Nature Coast State Trail

ABOUT THIS PLACE

The Nature Coast State Trail runs roughly 31.5 miles across Dixie, Gilchrist and Levy counties on the beds of two abandoned Atlantic Coast Line railroads, the Thomasville to Dunnellon line and the Jacksonville to Wilcox line. Those tracks were laid so timber companies could haul cypress out of the Suwannee floodplain, and in the early 1900s they took over the freight and passenger trade from the steamboats. The trail is paved and shaped like three spokes meeting at Wilcox Junction, so riders choose their distance: Chiefland to Trenton is 18.3 miles one way, Chiefland to Cross City 23.6, and Trenton to Cross City 20.7. The landmark on it is the 1902 railroad trestle over the Suwannee River near Old Town. Old depot buildings still stand at Trenton, Cross City and Chiefland. Side trips run to Fanning Springs State Park, to Otter Springs about 2.5 miles off Wilcox Junction, and to Manatee Springs State Park roughly six miles west of the trail. Trailheads are at Chiefland, Cross City, Fanning Springs, Old Town and Trenton, with crosswalks where the path meets the highways. Walkers, cyclists, horse riders and skaters all use it, all year. In 2010 the state bought a 9.33-mile extension toward Newberry