pasco County Line.
Included for the safety of trail goers, there are Emergency response tags affixed to the trail roughly every 200-300 feet. Each tag has a unique code that you can provide 9-1-1 operators with to shorten response times.
The Pinellas County Trail will play vital role in the connection of the Coast-To-Coast Connector Trail expected to span from the west coast of Florida in Pinellas County to the East Coast. Other plans include growing the Trail to a 75 mile stretch. Which when completed will ultimately become the Pinellas Trail Loop.
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