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Parking is available at Veterans Beach on the west side of Lake Jackson and at Bayfront Park in downtown Sebring.
This route is probably only about 9.75 miles or a bit longer. I walked it and that's what my Garmin said. Garmin could be off a bit, but probably not by 3/4 of a mile. Anyway, this route could use a few park benches along the way, as the only two places to rest are the two parks on opposite sides of the lake. Parts of this route could be run, but parts have many street crossings and driveways that make running difficult. I would not recommend bike riding along the three miles that front US 27 on the west side (although some ride there). I have walked and run many trails and I rate this one average. I think this route has potential to become a better trail with a bit of work.
Be careful riding this. It is all residential sidewalk. Lots of little obstacles.
This is a HORRIBLE trail. In fact, ‘Trail’ is a misnomer. About a third of this ‘trail’ is okay. For the rest of it, you are either paralleling an extremely busy state highway or traversing what is best described as an endless sea of driveway crossings. And all those driveway crossings mean that all you see are houses IN FRONT OF THE LAKE!!! If you want to actually bike around a lake, while actually seeing that lake, head north to Lake Wales. You can do the short trail that is shown here on trailLink, as well as the path that goes about half way around the lake, which is not shown here. I can't overstate how much I hated this 'trail'.
You can park at Veteran's Park. This trail is a nice 10 mile ride, however, I will say that it is definitely all sidewalk. If you are planning on riding your "road bike" ...don't !! If you do, you can ride in the road for part of it but the roads are very busy and then there is about 3 miles of the trail running along Hwy 27 which is very noisy & not enjoyable. Because of this, I took my bike with hybrid tires instead. No clip in pedals because there is too much stopping/starting. On Hwy 27, cars are wizzing past. Definitely no way to ride your road bike on roadway there. The sidewalks are at times, uneven and blocked with tree trimmings, etc....There are many driveways and cross streets to watch for. Pay close attention here for moving vehicles. I was able to follow the trail just fine around the lake but there are no markers to keep you on track. Just follow the lake. I made two rounds in about 1.5 hrs.
My wife and I went to Sebring to ride the Lake Jackson Trail. We departed from the historic 100 year old Kenilworth Lodge with a stop at the Legacy Bicycles Shop around the corner from the Lodge. The trail consists of a concrete sidewalk most of the 10 miles. The west side of the Trail is along the Lake and the busy Rt. 98/27. Step joints in the sidewalk have been ground smooth. Riders should be experienced and patient because of the many driveways and streets crossing the narrow Trail. Veterans Beach Park on the west side of the Lake has nice facilities (bathrooms and picnic tables). We rode the connecting 3.5 mile off-road Hammock Road Trail to Highlands Hammock State Park.
After completing the Trail we rode to the Garden Cafe on N. Ridgewood Dr. (Rt. 17) for a delightful outdoor lunch.
I ride this trail several times a week. My advise is to stay on the road. There are many, many intersections (roads and driveways) and, you know every intersection is a hazard as most accidents happen at intersections. Also, if you get behind a slow cyclist, and there are many, you're stuck. No way to pass. Finally, 27 is a very busy, noisy highway. I typically cross 27 and go onto Sparta and bike through the neighborhoods and golf courses which is much more peaceful. I'm not a fan of trails that are separated from the road by grass, etc. I consider these to be sidewalks. The best trails are separated by only a white stripe or truly are converted rail-trails and don't follow along side roadways. So, my advise is to ride on the road and be part of the vehicular traffic.
This trail is nothing more than a sidewalk round the lake. Not marked, ~3/4 of it residential, ~1/4 along busy US27. It's safe but not interesting.
I biked this 10 mile trail this morning around this large lake in exactly an hour. It is all sidewalk but they have ground off the bumps where necessary. About a third of the trail you are right along the lake and the other two thirds there are houses on both sides of the road and sidewalk. Fairly interesting but not rural. Youker
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