Florida Coast to Coast Bike Tour

Coast to coast…that’s your assignment!

This tour is 6 days with some of Florida’s best trails. The adventure starts in New Port Richey and ends in the small town of New Smyrna Beach. You will ride Florida’s most picturesque trails, around lakes and through wilderness areas with opportunities to see Florida’s plentiful wildlife (gators, birds and manatees…oh my!).

New Smyrna Beach is host to the Canaveral National Seashore Park, a barrier island which is composed of dunes, hammocks, and lagoon habitats which provide thousands of species of plants and animals a home. Experience this sanctuary on an eco boat tour as well as riding through the park.

Day 1: We will pick you up at your hotel in Orlando and drive to the west coast where we will start our adventure. We begin at Robert K. Rees Memorial Park, New Port Richey. We’ll ride 40 miles via Starkey Wilderness and Suncoast Trails to Brooksville. 

Day 2: Today we have two rides. Ride 1 is 26.5 miles on 3 different trails (Good Neighbor, Florida and Withlacoochee Trail). We’ll stop for lunch along the way and then drive to the start of Ride 2. Ride 2 starts in Groveland where we will get on the West Orange Trail and ride 17.4 miles to Winter Garden. We will stay for two nights at the Edgewater Hotel Winter Garden. Dinner tonight is at the Chef’s Table. Winter Garden is a lakefront community rich in history with a thriving arts and culture scene and a bustling historic downtown with upscale eateries, unique shops, parks, and museums. Family-friendly and walkable, Downtown Winter Garden offers fun for all ages.

Day 3: From the hotel we’ll have a short drive to the start our ride around Lake Apopka via the Loop Trail and then back to Winter Garden. On the ride you are guaranteed to see an abundance of wildlife. Over 360 species of birds have been seen on the north shore of Lake Apopka, the highest total of species seen for any site in Florida. There are also several other animals that can be seen, including American alligators, raccoons, river otters, turtles, bobcats, and coyotes. In the 80’s the lake was polluted by a chemical company which devastated the fauna and flora around the lake, but in 1990 a coalition, FOLA (Friends of Lake Apopka), was created and along with a superfund backed by the EPA, the lake is bouncing back. Upon returning to Winter Garden lunch and dinner is on your own.

Day 4: Today we leave quaint Winter Garden and ride 27.5 miles to Lake Mary. The ride will be on the tree covered West Orange and Seminole Wekiva trails. We will stay at The Westin in Lake Mary.

Day 5: Headed to the coast…52 miles to New Smyrna. Along the way we’ll ride on the Gemini Springs, East Central, Coast to Coast and Central Florida rail trails, ending at our hotel…the Night Swan B&B on the inter-coastal waterway. Our last night dinner at The Garlic is a fun an authentic taste of the Tuscan countryside at one of the most unique dining experiences in Florida.

Day 6: We start the day with a two hour Eco boat tour (picked up from the Night Swan’s dock). We wind our way to the Canaveral National Seashore Park. We will disembark at the visitor center and ride 6 miles out and back along the Seashore with a stop along the way to see the Eldora community house. The Eldora community was an agricultural community, and a steamboat stop, serving the East Coast of Florida. The house is a reminder of old Florida and how times change. After lunch we drive back to Orlando to say our goodbyes.