| General James A. Van Fleet State Trail | |
|---|---|
 Mabel Trailhead's picnic shelter, a.k.a. Mabel Station. | |
| Length | 29.2 mi (47.0 km) |
| Location | Polk,Lake andSumter counties,USA |
| Designation | IUCN category V (protected landscape/seascape) |
| Trailheads | |
| Trail map | |
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General James A. Van Fleet State Trail is arail trail inFlorida, named afterGeneral James A. Van Fleet, who was a distinguished combat commander in both World Wars and the Korean War.[1]
It is protected as aFlorida State Park and occupies a 29.2-mile (47.0 km) abandoned portion of theSeaboard Air Line Railroad'sMiami Subdivision through Central Florida'sGreen Swamp area. It extends fromPolk City in the south toMabel in the north.[2]
It passes throughBay Lake and crossesLake,Polk andSumter counties.
The entire 29.2-mile (47.0 km) length of the trail is paved approximately 12-foot (3.7 m) wide and is mostly straight, containing only one slight curve toward the southern end of the trail just north of the Polk City trailhead.
Among thewildlife that can be seen along the trail areegrets,herons and variousraptors. Also sighted arewhite-tailed deer,Florida gopher tortoises,American alligators,raccoons andnine-banded armadillos.
Activities includewalking,running,inline skating,hiking,horseback riding,biking, and viewing wildlife.
Florida state parks are open between 8 a.m. and sundown every day of the year (including holidays). There is no admission necessary to use the park.
The trail has four trailheads with parking areas specifically for the trail, each spaced approximately 9.6 miles (15.4 km) apart. These are located inPolk City at the intersection ofState Road 33 and County Road 665;Green Pond at the intersection of Green Pond Road and the trail itself;Bay Lake at the intersection of Bay Lake Road (County Road 565) and the trail itself; and finally inMabel where the trail intersects just south ofState Road 50. The right of way forthe former railroad line continues north on its way toColeman. This line carried theSilver Meteor between Coleman and Auburndale until 1988, and had a bridge under SR 50. The bridge was kept intact for a future horses-only extension of the trail toward Coleman. The extension was never built, and the bridge was dismantled the early-2010s.[3]
Amenities include apicnic pavilion, several picnic tables, restrooms, and drinking fountains.
Parking, restrooms, and drinking fountains are available at all four trailheads.
Media related toGeneral James A. Van Fleet State Trail at Wikimedia Commons
