In Pompano Beach, one of the most popular places to get a workout also happens to be the home of the Goodyear Blimp. The Pompano Airpark has acted as a blimp base since the late seventies. A two-lane, paved path rings the perimeter of the airfield, just outside the fence. It’s shared use, open to those traveling on foot as well as by bike. There are painted markers on the trail surface every half-mile. The recommended start point is at the dog park lot at the corner of Federal Highway and NE 10th Street. You can loop around and come back to that point at the end of the journey. Just head west and followed by a northern pivot along 5th Avenue. Head east on Copans. The bike trail traces the edge of the shopping mall, Pompano Citi Center. This gets you back to US-1/ Federal Highway. The loop is a total of 4.5 miles.
Park near the Pompano Dog Park at the southeast corner of the Airpark. From US 1/ Federal Highway, turn onto NE 10th Street and make the first right turn onto NE 18th Avenue. Park in the free lot.
I like the pompano air park for inline skating. As mentioned in previous reviews, there is a particular length of the trail that is rougher than smooth. The softer the wheel, the better the feel, though. If you’re not super experienced with skating, you might avoid it, as there are several holes in the concrete in some areas of the rough patches, but otherwise, it’s quite doable for those of us more accustomed to urban skating. This trail is enclosed from any car traffic — a huge plus that you don’t need to cross any streets to continue on the trail at any point. There are several driveways for the air park that cross into the trail, but seldom is there traffic in and out of them. I give the trail 4 stars— missing a star for the rough patches, but overall, definitely worth the 20 min drive it costs me to get there.
If you're looking for a place to inline skate in Pompano Beach this is just... ok. The trail is smooth pavement on the Southern and Western sides - pretty nice for skating. The North and East sides - not so much. The pavement is rougher with a fair amount of debris, particularly on the east side. Its not unskateable but - you definitely need to take it slow and you wonder how your wheels and bearings are holding up the whole time.
I recommend sticking to the south and west legs and just doubling back when you get to the corner. It's pretty obvious where the rough stuff starts.
I have been using this trail for about 3 months only on the weekends. It is good for bike training, but in the section of US-1 the pavement is not in good condition. I hope they fix it soon.
Our first time on the trail today — we found the trail itself well paved and easy to follow. Having come from 30 min away to bike it tho, maybe didn’t feel totally worth the trip. There are semi-interesting parts passing air field, golf course and stables, but also some noisy stretches paralleling highway (and of course less exciting if the blimp isn’t there). Seems nice for locals for sure but maybe not worth a trip.
My wife and I, along with other tandem riding friends, rode this trail twice – first Clockwise, then C-Clockwise. Pavement is pretty smooth – no rough spots to speak of. Very few cross roads – most aren’t busy. We parked by the Dog Park – Free parking and some spaces are shaded by trees. Restrooms near the entrance are pretty well kept. We even had a chance to see the Goodyear Blimp – probably prepping for the Superbowl this coming weekend.
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