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Hike Bike Paddle Camp Florida with authors Sandra Friend and John Keatley as your guides

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Bluff forest at the Santos Trails

Belleview

With the Cross Florida Greenway hugging its northern boundary and the famed Santos Trails for mountain bikers, Belleview is a destination for outdoor recreation.


Resources

Resources for exploring the area
Florida Trail Hikes book cover The Florida Trail Guide book cover 50 Hikes in Central Florida Five Star Trails Gainesville Ocala book cover Central Florida Orlando Explorers Guide book cover Hikers Guide to the Sunshine State book cover Paddlers Guide Florida  
Disclosure: As authors and affiliates, we receive earnings when you buy these through our links. This helps us provide public information on this website.


Exploring Belleview

Established around Nine Mile Pond in 1884, Belleview is one of the older communities in Marion County. It lies just south of what might have been the Cross Florida Barge Canal.

Instead, that strip of federal land became the Marjorie Harris Carr Cross Florida Greenway, home to the Florida Trail and the famed Santos Trails for mountain bikers.

The Greenway, which stretches from the Gulf Coast to the St. Johns River near Palatka, is a superb destination for outdoor recreation.

Belleview is also a Florida Trail Gateway Community, within walking distance of the Florida Trail at Santos for long distance hikers to come into for resupply and relaxation.

Lodgings are limited but are mom-and-pop along US 301/441/27, as are the best of the eateries, like B.D. Bean’s coffeehouse, the delightful Chicken Time Cuban restaurant, and the Farmhouse.


Trails and Parks near Belleview

Riding the Pine Tree Trail at Santos Biking Santos Biking the Santos Trails for the first time this fall, I opted to leave my vintage Cannondale at home and try a rental bike for my first spin through these famed off-road trails south of Ocala.
Carney Island Carney Island Conservation Area As a peninsula in Lake Weir, parts of Carney Island Conservation Area are naturally air-conditioned. Walk 4 miles beneath ancient oaks and expect to see wildlife.
Marshall Swamp on the Cross Florida Greenway Florida Trail, Cross Florida Greenway 43.8 miles. A prime destination for backpacking and day hiking south of Ocala, the Florida Trail follows the Cross Florida Greenway through woodlands between the Withlacoochee and Ocklawaha Rivers
Florida Trail, Land Bridge to Santos Florida Trail, Land Bridge Trailhead to Santos 6.7 miles. Between the Land Bridge Trailhead and Santos, the Florida Trail winds its way around horse farms to meander through stands of oaks and pines.
Pines growing along grassy footpath Florida Trail, Santos to Baseline 5.1 miles. History is on display along this segment of the abandoned Cross Florida Barge Canal, from a town demolished nearly a century ago to agricultural land undergoing habitat restoration.
Florida Trail near Land Bridge trailhead Florida Trail, SW 49th to Land Bridge Trailhead 3.6 miles. Bookended by soft sand pines and ancient oaks, this particularly fascinating hike along the Cross Florida Greenway includes a massive dune-like slope and the Land Bridge over Interstate 75.
Cypress Lakes Preserve Florida Trail, Western Corridor 241 miles. With segments linking Withlacoochee State Forest and the Cross Florida Greenway, the Western Corridor provides access to wild spaces between Tampa and Ocala
Ship Canal low stanchion Historic Ship Canal Trail The shortest trail on the Cross Florida Greenway interprets nearly a century's worth of efforts to dig a canal across the Florida peninsula and split it in two.
Ocklawaha Prairie Ocklawaha Prairie Restoration Area At Ocklawaha Prairie, east of Lake Weir and south of Marshall Swamp, trails lead to some of the best birding in the region from levees along the extensive marshes of the river basin.
Santos Trails Santos Trails With miles of twisting, winding off-road bicycle trails that dip into old limestone pits, the Santos Trails south of Ocala are a mecca for cyclists who enjoy riding through the woods
Trail shelter with bike at marsh Sunnyhill Levee Trail A linear path along the channelized Ocklawaha River, the Levee Trail at Sunnyhill Restoration Area stretches 7.5 miles from SR 42 north to Moss Bluff.

Featured Articles

The Over 80 Across Florida Hike (9/30/2017) In 2007, a group of senior hikers made Florida hiking history by successfully completing a backpacking trip from the Atlantic Ocean to the Gulf of Mexico via backroads, the Florida Trail, and the Withlacoochee Bay Trail. All were over age 80.
Riding the Pine Tree Trail at Santos Biking Santos (12/19/2016) Biking the Santos Trails for the first time this fall, I opted to leave my vintage Cannondale at home and try a rental bike for my first spin through these famed off-road trails south of Ocala.

More Articles More Parks


NEARBY: Dunnellon, Leesburg, Ocala, Silver Springs | ALONG: Cross Florida Greenway | PART OF: Central Florida

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