Find the top rated birding trails in Palm Coast, whether you're looking for an easy short birding trail or a long birding trail, you'll find what you're looking for. Click on a birding trail below to find trail descriptions, trail maps, photos, and reviews.
Love the newly paved path. (4 stars) there’s a bathroom near the cemetery/picnic area. (Didn’t see it until we were driving to Palatka) The only thing I didn’t like about the newly built portion...no shade. The bridges were cool and we did see some gators and turtles. Maybe ride it in the early morning or late afternoon during the hot months. Just a thought...
We rode from the Lake Monroe Park TH at the southern end near I 4 expressway to Gemini Springs. My wife is not an experienced bicyclist and does not ride longer distances or on the road. She loved this trail! It is very scenic with shaded board walks or smooth asphalt surfaces. It is moderately busy with cyclists, walkers and skaters. The people are courteous + unusually friendly. We had several great conversations when asking the locals for information. Past Gemini Springs it becomes more suburban along roads, but the initial portion is mostly wooded. We turned around and drove to Green Spring which is beautiful but emits sulfur odor.
A fun adventure I almost did not come because of the short mileage but discovered a gem of a park and ended up completing 7.7 miles in exploring the park and trail.
Inside the park the trail is not marked, I just rode on the hardpacked shell roads and explored, outside the park entrance, there is a beautiful concrete wide trail that is totally shaded, a beautiful gem but that section is short.
I parked inside the Tomoka state park (do have to pay a fee to enter) at the "Tomoka Outpost" which unfortunately is closed on Wednesday as it seemed to have everything. The restrooms were open, and the view of the river/intercoastal was fantastic.
Parking was confusing at first, by the outpost most of the parking spaces are for cars with boat trailers as that is also the boat launch. Right next to the building they reserve a bunch of spots for customers/quick drop offs. There is a lot more parking right across the streets but no signs to direct you there.
I first road north on the hard packed crushed rock/sand road and had no problems on my hybrid bike. I even rode my bike on the nature trail (on one end marked .5 miles and on the other end marked 1 mile) it was hard packed and just wide enough for the hybrid. I explored several side roads, one leads to picnic areas on the intercoastal and that road has some big dips that could fill with water but must drain fast as it rained the night before and they were dry but muddy for my ride, I could easily avoid on the edges. The other side road leads down to the RV camping area.
Upon leaving the park entrance, you cross the road and that is where the concrete and totally shady trail is. Beautiful but that section is short.
You can continue on down N Beach street on a sidewalk all the way to Ormond Beach at W Granada Blvd. You don't have views of the intercoastal but the houses are nice and it could make for a nice ride. There are some pretty gardens at Granada Blvd and you can also connect to the Halifax River trail (really a sidewalk but with an intercoastal river view)
I only take 1 star away for the lack of signage, and its a fun adventure on a hybrid bike or mountain bike. Not a road bike trail.
This was the first time I have ridden the trail all the way from New Smyrna Beach to Titusville. Overall the trail is flat, straight, and the pavement excellent. There are very few road crossings in the Volusia County portion of the trail. But in the Brevard County portion, there are many road crossings, some that are very treacherous. Also there are benches along the trail in Volusia County and none in Brevard County. Much of the trail is through the woods and beautiful but as you get to Mims the trail parallels US1 and is not nearly as scenic. Overall, a great place to ride if you use caution on the crossings in Brevard. Being flat and straight, it lacks a signature feature like a tunnel or viaduct. There is really nothing that makes you want to go and ride the trail as a destination. I give it 9 gears on a 10 speed cassette.
Attended the ribbon cutting ceremony on Saturday 6 April, 2019. About 200 people...riders, trail group pavilions, dignitaries, and trail friends. Official opening of the last link from Spuds thru Hastings to the rest of the segment starting west of Hastings. Beautiful run. Got a newly broken in 40.6 mile bike saddle butt on the new Palatka to St Augustine State Trail, which will become another finished segment of the St Johns River 2 Sea Loop, a 250 mile loop in north central Florida.
Parked in Hastings FL and went east out first to the end of segment near I-95 heading towards St Augustine 24.2 miles out and back. Then headed west to the trailhead in Palatka. 16.4 miles out and back. Little sore in the saddle the last few miles. Overall. A great day, and a new daily distance record. 283 total miles recorded in the first two months of trail biking in central Florida. Mostly rails to trails corridors.
Rode from Keystone Heights to end-of-trail in Palatka. 10 miles Keystone Heights to Florahome; 12 miles Florahome to Palatka. There are some mile markers on the trail but it can be confusing. The end-of-the trail in Palatka is MM6 (why not 0). So if you are at MM16, you are actually 10 miles from Palatka. The trail is in great condition! A small part of the trail (10 yards) is covered by water but it was only a few inches deep and easy to cross. There is also a small parking lot on Forest Hills Road in Melrose adjacent to the trail.
This trail is great when it comes to biking in Florida. Beautiful scenery, lots of forest riding and farms. Few miles of highway riding. Can make this ride 50+ miles easily.
It appears the map for this trail needs updated. Per directions, we drove 8 miles from Palatka on 100 to find a parking area, not realizing we were paralleling the trail that must now connect to the town of Palatka. On the return drive we passed a parking area only 3 miles from the town. The trail itself was quite nice. We rode 14 miles round trip, but would have appreciated restroom facilities somewhere along the trail. The trail was smooth and flat, passing forest and field.
This is more like two trails. We parked at the Inglesa Road parking lot south of the main park entrance. The first mile is a wide concrete path that meanders through the forest for a scenic and leisurely ride. Once the entrance to the park is reached, you will need to pay the $2 per bike entry fee to continue. The concrete soon gives way to a sandy road that is a little more resistant to ride than the initial path. This made it a bit of a challenge for my disabled wife on her trike. Restrooms are available in the park and there is a general store where snacks can be purchased or you can book a fishing trip.
Rather than ride the trail multiple times, we elected to ride the wide sidewalks down Beach Street for additional miles. We encountered no other walkers or riders in this quiet neighborhood.
This trail is basically sidewalk, but it is wide enough to comfortably pass oncoming riders and walkers, even though my wife was riding a trike. Paralleling the river, the trail passes several small parks along the way, including some fishing piers. Near the Daytona Beach end, one park had very nice restrooms. Back at Cassen Park, we crossed the street to the library and since it was Thursday, had lunch at the farmer’s market.
My wife and I cycled from the beginning of the trail in Titusville to about 2.5 miles past the I-95 overpass (which is ~10 miles from the start). Total trip for us was only 24 miles but it was our first trip to the trail. We will definitely be back. We parked at the Coast-to-Coast Bike shop in town. There was no signage from there to the trailhead but we were able to ask another cyclist for directions (the bike shop was closed on Sunday!). The first ~8 miles had several road crossings, some with limited views so you have to slow to almost a complete stop to make sure it is safe to cross. At the intersection of the I-95 there is a parking lot. This is a better place to start your ride to avoid the street crossings as it gets rural when heading north/west from there. The trail is excellent, very smooth and flat. There are no rest rooms or benches anywhere along the first 12 miles so plan accordingly. Well worth the drive to get to this trail - this will become a regular spot for our riding!!! Only gave it 4 stars because no restrooms/benches yet and too many street crossings (but way better than riding on the road).
TrailLink is a free service provided by Rails-to-Trails Conservancy (a non-profit) and we need your support!
Map Search
