TWO WHEELS OR FOUR? Although bicyclists can ride any of the hundreds of miles of forest roads, the only designated off-road trail in the Ocala National Forest is the challenging Paisley Woods Bicycle Trail, a 22-mile single-track loop through the deep woods and rolling hills. The path passes through the forest, allowing you to bask in the unique flora and fauna, as well as the springs and rolling hills. However, the trail is typical for Florida scrub and sandhill environments, with occasional stretches of soft sand, which may make going difficult. If you steer off the path, you can backtrack to Alexander Springs or the Clearwater camping site and pick up where you left off. Marked with yellow diamonds, it intermittently intersects the hiking-only (orange-blazed) Florida Trail. Blue-blazed connector trails connect the loop with both the Alexander Springs and Clearwater Lake trailheads. There are two interconnected loops – the Alexander Loop (11 miles) and the Clearwater Loop (11 miles). No designated rest areas exist. Bicycles need to be built for rough terrain. Mountain bikes are ideal. If you brought your ATV along, you could take advantage of the Ocala North OHV Trail System. These interconnecting loops offer 125 miles of trail consisting of a 14-mile ORM-only trail, a 35-mile track for motorcycles, ATVs, and UTVs, and a collective 76-mile mixed-use trail shared by all OHVs/ ORVs and licensed vehicles. A permit is required to drive on this trail. Riders below 16 years of age must wear a helmet at all times when riding. OHVs/ORVs must have a spark-arresting exhaust silencer or end cap as the noise limit tops out at 96 dB. Oh, and don’t forget there is a speed limit of 20 mph. LET’S GO! 94 | OCALAHORSEPROPERTIES.COM To advertise Your Farm in this publication, please call (352) 615-8891
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