Hey everyone! I rode the Lake Okeechobee Scenic Trail yesterday, going clockwise from the trailhead near the town of Okeechobee. I wanted to share some of my experiences, since I haven't seen many people talk about this trail recently.
Positives
- The trail is 98% off road with only a handful of crossings that require you to ride on the road. There are about 90 miles or so of paved trail and about 20 miles of gravel roads (more on this in the negatives). I went on a Friday and saw limited traffic on the road.
- There's a ton of wildlife to spot on the trail. I saw gators, osprey, vultures, and a curly-tailed lizard.
Negatives
- The trail was (at least to me) fairly repetitive and boring after 5-6 hours on the bike. This is my longest ride, and being solo may have reduced my energy and enthusiasm somewhat.
- Check out photo number three, the section between Lakeport and Buckhead Ridge had more trail than was written, and the gravel felt super rough. I was also facing a headwind and super fatigued from the first 90 miles, so this may have played a part.
Overall, this was a pretty fun day, and I'm glad that I had the opportunity to ride around Florida's largest lake. One big tip for anyone riding this trail is to utilize photo number three. It's not my own image; I found it on Facebook. It's mostly accurate, although from my experience, the red section near Lakeport is no longer closed. Feel free to drop a comment if you have a question!
by Lamoman66