I had taken this trail last friday and was really good to have the finished bridges to go on !!! kudos to the county for making this happened. was a hot day but worth the trip. now you can ride really over 20 miles one way on the waterway of Venice to make it really a longer trip. If you plan this, be sure to bring 2 water bottles but you can fill up at stores that are at south end / save-alot/sweetbay/mcdonalds/even a subway shop. get a bite then head over to the train depot to enjoy your lunch!

Love this trail. It will be really great when both trestles are complete. Plenty of wildlife and scenery, with very few traffic crossings. It connects to the Venetian Waterway for even more riding fun! Very little shade in mid-day sun. Bring plenty of water. Happy riding!

I have taken this trail mostly from the north end near the Sarasota Westfield mall to park and bike-ride the trail. I like the ride for all the wild life that I have been seeing going near the State park on the trail such as lots of birds/ turtles/ snakes/ rabbits/ raccoons/ even a cougar cat! Plenty of resting area with sitting benches some with shade. If you take the trail all the way to train depot and still not able to finish the ride back to mall, the bus service is great! only .75 to ride and they are avail about every 30 min. They all have a bike rack to hold only 2 bikes at a time. I have seen lots of people on this trail and it's been very clean and some folks still carry glass bottles, which I have run over broken glass. Take plenty of fluids with you.
Happy trails to you!

The trestles over the Bays, Roberts and Dona, are in the process of being rebuilt and are expected to be completed by July of 2010. The trestle over Roberts Bay is expected to be completed by January 2010. We are all looking forward to the opening of the trestles as we have many cyclists in our area.

Rode this trail on 10/28/2008. Parked at Bay St. Park. From there it is about a mile on fairly quiet Bay St. to the trail. Turning left, the trail extends about 4 miles north toward Sarasota. Turning right, the trail heads south toward Venice. The tail ends abruptly at a waterway about 2 miles short of Venice. Two bridges, which will connect the present trail to Venice, have yet to be built. According to trail signs, the trail, when complete, will be 10.6, not 12.4, miles in length. Today it is about 8.5 miles long. While there are several rest stops, restroom facilities are limited to one portable toilet near the north end. The trail itself: flat, straight, little shade, not particularly senic, but well screened from various developments, and well maintained. I probably won't return until the bridges are complete, which will connect the Legacy Trail to the attractive Venice Waterway Park.