Explore the best rated trails in Haines City, FL, whether you're looking for an easy walking trail or a bike trail like the Withlacoochee State Trail and Neighborhood Lakes Scenic Trail . With more than 42 trails covering 357 miles you're bound to find a perfect trail for you. Click on any trail below to find trail descriptions, trail maps, photos, and reviews.
Scenery: 5/5
Shade: 4/5
Condition: 5/5
Crowdedness: 4/5
Water Availability: 3/5
Road Crossings: 3/5
Signage: 2/5
This is one of my favorite trails in Central Florida. In this area, the West Orange Trail is the most popular, but I think the South Lake/Lake Minneola Trail beats out in terms of scenery and crowdedness. Except for the portion of the trail that follows the shoreline of Lake Minneola, shade is ample. It is less crowded than the West Orange Trail, except for the portion that runs through the lakefront park on Lake Minneola. This is understandable given the nature of the park. The crowded stretch is manageable as long as you take it slow and are patient, and it's relatively short compared to the rest of the trail as a whole. The scenery both through wooded areas and along the lake is great. On the western end, the section through Lake Hiawatha Preserve is beautiful albeit very short. Beyond the Preserve (heading west), there's not much to see. The trail is in very good shape, but there are a good number of road crossings. Overall, a really great trail that, in my opinion, is more enjoyable than the West Orange Trail.
Scenery: 2/5
Shade: 1/5
Condition: 5/5
Crowdedness: 5/5
Water Availability: 1/5
Road Crossings: 1/5
Signage: 3/5
Skip this one if you have better options. The description pretty much says it all: not much scenery (almost entirely suburban), hilly (for Florida standards), no water, no shade. On a clear day, there is some scenery at the northern end where you can see Lake Apopka and the Orlando skyline on the eastern horizon, but rampant development is quickly wiping that out. There are a lot of road crossings, some busy. Virtually all of the trail parallels a rather busy, noisy road. The trail is in good shape (except for a few spots where roots have created bumps - mostly on the southern end), but I'm not sure why the description says that it is 14 feet wide. There may be short sections where that is the case, but mostly not. The trail is not crowded at all, but, given its shortcomings, that's not surprising.
The northern portion is gorgeous with Waterview to the west and a nice ride through beautiful parks. I went a little further and did the regional trail just north of this one and it was absolutely beautiful but very short. The section after the high school heading north is dangerous for unsteady cyclist. The local community is actively working to improve this 3 to 5 mile section of trail Once that is complete the trail will be quite nice. The majority of the trail is a double wide sidewalk, so it is not good for a zone four or five ride. It is perfect for a leisure zone 2 ride. The Northern section is excellent for a family bike ride. On my way back heading south. I avoided the double wide sidewalk and rode the generous bike lane until it ended.
On Easter, we parked in the Hernando lot and drove south to Floral City, before returning! Scenery ranges from beautiful partially shaded trails, several lakes and waterways, turtles, and alligators. LOTS of potential restaurants for a break (seafood, pizza, ice cream, etc.). We sat on the deck at Stumpknockers (5 blocks off trail) for an horsdoeuvre and bevvy! This portion of the trail was 29 miles round trip. We’ll be back to do the Northern portion!
Pick a cloudy day and maybe a mountain bike. Lots of gators and birds. We started from the green mountain trail head and I would start at one of the other trailheads instead. They spent so much on the trail head that there is no money to maintain the trail and the first two miles are extremely rough.
This is a short city trail ride but well maintained. There are sections of it which are quite pretty. There are amenities along the way, and with a Dunkin Donuts, 7-11, and a Diner at the trail end.
I started this trail at the southern entrance. I got less than 3 miles into my bike ride and turned around. Too many intersections with heavy traffic. Perhaps this trail is better towards the northern end.
Parked at historic train station. Headed east and after a mile or so found the trail is closed by Duke Energy to update electrical poles. Back to the truck, reloaded our bikes and headed to Mondon Hill Road and parked the truck. Took off for Withlacoochee Trail. On the return ride we spotted a fox squirrel, a hawk having dinner, and a free range chicken. Nice ride!
I ride this area at least twice a week. The trails are wide & the scenery is pretty good. It is great place to ride at night if you enjoy that. The neighborhood is always well decorated at Christmas.
On our visit to Florida and first time in the saddle in six months we opted for a short day, about 20 miles. We parked at the Copper library which was convenient and had nice bathrooms and water. There are new developments and a shopping complex since the details to this trail were written. At about mile 5 there is a Publix, Starbucks and a few more retail stores. There were a lot of roads to cross and hills to climb. We opted for a 6 mile round trip down the intersecting Lake Shore trail to Minneola Lake. That was a nice, scenic section. Overall a good day to start our season.
Rode on a cold day but still saw otters and deer. Be careful because Google maps will take you the wrong way. The northern most part of the trail is in Mabel FL off Highway 50. The access road to this point is horrible but short.
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