Only one cart announced their presence when passing. I recommend it but you better keep your eye on your mirror.
South Beach is a good restaurant for lunch. Yes it's short but I loved this trail. I also rode the neighborhood to see all the houses on the island. Public beach on end is also nice. Cute downtown let's you know you are on vacation. My wife and I rode this trail this morning. We started at the North end, visited both light houses, then rode back from where we started.
My speedometer showed We had ridden the Cape Haze Pioneer Trail last week and were going to ride it again but with the amount of time we spent at the two light houses and the fact that we had ridden that trail just last week, we decided to skip riding it again.
We didn't climb the tall light house but we did spend quite a bit of time in the museum at the other light house. Well worth spending time there. It's always a must when visiting Gasparilla Island to log some miles on this trail. A good portion of this relatively short bike path runs along the main road which is shared by bicycles and golf carts. Once your reach the lighthouse and town center, the scenery improves and there are options for dining and refreshments. Had a lot of fun biking around the island, lots of great place to stop and check out!!!
Highly recommend for the casual rider, I got about 19 miles in, island is only 8 miles long. So more of a scenic and exploring ride than a ride to get a lot of miles in. The scenery, with its many ocean views, make this short trail very pleasant, and the little town of Boca Grande is very quaint. There are several places where one can have a bite to eat and do a little shopping. This trip is best suited for fat tire beach cruisers and not so much skinny tire road bikes.
The bulging roots of the pine for trees that line some of the trail make for a fairly bumpy ride. This bikepath should really be called a golf cart path. Many people use their golf carts to get around the island instead of using cars. During my ride, there were at least twice as many carts as bicyclists. Some of the golf carts were going in excess of 20 miles an hour with some very young drivers. Most of the drivers were courteous and moved over, but one should exercise extreme caution due to the speed at which the carts travel.
In conclusion, the scenery makes the ride worthwhile, so bring your fat tire bike and be wary of the carts. The town, Boca Grande, is a nice quaint town about in the middle of the island. It is possible to park for free in the town and ride each way from the town. The island is long and narrow. The trail is only 8 miles long. The lighthouse, the beach, the fishing pier and the state park are located on the southern portion of the trail.
There are sone historical buildings in the town. Locals also use golf carts on the trail but everyone was courteous on our ride. While I agree that the trail is short, it is still a nice trail that offers pretty scenery. That makes it a little less crowded.
This is more a trail for people who want to bike for fun and exercise, rather than die hard bikers. Not many places can you ride your bike and stop and stroll on a nice beach, and this is one.
Yes, you have to share the road with golf carts,but the ones I have passed seemed to respect the other people on the trail and did move over. It is the beginning of , and unless you are a well seasoned biker who rides in the worst of traffic, I would not suggest biking over the bridge at this time.
So just beware, and be careful. But this is not the case once you are on the Island. I recommend this trail and look forward to my next ride. More Travel Ideas. Popular Links. Florida Webcams. Toll Roads Info. Travel Guides. Boca Grande. Boca Grande Events.
Boca Grande Weather. Charlotte Harbor. Fort Myers. The bike path is the sort I like — scenic, paved, separate from cars and trucks, with destinations along the way to make touring fun. The Gasparilla Inn is one of the largest surviving resort hotels in Florida. Opened in , it attracted J. Bush and the extended Bush family have visited many times. If you visit Boca Grande, be sure to explore the three-block-long downtown and admire the lovely Gasparilla Inn.
Note: The main dining room does not get the rave reviews like another Inn restaurant, the Pink Elephant, which is located in another building.
We loved this rusting ramshackle marina at the end of 1 st Street at Charlotte Harbor. Founded in it is still run by the Whidden family and it is on the National Register of Historic Places. Be sure to hang out at the beach.
The shelling here, like on Cayo Costa , the remote island state park directly across the pass, is excellent, especially in winter. The sand is powdery and white; the water is sparkling and turquoise. The area served by the first and last lot also have picnic tables and shelters.
The beach at Boca Grande is unspoiled and offers great shelling in winter. At the southern tip of the island is the oldest building on the island, the Boca Grande Lighthouse , home to a small well-rated museum full of local history, old photos and artifacts. The beach wraps around the lighthouse, offering outstanding views in every direction. The lighthouse museum is open seven days a week November to May; is closed Mondays and Tuesdays June through October and is closed every day in August.
One of the best ways to enjoy your day trip to Boca Grande is to plan a lunch or dinner at one of the several excellent restaurants. We settled on the Pink Elephant, which is operated by the Gasparilla Inn in a handsome building a block away from the main hotel. The Pink Elephant is expensive, but we had an exceptional dinner fresh snapper for me; fish tacos for my husband.
The Basil Refresher gin cocktail was outstanding. Dress here was casual men in shorts and golf shirts and they do not take reservations. The ambiance is a throwback to a hundred years ago. There are several more places visitors love, so consider your choices at TripaAdvisor or Yelp. We loved the whimsical streets signs we encountered as we bicycled around Boca Grande. The oldest church on Boca Grande.
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