Legacy Trail (Florida)

The Legacy Trail is a multi-use recreational rail trail in Sarasota County, Florida. It runs along a former portion of the Seminole Gulf Railway corridor (which was originally a Seaboard Air Line Railroad corridor). The original segment of the trail from Venice to Palmer Ranch opened to the public on March 28, 2008. The trail is currently being extended north an additional 8 miles to downtown Sarasota, which will open incrementally from 2021 to 2022.
Route description.
The Legacy Trail begins in Venice at the Historic Venice Train Depot. At the depot, which now operates as a bus terminal for SCAT, the trail connects to the Venetian Waterway Park (which runs south along the Intracoastal Waterway to the Gulf of Mexico).
From the Venice Depot, the trail runs north along the former rail corridor, crosses over the U.S. 41 Venice Bypass on an overpass, and enters Nokomis. North of Nokomis, it crosses Dona Bay and passes through Laurel. Another overpass carries the trail over Laurel Road.
North of Laurel, the trail passes underneath State Road 681 and runs through Oscar Scherer State Park, where it connects to the park's trails. It continues north through Osprey and ends at Culverhouse Nature Park, near Palmer Ranch.
When completed, the extension will continue the trail north through Bee Ridge and Sarasota Springs. At Phillipi Creek, the trail will turn and run west toward downtown Sarasota. In Downtown Sarasota, the trail will turn north, connect to Payne Park, and terminate at Fruitville Road.
Historic elements.
The Legacy Trail contains references to its past as the area's railroad corridor. The trail's milepost numbers on the original segment (numbered 892–902) correspond to the railroad's original mile numbering. The original trestle bridge crossing remains at South Creek, located just south of the Oscar Scherer State Park trailhead. Information plaques are placed along the trail detailing the history of the railroad corridor. Roadway crossings also include decorative railroad crossing signals with crossbucks reading "Sarasota Rail Trail".
History of the trail.
The railroad line was originally built in 1911 as part of the Seaboard Air Line Railroad's extension to Venice. The railroad line provided passenger service to Venice until 1971. The railroad line was integral to Venice's history and benefited the city's economy. The railroad was used by cadets and faculty of the Kentucky Military Institute for winter classes from 1933 to 1970, transported patients to Fred H. Albee's Florida Medical Center from 1932 to 1942, transported goods and servicemen to Venice Army Air Field during , and used by Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, which was headquartered in Venice from 1959 to 1992. The circus was the last consistent service the rail line carried.
Due to decreased demand for service and the heavily deteriorated condition of the tracks and bridges, CSX Transportation (Seaboard's successor) and Seminole Gulf Railway, who had been leasing the line from CSX since 1987, came to an agreement with Sarasota County to abandon the railroad line south of Palmer Ranch. In return, Sarasota County, in conjunction with The Trust for Public Land, purchased and acquired the right of way in December 2004 for $11.75 million to use as a public recreational trail. The original 10-mile segment of Legacy Trail from Venice to Palmer Ranch opened to the public on March 28, 2008.
In 2011, a pedestrian overpass was built to carry the trail over the U.S. 41 Venice Bypass, a major six-lane highway. Prior to the overpass's construction, trail users had to use a crosswalk at an adjacent intersection. The $3.1 million overpass is tall, spans , and was built with federal stimulus funding. Another pedestrian overpass constructed by FDOT over Laurel Road started construction in November 2017 and was completed in late 2018.
In early 2017, Seminole Gulf Railway and CSX announced their intention to abandon an additional of the remaining southern segment of the railroad up to a point just south of Fruitville Road. In December 2017, Sarasota County, in conjunction with The Trust for Public Land, purchased and acquired of the former railroad corridor right of way for $7.9 million, which extended the county's ownership of the corridor up to Ashton Road, approximately north of Clark Road.
In November 2018, Sarasota County voters approved a referendum to acquire and improve of the former railroad corridor and constructing the trail. By early 2020, Seminole Gulf removed tracks and signals from the corridor, and trail construction started shortly after.
Future.
The Legacy Trail is planned to be part of the Southwest Coast Regional Connector, an initiative by the Florida Department of Transportation to built a continuous multi-use trail from Tampa to Naples.
The Florida Department of Transportation plans to build overpasses along the northern extention of the trail at Clark Road and Bee Ridge Road. They will be built after the northern extension opens and will be complete by 2024. The overpass over Clark Road will also include realigning its intersection with McIntosh Road.
North Port Connector.
An connector trail to North Port is also being planned. The North Port Connector is planned to connect to the Legacy Trail in Nokomis and run east along Florence Street, Edmondson Street, and Border Road. It would then turn south along South Moon Drive, cross Interstate 75, and turn east along Forbes Trail. The trail would then continue east along Interstate 75 and then turn south into North Port near Warm Mineral Springs. An additional unpaved path would run from the North Port Connector south to Deer Prairie Creek Preserve. The North Port connector would also connect to an unpaved trail through T. Mabry Carlton Reserve.