The Legacy Trail has been in place for some time now however the overhead bridges on the northern extension are getting built now. I'm anxious to see them complete and will do a start to end ride once complete. Ideally this is a trail best done via bicycle.
About the Legacy Trail:
- former railroad started November 12, 1911. Seaboard Air Line
- April 30, 1971, the last passenger train arrived in Venice
- Limited freight service continued until January 1992.
- The Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus used the Seaboard Air Line / Legacy Corridor to reach its winter quarters in Venice from 1960 to 1992.
- 2004 after more than a decade of planning, the county’s $11.75 million purchase of the scenic CSX railroad corridor was accomplished in partnership with The Trust for Public Land and celebrated on April 4, 2005. At nearly 12.5 miles long, the 100-foot-wide CSX corridor stretches from just south of Clark Road in Sarasota to Center Road in Venice (Phase I).
- In November 2018, County voters approved a $65 million dollar bond referendum to extend The Legacy Trail an additional 7.5 miles north along the existing rail corridor to Payne Park in downtown Sarasota (map) with a connector to the City of North Port. This extension was completed in 2022. Overpasses at Clark and Bee Ridge Ridge Roads are expected to be completed by FDOT in 2025.
This cache is right on the trail. There is parking (see waypoint) nearby. I did not scope out all parking options and restrictions. This cache is somewhat HC accessible with grabbers or assistance. For those in wheelchairs, if only able to find but not log cache, that is acceptable.
DO NOT REPLACE CONTAINER OR LOG SHEET. While I'm generally against this anyways, this is also to see how long this type lasts. I will be around to maintain it often. Just report issues. Remember, to log as a find, you must find original container AND sign log sheet. Simply seeing it doesn't count.