McQueen's Island Trail
GA - 5.6 miles
Surfaces: Gravel
Beautiful trail but dangerous due to lack of maintenance. Signs missing at intersections, overgrown in areas, downed trees blocking the path and major asphalt buckling.
Contacted FDOT to inquire about maintenance, FDOT referred me to Madison Public Works and provided contact information. Sent an e-mail requesting maintenance but did not receive a response. Hope to try it again someday.
Rode from Harrisburg to Karnak and back today. Great trail. A little wash out about 10 miles north of large tunnel. Not much on trail. Bathrooms at Harrisburg locked. Saw very few riders. A few walkers. One guy on an electric bike with a rifle.
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I regularly ride the Trail for training. Once you clear the walkers at the trailheads you can complete efforts with no stops. Several sections have big, loose rock so you’ll want to let some air out.
As others have said - this trail is very bumpy. Much of the trail still has railroad ties going across it. I did on a touring bike and even deflated the tires partway into the trail. I still called it after 8 miles. Just not much fun. Hope they will improve it a bit sometime because I lived the countryside and overhanging tree branches etc. Really beautiful. Good walking trail or mountain bikes.
Ran into construction along the trail at about Washington and 124th so we had to detour past the Eastlake train station and a little south. This is one of my favorite rides and connect 6 trails to make a 16 mile loop.
Mixed maintenance: At least 7 areas of tidal over wash from 40 feet to 200 feet in distance with some washouts reducing trail to one lane rut. The size of the gravel used for maintenance is too large: 2" rocks were common.
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Nice paved trail for a short ride. We parked at the visitor center and rode the southern section. It will be if/when both sections are connected.
Earlier this year, my parents stumbled upon part of this trail and were eager to introduce it to me when I was in town for the holiday. As a new professional in the railroading industry, I was excited to enjoy one of the Rails-to-Trails in person after hearing high praise from my colleagues. The area is very well maintained with clear signage, greenery, and historical markers. Since my parents (who are in their 70s) did not feel comfortable traversing the steep incline that leads to the Hospital, we instead opted for the Crooked Creek West Trail and Deer Path. These were much more accessible due to being mostly flatter terrain and led us to the abandoned Crooked Creek Phantom Bridge of Madison, Indiana. I would love to see more historical information on display to enrich the experience. It was very cool to see parts of the rail stamped with the original mill marks of Carnegie Steel from the 1905 installation!
Pro Tip: Start at the waterfront downtown for easy parking and a better, more scenic starting point that follows the waterway.
Been biking and walking there many times. Good shady trail in the woods around the lake. Pretty crowded on weekends in nice weather. The trail is sandy/dirt and there are some roots/ washout at some places. Decently wide enough to pass someone. I've seen bikers, walkers, runners, dogs and an assortment of scooters and one wheel bikes. I believe it also doubles as bridle trail or at least it used to. Some hills but not too bad except for the ones right at the parking end of the lake. Glad for my e-bike on those. You can join up right from the trail to the Salem Greenway and skirt by town- although it is not as clean or safe in my opinion.
Excellent trail to bike ride, exercise and see nature at the same time. We had a wonderful day!! Taking care of our health, body and mind. I love it!!
I have run this trail 3 days per week for 2 years and it’s the most peaceful & serene experience one could ever ask for. It encompasses the true Louisiana Swamp beauty! From the occasional gator sunbathing to the squirrels rustling through the pine needles for nuts. The large array of southern flowers will have your senses going haywire in a good way¿. As perfect as this sounds there are a couple things you’ll need to be aware of. 1. Pets are NOT allowed, but yet people still make their way on the trail and allow their pets to poop without picking it up. Sometimes the less than desirable drug addicts make a way to the trail. They won’t bother you, they’ll just move out of your way. And last but not least please be careful when crossing the intersections it’s a lot of them.
Beautiful run, Sunny, 58°. Parked Free outside Ft Pulaski , ran 3.5 out n back. Flat, mud, dirt, gravel. Water was low tide on both sides of trail.
My husband & I recently moved to NC. This trail is only 5.7 miles from our new home. It was our first trail we went on in NC. 11/25/2023. Once there, you can go left or right. We went to the right side today riding our bikes. Will ride the left side next weekend. We would say it's easy to moderate. Just a couple of hills, a lot of bridges, several benches along the way, open fields, pull outs to take photos, very shaded etc. It wasn't too crowded, everyone we encountered was friendly. We even seen a huge buck! & a couple other deers. Also seen a lot of squirrels & birds. If you enjoy nature on a very nice paved path this is a wonderful place we will return too. I’m sure if we were walking we would have seen a lot more wildlife. It took us 30 minutes to get to the HWY where we turned around just casually riding our bikes. If you’re pushing it I would say it could be completed in 20 min or so riding fast. We will try that later. Put this trail on your list to visit. You won’t be disappointed! Love! Love! Love!
Previously a top tier trail. Unfortunately has been overrun with either inattentive pedestrians/dog walkers or Tour de France "wannabes".
I did this trail twice in a weekend. I liked it.
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