West Orange Trail

Following a route where railroads once carried citrus to market, the West Orange Trail now winds through communities built around and atop those former orange groves.

Between the 1920s and 1960s, Winter Garden was a bustling citrus shipping community, at one time the largest in North America.

Orange County gets its name from the industry that made its mark here. Along the West Orange Trail, you’ll encounter historic markets and exhibits that recollect the past.

Citrus label mosaic in Winter Garden

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Resources

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Overview

RV and tent sites are available at the Clarcona Horse Park for equestrian use. No other campgrounds are along the trail.

Trailside equestrian facility in Clarcona

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Details

Now Orange County sprouts more new houses than orange trees. Since the trail’s western terminus was dedicated in 1994, its surroundings have changed.

Grand old oaks still define much of Oakland, and downtown Winter Garden is a joy to bike through.

It’s here that the trail is at its showiest in an urban space, as it was incorporated into a park right through the middle of downtown.

Downtown Winter Garden

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It passes the Tavares & Gulf Railroad depot, built in 1913, which houses the Central Florida Railroad Museum.

Once you get beyond Winter Garden, the trail is largely shielded from its changing surroundings by a long-standing tunnel of trees.

Riding a recumbent north of Ocoee

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That changes north of where toll road SR 429 passes overhead. Here, groves and forests have been bulldozed for densely packed subdivisions.

Riding through residential Apopka

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While there is still a greenway feel to the trail as it heads north from Clarcona, you ride through residential areas before topping the bridge over US 441 in Apopka.

Bridge over US 441 in downtown Apopka

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Although the ride mileage includes the trail’s extension up to Welch Rd in Apopka, there is no trailhead at that end of the path.

Stop at Apopka Station for an 18.2 mile linear ride (36.4 mile round-trip).

Trailhead facilities at Apopka Station

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Or add on another 5.2 miles (round-trip) by exploring the rest of Apopka along the trail north of Apopka Station.

Numerous trailheads along the route let you lengthen or shorten the overall trip to your own abilities.

Wooden bridge along the West Orange Trail

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If you run into an emergency on the trail, call 911 with a rough idea of the mile marker and location number you are near.

These markers are embedded into the asphalt along the length of the trail.

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Bike Rentals

Bike rentals are currently available at two locations at the southwest end of the trail: the Killarney Station terminus and Winter Garden Station.

At Winter Garden Station, Wheelworks (407-877-7433) offers rentals and has bike gear for sale. In downtown Winter Garden, you’ll ride right past their store.

Bikes for sale outside Wheelworks in Winter Garden

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At Killarney Station, West Orange Bikes and Blades (407-877-0600) had a rental fleet sitting outside when we visited. The owner offered us a trail map when we walked by.

Gear and goodies inside Bikes and Blades

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They also sell bikes, stock tires, and carry a supply of gear for emergency repairs. An air pump is available. And yes, there is ice cream.

Trailheads

The western terminus of the West Orange Trail, Killarney Station was established in 1994.

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Mileage

Connections

Coast to Coast

Between Clarcona and Oakland, the 13.6 mile stretch of the West Orange Trail that centers on Winter Garden is also part of the statewide Coast to Coast Trail.

To the west, the West Orange Trail seamlessly becomes the Lake Minneola Scenic Trail which turns into the South Lake Trail, making a beeline across Lake County through Monteverde, Minneola, and Clermont.

Killarney Station, the western terminus, also provides westbound access to the South Lake Trail

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To the east, the Coast to Coast connection is the yet-as-unfinished corridor through Clarcona to Pine Hills.

Apopka to Rock Springs

Although it is not shown on the official Orange County map of the trail, the bike path continues north from Welch Rd in Apopka (Publix) parallel to Rock Springs Rd (SR 435).

Right now it makes it another half mile, up to Lester Rd. From there you can follow a sidewalk north another 3 miles to Kelly Park Rd.

Ride 0.6 mile east on Kelly Park Rd, sharing the dead-end, to get to the entrance to Kelly Park.

Kelly Park is a popular Orange County park that is home to beautiful Rock Springs. It offers tent camping, hiking, swimming, and tubing the run.

Kelly Park

Tubing down Rock Springs Run is why most folks show up at Kelly Park, but the Kelly Loop Trail is a nice dry way to see the waterway and wildlife.

Lake Apopka Loop Trail

Long-range plans also incorporate that portion with connectors to Magnolia Park and Green Mountain to create an actual loop for the Lake Apopka Loop Trail.

Signs for the Lake Apopka Loop Trail have been in Oakland for almost a decade. But those connections are tougher to make.

If you’re willing to ride the roads, braving traffic, narrow highways, curves, and hills – especially in Lake County – you can certainly circle the lake during daylight hours.

Lake Apopka Loop Trail

Discover the wild heart of Central Florida on a ride along the Lake Apopka Loop Trail, an arc spanning two counties along the lake’s north shore

Trail Map

West Orange Trail Map (Orange County Parks)

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Explore More!

Slideshow

See our photos from biking the West Orange Trail

Nearby Adventures

More worth exploring while you’re in this area.

Oakland Nature Preserve

Protecting more than 128 acres along Lake Apopka, Oakland Nature Preserve offers an accessible boardwalk through marshes to the lake and uplands trails to explore

Magnolia Park

On forested bluffs above Lake Apopka, Magnolia Park anchors the eastern terminus of the Lake Apopka Loop Trail near a campground under ancient live oaks