We stayed on the northern half of the trail and didn't go south of clear water (because of the comment below). There were a lot of bikers, runners and walkers on the trail with was awesome to see. The trail was constantly stop and go, there for we could not keep speed up. This trail would be great if you are not looking to maintain a fast speed. On the way back we took the road along the water. It was safe and we had no problems with traffic.

Stay off the trail from downtown St. Pete to Pasadena ave as there have been numerous muggings and stolen bikes.

THE WEATHER WAS STILL REASONABLE AND ALLOWED A RIDE FROM CLEARWATER BEACH TO TARPON SPRINGS AND BACK. MADE SEVERAL SIDE TRIPS ALONG THE WAY. RECOMMEND CHECKING AREAS WEST OF THE TRAIL FOR GREAT GULF SIGHTS. THE TRAILS HAS SEVERAL CROSSINGS BUT THEY ARE WELL MARKED AND THE MOTORISTS WERE ALL ACCOMMODATING. TRY OZONA PIG FOR GOOD BBQ JUST OFF ORANGE RD. THE TRAILS IS ALWAYS CLOSE TO NEARBY RESTAURANTS AND STORES, AND IS PARTIALLY SHADED. WE NOTICED JUST SLIGHTLY EASIER RIDE SOUTH.

I recently rode the trail from Tarpon Springs to St Pete and back to Tarpon Springs in late Feb while visiting the area from PA. Aside from the numerous street intersections the the trail is a great urban ride. Totally enjoyed riding the overpasses with the scenic views along the highway. The bikelane in Clearwater appeared quite new and the motorists very ''accomodating'' for mid-morning traffic. Ride out to Honeymoon Island is a very nice diversion. Numerous parks along the trail to stop for a break and many commercial places to purchase food/drink/etc. Great BBQ along trail in Dunedin was worth the rest stop. I found the trail to be in very good condition and want to compliment the county folks for their continued upkeep. A truly great ride....Weather was terrific too!

I had been wanting to put this trail on my quest to ride 100 rail trails in the US and it was a excellent for an urban trail. (It was number 74). We had a little trouble finding the southern end. From what I can tell from the map, it actually begins by the waterfront on Tampa Bay. I began riding it around the area described and found out later it was about 2 miles from the start.

The day I rode (March 2) the weather and temperature excellent. The trail was well marked and there were a number of nice parks and facilities along the way. My wife and I had planned to meet in Clearwater for lunch, but she had a bit of difficulity find the trailhead. I stopped in Dunedin and used a phone at the Dunedin Police Museum and reconnected with my wife for lunch in Palm Harbor. I also wasn't clear where the northern trail ended. The sidewalks were marked for the trail beyond where the instructions said it ended. Would love to ride the trail again in the future.

I rode the northern half of this trail in Feb. The weather was remarkably beautiful except for a strong south breeze which pushed me quickly back once I reversed directions. It's a nice urban/suburban trail but don't expect to do it very fast as there are so many stops & slowdowns at intersections. Clearwater is the least fun part of it as has numerous turns, goes on sidewalks, has unclear painted arrows, plus lots of traffic. There are several bridges which take you over traffic, rather than having to stop for it. Dunedin is a cute little touristy town, stop at the Box Car for some potent java.

I met a friendly gentleman named Greg who works for Pinellas County maintaining the trail. He'd like to see more volunteers to help with the work as staff has been severely cut. The best surprise on this trail was Taylor Park in Largo near the mid-point. There's a nice shelter with picnic benches and some beautiful scenery near a small lake; worth the stop even if you don't need a rest. Oh, and don't miss the little side trip to Honeymoon Island--well worth the extra few miles. I'm looking forward to riding the St. Pete end of the trail on my next Florida excursion.

I have rode many different sections of the Pinellas Trail since buying a road bike last June. Having ridden alone on the trail on both week days and weekends and at varying times of the day I have never once had an issue with safety. There are many public parks along its course where you can stop to get water or use the facilities. The landscape ranges from urban to very scenic depending on the section you are riding. There are also many bike shops along the way where you can stop and get supplies if necessary.

I just recently rode the entire trail from Saint Petersburg to Tarpon Springs out and back. I use the GPS on my phone and as of the writing of this review, from Demens Landing in Saint Ptesburg to the signs that mark the trail end at the intersection of Melon Street and Keystone Road is 38.5 miles, not the 34 miles listed on this web site. This is a 77 mile ride out and back. I validated this on the Map My Ride web site and it came up the same.

We travel form WI every year in March to bike many of Flordia's great trails. After several years of excellent rides on the Pinellas Trail, we finally experienced the hazards of an urban trail. Four teens entered the trail in fornt of us, and riding side by side started running everyone off the trail. After several miles we attempted to pass, because they were going very slow. At that point they attempted to crash both my wife and I. They tried to knock us off our bikes, and threatened us for over a mile, before we left the trail for safety. This happened just south of Tarpon Springs. We won't be returning to this trail!

We loved the Pinellas Trail so much we are returning two weeks after our first roundtrip tour from Gulfport to Dunedin. We have set aside three days and look forward to exploring more spurs and more of the area, including Tarpon Springs and returning to Honeymoon Island State Park and its white, sugar-sand beaches. We greatly appreciate the courtesy shown to cyclists by motorists and the foresight in building and maintaining this user friendly corridor. The small printed triptik-like map provided free of charge by Pinellas County Planning Dept was mailed to us and was invaluable. I look forward to the day when Miami-Dade uses old rail beds to create something similar.
Suzanne and Don, Miami, FL

We loved the Pinellas Trail so much we are returning two weeks after our first roundtrip tour from Gulfport to Dunedin. We have set aside three days and look forward to exploring more spurs and more of the area, including Tarpon Springs and returning to Honeymoon Island State Park and its white, sugar-sand beaches. We greatly appreciate the courtesy shown to cyclists by motorists and the foresight in building and maintaining this user friendly corridor. The small printed triptik-like map provided free of charge by Pinellas County Planning Dept was mailed to us and was invaluable. I look forward to the day when Miami-Dade uses old rail beds to create something similar.
Suzanne and Don, Miami, FL

The Pinellas Trail has an office just a short distance from the trail on the north entrance to Walsingham Park. At the office you will be able to pick up a map of the trail showing stops along the way. Such as places to eat and refreshments. Places to get you bike repaired, and comfort stops includung water fountains for humans and dogs! You can also find rangers and volunteers along the trail willing to help. If you decide that you are to tired to ride back! One of the many county busses are equipt with bike reacks on them. A must ride when visiting Pinellas County FL.

The Pinellas Trail is close to where I live, so it's the trail I use the most. It's a wonderful asset to the area.

Pros: Food, bike shops and (heaven forbid) hospitals are all near the trail.

Cons: The area is very populated and there are many cross roads. However, bridges cross many of the most heavily traveled roads. be careful and obey traffic signs and control devices.

I park my car south of Downtown Clearwater, which is about half-way in the trail. In that way, I can use my car as a SAG Station as I double-back down the trail.

The south end of the trail was extended from US 19 (South 34th Street) to Demens Landing, on the waterfront in downtown St. Petersburg. This added a few extra miles to the trail, which is now, I believe, somewhat longer than the 34 miles listed on this site.

There are many areas to stop, rest and have a chat with other weekend athletes.

While another writer noted that there was a mugging on the southern most section of the trail, I have not had problems. It's not an area, however, that I care to take a rest in.

I had the pleasure of riding this trail on Thursday, March 19, 2009 and did make the ride from the starting point in St. Pete to the end in Tarpon Springs, as well as the return.

First the pros: There are some very beautiful parts to this ride, and the bridges and crossings do offer very panoramic views. The path is beautifully marked. You are never far from refreshments and I think there were at least a half dozen bike shops right on the path in the case of an emergency. There were very nice parks along the way to stop and stretch. The ride through the towns of Dunedin and Tarpon Springs was excellent.

The cons: The beginning of the ride, mabey about 4-5 miles in goes through a tough area. A few days before my ride I understand there was a mugging on the path, and I could clearly see the poetential for trouble as I went through this area, but only for a mile or so. I would use caution at this point in the ride. There are to many breaks in the ride for the avid distance rider, lots of stop and go at intersections.

I highly recommend this ride for touring riders as well as the serious rider. Very enjoyable and scenic, and perfect for family rides and for the kids as well.

It looks like it has been a long time since anything got posted here. As I was reading through some of the posts, I noticed a lot of people are not from the area. My wife and I are avid cyclist, and have ridden many trails. The Pinellas trail is pretty typical of the trails we have been on. Currently they have some sections closed due to resurfacing and fixing bridges.

http://www.pinellascounty.org/trailgd/default.htm.

Check there for the latest closings and information on the trail.

We normally drive to the section we want to ride, so here are a few good places to get on the trail. Curlew road and Alt 19. There is a shopping center on the north west corner of the intersection. Park there and pick up the trail on the east side of Alt 19. We did that and headed south.

Another good place to dump in is at Taylor Park in Largo. That is a beautiful park with full facilities and plenty of parking.

At the Southern most end of the trail, there is a little park. It's a little hard to find, and the neighborhood is a little rough, but for the most part, you should be okay as long as you do it early like I did on a Saturday morning. If you dump in there and head north, about 2 miles you will see a cemetary on the right. It has some pretty big pine trees there. Stop and look in the tops of the trees. There are a couple of Eagles nests in the tops. I went the day after black Friday, and got to see the babies being fed.

My favorite sections were Crystal Beach, North Dunedin, Dunedin, Largo, North Seminole, and the Bay Pines Area.

Least liked was the section through downtown Clearwater at that point it really isn't a trail. You ride the sidewalks and the curbs crossing the streets are really rough for our road bikes. The only good thing about the downtown section was Pickles Plus. You have to get off the trail and head toward the water. There is a large Steinmart at the corner of Pierce St and S Osceola Ave which is about a block or two west of the trail. It is right next to Coachman Park. Right behind Steinmart is the Pickles Plus Deli. They make the best sandwiches I have had in a while.

All in all this is a nice trail to ride. We broke it up in to 8 to 10 mile sections due to other obligations, and did the whole trail in 2 weekends.

"We're camping 1 block from the trail. So nice that there are so many sidewalks and bike lanes connecting the trail to many businesses, (grocery stores, etc) At least on the North end of the trail we feel safe. Don't know about the south end."

"I live in Gulfport FL November thru April (Snow Bird)and ride this trail frequently. After all it goes right behind my house. The Gulfport Spur is worth the ride. The spur takes you down town to the business district with many shops and eateries. On Sundays there are the Girls ""Beach Ball"" games that go one during the afternoon hours as well as music and dancing under the Palm trees on the shore line of Boca Ciaga Bay. So when on this trail make sure you visit one of Florida's secret hidaways , Gulfport. "

"I love the pinellas trail, not only is it scenic in spots it is long. The only part that gets me down is that it also passes through some neighborhoods that are not so scenic which if you enter the trail between these areas it might be a short ride in both directions. I know that there are some things in those areas that I don't want my kids to see or ask me questions about. I like to pick my time when I think that they are ready. "

I rode on this ride in January 2006. It's great! I'm going back later this year!

Thanks Rails-to-Trails and Pineallas County!

We enjoyed the trail and the four way stops at most roads so we didn't have to wait for traffic at every road. Rode to Clearwater from Tarpon Springs and enjoyed the Farmer's Market. Just happened to be the right day.

"Rode several sections of the trail this past January, it was excellent, loved the elevated sections! "

"We stumbled upon this trail while on vacation and WOW what an asset to your community. We walked parts of it twice a day Semiole South. Can't wait to get back down there to walk other sections of it, we're in awe of it all. Highly recommended."

"We enjoyed a short trip from Largo to North Clearwater where the trail disappeared into a construction site (March 2005). Good, wide and sunny."

"We travel around the country doing these rail-trails, & found the Pinellas to be Ok. It is VERY wide (though we couldn't figure out why, as it was devoid of people on an 80 degree Saturday in March). The scenery is ok as well. The most interesting part of the trail is the southern end where you cycle along protracted stretches of elevated track-way above the city.

The best feature of the trail however is Eli's BBQ, at about the midpoint. Right off the trail, underneath some beautiful trees, Eli cooks up some mean pork BBQ. Best meal of our entire trip!

Some warnings: No (I mean NO) bike shop will do bike repairs beyond flats on a Saturday. We had to ride 3 miles into town to get a brake cable replaced. The shop in Tarpon Springs was actually rude to us when we asked for help! Also, we witnessed a drug buy, right off the trail, near the southern end...."

"My 13-year-old son and I rode from Clearwater to Tarpon Springs on a 75 degree Sunday in February. The best part of the Pinellas Trail is between northern Clearwater and central Dunedin. We had noticed that the Gulf was visible, so we detoured a few blocks and found a great sidewalk right along the bay for a couple of miles.

In central Dunedin, the development cuts off access to the bay, so we headed back to the trail. At the old depot in Dunedin, a fair was going on with food vendors. There are several places to eat right along the trail, and they were open on Sunday morning- in Tarpon all but one of the restaurants were closed even at lunch time. In north Dunedin we were able to briefly access the bay before heading back to the trail.

If you ride on a sunny day in winter, ride south to north so the sun won't be in your eyes. There is virtually no shade on this trail, although the palm trees are pretty. I can't imagine doing this trail in summer. In north Dunedin the trail is next to a major road with some fast food places if you get thirsty. The locals seem to support this trail.

In Dunedin, all the crossings are four-way stops. While in Palm Harbor this is not the case. At nearly every crossing the cars waved us through. There were many other trail users, although it was not jammed. Tarpon seemed dead-lots of antique shops but almost every restaurant was closed. Clearwater is a little run down and I wouldn't go through parts of it at night, but there are plenty of places to get provisions.

On the trail, in addition to palm tees everywhere, there are many beautiful live oaks draped with Spanish moss. Normally this would provide shade, but the trail has been made so wide to accomodate the traffic that there is no shade on the part we rode. In most areas, there is a separate area to walk or jog."

"I rode the length of the trail from St. Petersburg to Tarpon Springs last month. Before you go, make sure to visit the Trail Web site at www.pinellascounty.org/trailgd. This site tells you where the stops are, where to park, where to eat, where the bike shops are, and what to look out for.

I strongly recommend you read this first! And then plan your ride according to your own personal desires!

It's a wonderful trip, especially if you take your time and stop along the way to see sites and parks. I felt safe the entire way."

"The Pinellas Trail is a wonderful example of a county going all out for recreation. The paths are wide and well marked meandering through great areas such as Dunedin and Tarpon Springs. My husband and I love the ride. There are canopied areas and a few bridges over busy intersections to test your climbing skills.

Unfortunately we did notice that no one shares the rules of the trail when riding. Bicycle riders ride two abreast when approaching other riders and don't ""Share the Trail."" Children on motorized scooters snake their way up the path and joggers choose to use the biking path to run rather than the running/walking path. Worst was a dog walker who stretched her dog's lease across the trail and almost caused an accident. She was oblivious to the fact that there were riders on the path.

So enjoy the trail, but please follow rules of bicycling and be safe and alert. "

"We rode the Pinellas Trail on Thanksgiving 2003 and the Friday after Thanksgiving. We rode from mile 34 to Dunedin and looked around the town and then returned. We rode on Friday from Dunedin to mile 0 and then on our return to Dunedin we went to the causeway and out to the gulf. All together Friday was over 50 miles, but it was very easy riding even for my wife.

There was excellent scenery both days. My only complaint is that there are no trailheads with parking along much of the trail and as visitors to the area, we didn't know where we could legally park. "

The Pinellas Trail is a wonderfully functional trail. My favorite section is between 102nd Ave in Seminole and the Cross Bayou bridge - beautiful! There are 2 restrooms and water fountains along that 6-mile stretch (Seminole City and Blossom Lake parks) and no busy intersections.

"Greetings from Vancouver BC, Canada. We just returned from a vacation in Florida in which, amongst other things, we cycled the Pinellas trail.

My wife and I are no neophytes to touring by bike, having cycled ""der Romantische Strasse"", Passau-Vienna-Budapest, and the round the San Juan Islands trip in Washington State etc etc.

We wish to convey our sincere appreciation to those who had the foresight and industry in creating the Pinellas trail, which we cycled last week, on borroewed bikes, spending a night in Tarpon Springs and St Pete Beach.

We found the trail to be uniformly excellent, easy riding in a very interesting area.

For instance we came across Freedom Park in Clearwater and marvelled that such a place existed.

We look forward to the extension of the trail in the future.

-George Aitken/Janet Lever"

"On 23 December 1999, I skated the length of the Pinellas trail and back on inline skates. The trail is exceptional in terms of scenery, skateability and overall fun.

At that time, and likely as I write this, the trail is 35 miles long, but is continuous for that whole distance.

A few hints: on the Thursday morning/afternoon that I skated it, the security units on the trail were nowhere to be seen for the entire 70 miles... and there is sometimes a great distance (3-5 Mi) between any civilization on the trail. Also, there were some places where my cellular phone could not pick up a signal - you and/or your party are (seemingly, entirely) responsible for your safety on the trail.

If you are going any distance or are physically exerting yourself, make sure to bring lots of water, the climate in the Tampa Bay region is usually hot/humid. On the whole trail, I recall seeing about 4 water fountains.

For an exhilarating ride, there are ~ 7 overpasses on the trail. Sure, the 'skate' up the overpass is difficult, but the ride down can be amazing! On one of these overpasses, I began to roll so fast that my right skate destabilized and began to whip slightly side-to-side! Very, very nice if you like speed.

The surface on the trail is far beyond average quality and provides a pleasureable skate on inlines, and by extension should be terrific for other modes of transportation.

Good luck and enjoy! Michael"