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The Marjorie Harris Carr Cross-Florida Greenway is on a mission to create a non-motorized conduit stretching 110 miles from the Gulf of Mexico to St. John’s River in Palatka. The corridor showcases the flora and fauna of the state, with plenty of options for every kind of traveler including hikers, cyclists, mountain bikers and equestrians. The trail surfaces vary from segment to segment, with some being paved, others gravel and others packed dirt.
The segment from the Santos Trailhead to County Road 200 is an example of a paved, multiuse pathway. The route is 15 miles long, an easy walk, run or ride with posted speed limits for cyclists. As the trail rolls and curves on, it intersects or overlaps with mountain-biking single-track, equestrian trails and even the Florida National Scenic Trail.
The Santos Trailhead is a popular starting point. It has parking, restrooms and showers, camping facilities, picnic areas and an equestrian staging area. It’s also the base for the Ocala Mountain Bike Association, which has constructed a pump track at the Santos Trailhead as well as dozens of miles of single-track. The asphalt trail heads west to the next trailhead.
After riding the shaded trail for about 6.5 miles, you will come to the Landbridge Trailhead. The actual Land Bridge is about a mile past this point. Far from an ordinary overpass, this bridge is rich with native vegetation, feeling like seamless continuation of the trail. Both human beings as well as wildlife such as raccoons and opossum use the bridge to cross the highway. There is a viewing area in the middle overlooking the busy roadway. The surface is not paved, and hikers, bikers and equestrians share the path for the length of the bridge.
Having left the Land Bridge, the 49th Avenue Trailhead comes into view after about 2.5 miles. Here, there is parking, a picnicking area and a portable restroom. A ¼-mile connector trail leads from the parking lot to the trail. There is less shade on these final 5.5 miles. They’re also moderately hillier. The paved portion of the trail ends at the CR 200 Trailhead, although mountain-bike trails and other unpaved tracks continue from there.
Other paved portions of the Marjorie Harris Carr Cross-Florida Greenway include Dunnellon Trail and Withlacoochee Bay Trail.
Parking and restrooms are available in Ocala at the Santos Trailhead Campground (3080 SE 80th St) and at the Landbridge Trailhead (11100 SW 16th St); horse trailer parking is also available at the latter trailhead. An additional trailhead with a dirt parking lot and a potable toilet (no potable water) is available at 12555 SW 49th Ave.
This trail offers wide smooth pavement. The forest is dense surrounding most of the trail and gives one the feel of isolation. This is a great ride on sunny days as most of it is covered by tree canopies. The only bad part of this trail is lack of parking or easy access at both ends of the trail. A road bike can not manage the sandy dirt trail of a mile to get to trail at the westernmost parking lot.
Agree with all the comments on beauty. No place to buy food or beverages on the trail. Several picnic sites. Only use bottle water dispenser not hoses for water
This trail is just outstanding. There is just not enough you can say about it. We road only the paved part but it is beautiful. We saw deer and wild turkeys and even heard an owl. The trail is smooth and wide and everyone was very respectful. We liked the fact that has a nice mix of shade and sun. Also the fact that it has some moderate hills and how it winds through the forest is great. Highly recommend!!
My wife and I just did a 24 mile ride there on our ebikes. Beautiful wide and SMOOTH trails through the Florida woods. Many gentle hills and plenty of curves. Nice trail head with restrooms.
We rode from Santos to the end and back. It’s a great trail and will only be improved as it gets additional length. An added bonus is the MTB trails that we’ll tackle tomorrow on our tandem 39er. Today we were on the road tandem.
Started at land bridge trail head and rode very easy single track, past bridge it was called Christmas Trail. Jumped over to the asphalt for another 5 miles before turning back. Other riders were friendly. Not much wildlife but very enjoyable ride with the trees/forest.
Hands down the most beautiful trail to be found. Lots of trees, cool shade and well maintained. I particularly like the segment from the 49th Street Trailhead that leads to the Santos Trail versus toward 200.
Overall the path was pretty great… about 50% shaded and pretty smooth paths. Be aware there are many rolling hills and a few spots that have a steep hills with a blind quick and sharp turn at the bottom.
Stayed in one of the cabins in Silver Lake State Park and drove the short distance to the Santos trail head. Absolutely beautiful trail as others have stated. If you want to use the cabins as your homebase, you usually have to book a year in advance.
This trail is peaceful, has lots of shade, and some curves for interest. It’s beautiful.
We camped at Whimcycle and were pleasantly surprised of this awesome trail being in our backyard. It’s a beautiful ride and the trail elevation steadily changes up and down to give you a very pleasant ride with beautiful scenery. It’s a must do if you’re in the area.
Great surface, excellent ride. Shade for most of the way.
Mostly shaded. Fun ride early in the day otherwise too many people. Small inclines. Park at land bridge and you can go horseback riding too.
What a wonderful job was done to make this a very enjoyable ride. The nicest trail I have ridden so far. A must if you are in the area.
Jan 2022: Started at 49th Ave trailhead and went East about 7 miles. Great trail through the woods. A number of information panels are along the trail that explain the interesting history of this area. Trail is wide like a single lane road with very smooth paved surface, no cracks, etc. A number of other walkers, bikers, hikers, etc. all gave a greeting. Enjoyed this trail.
Curvy paths, shaded in spots, fun ride over and under highway. Clean paved trails. If you are more adventurous, mountain biking too. Great fun!
We rode this trail today and it's one of our favorites so far! Smooth paved trail, we saw a deer, turtle and snake!
Very beautiful, smooth, shady, and well marked trail. Started at the Santos trailhead. It was 151/2 miles to the end. Turn around is a cul-de-sac for the 15+ miles back. Went on a Sunday in the summer and had a mix of walkers, runners and cyclists. No water or restrooms except at the Santos trailhead.
The parking lot is a little crazy, but fear not 90% of the crowd will be using the many many off road trails. Park in the second lot, and remember the off-road trails start under the arch, but the pave trail starts at the restrooms. We found no open restrooms after the trail head, so be prepared to be self sufficient. The end of the trail is just a culdesac with no services. There are very few access points along the trail, but a huge number of intersecting horse and off road bike trails.
Great Trail! smooth surface, lots of curves and gentle grades made for a very pleasant ride. We have ridden trails across the country and would rate this one behind only the Mickelson Trail in the Black Hills and the Heritage Trail in Sleeping Bear National Lakeshore in Michigan.
Roadway is smooth curvy, hilly and scenic.
Great trail! Nice wide paved path perfect for road bikes. Nice rolling hills, enough to challenge your legs a little on the way up and then you can enjoy the quick pace on the way down. The guy that wrote the review about the figure eight path went to the wrong trail head... he was on a different path. I almost made the mistake by going to the path he wrote about but I’m glad I went to the trail at 3080 SE 80th, had a great ride there. Highly recommended!
“Marjorie Harris Carr Cross Florida Greenway”. 65-75 degrees no breeze crystal blue skies. Perfect Florida winter weather on a perfect Trail for a tandem. Start at Santos Trialhead for the round trip. Probably the best trail we’ve done in Florida. Part of the unfinished Coast to Coast greenway. Curvy and rolling, canopies. Perfect asphalt, but if you are into mountain bikes, there are probably a hundred miles of dirt trail offshoots.
This is a beautiful ride through forest vistas and rolling hills. The asphalt is smooth like velvet. When you separate from the few trailheads, you can feel pretty lonely. We ride road bikes so the paved trail is not accessible from the Ross Prairie trailhead. There is accessibility to the west end of the trail about a quarter mile up SR-200 but no real place to park. We had to drive 8 miles to the 49th St trailhead to find a formal parking area. But, it was all worth it. Only two cross streets on the entire trail. It tunnels under some and a land bridge over I-75. We will return frequently.
So much fun! Dirt road along the river to the bike trail. Easy paved trail along the river. Saw wildlife. Loved the trail
This trail was unexpectedly beautiful, curvy and shaded... Nice change from the very straight Florida rail trails. Looking forward to visiting again soon.
Pretty, pretty good. Nice rolling paved trail.
Rode this trail a couple times. It just seems to be a collection of three circles that intertwine. You just keep going in circles or in my case, connecting two loops with a figure 8. Confusing trails here. This trail is okay. Surfaces are good and plenty wide but not very pretty.
We had walked at Santos on the forest trails and always enjoyed the beautiful forest. After it was paved we decided to bike it. We did our first ride yesterday. Beautiful ride, great pine smells and birds singing their songs!!
This is a great trail. Like the curves and gentle hills. The scenery is perfect. Makes for a perfect 30+ mile ride.
The Marjorie Harris Carr Cross Florida Greenway is the epitome of what a bike trail should be.The asphalt blacktop looks newly paved and is almost perfectly smooth the entire 15+ mile ride. It is plenty wide for two way traffic and passing with lots of nice curves and some hills passing through some truly beautiful woodlands in Central Florida just outside of Ocala. Wildlife abounds along its entire length. An added bonus is the 100's of miles of mountain bike trails that intersect along its length in many places. It is super well maintained and marked throughout on the pavement for any emergency that may need reporting. There are only a couple of road crossings with the majority being underpasses and a very unique overpass over Interstate 75. Anywhere there is a blind corner there are large round cornering mirrors and signs to notify you to slow appropriately. There are water and toilet facilities at the Santos Trailhead and further down their is an equestrian campground that also has accessible facilities. If you plan for a down and back ride it is a great workout and make sure to bring some hydration. A large part of the ride is shaded but there is enough sun exposure to warrant sunscreen. All and all, this is a top teir bike trail and worth the drive to get there if you have to travel. Truly My New Favorite Bike Trail! Highly Recommended!!!
Once again, I have to tip my helmet to the people planning Florida's biking system!!! I have ridden (and reviewed ) some of the other trails on the planned cross Florida route. The MHC is another shining example of what a State and counties can achieve!!! What a great use of taxpayer money!!! The trail in very well maintained. Very clean. The ride is varied with hills, dense forest, curves, a newer growth forest-all on a nice wide , smooth path!!! I did the 33 mile round trip and am looking forward to the extensions that are planned in the future!!!! Bravo!!!
All I can say is it is definitely worth the trip. Beautiful trail, well maintained and friendly people.
Great trail with lots of curves and hills to keep it interesting.Also a lot of shade and few road crossings. Other then Santos trail head there is no water available which can be an issue. Bike rentals available at Santos trail head.
Beautiful trail, but limited access. The Ross state park pavilion area only about a quarter mile away on state road 200. Please build a feeder trail.
This is a wonderful trail for biking, running, dog walking, etc. great for road bikers and mountain bike trails galore off the paved trail. Everyone in Marion country should try it & you’ll be coming back as often as you can.
I really like this trail. It is shady most of the way. It crosses a few small roads in the beginning. The rest of the way it tunnels under roads and there is bridge that goes over I-75. There are mirrors at turns so you can see if anyone is coming. Clearly marked signs and crosswalk where other trails crossover. The entire trail is 15.66 miles and ends at 200 for now. There are plans to extend it to Dunnellon. Theres a Walmart a mile and a half from the end. I the scenery is beautiful and there were a couple of people out riding horses. Overall I felt very safe on this trail.
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