Thursday, March 1, 2012

Biking Florida's Ocean Boulevard Path

The Ocean Boulevard Path is a paved bike trail that parallels Highway A1A through Boca Raton and Highland Beach. Though the book says it runs 4.7 miles from SE 31st St.to Spanish River Blvd.,  the paved sidewalk/trail continues many miles farther south from Spanish River Blvd. all the way to the bridge over the Intracoastal Waterway as seen here (probably farther, but this was as far as I went.)





Enjoy the view from the bridge because there are virtually no views of the ocean as you bike this trail. 








The trail is in good condition but it is just a few feet from the road.  In fact, you have the option of a bike lane on each side of the road, or bike this trail as you can see it in this photo -- so dodge pedestrians or deal with autos.





As you bike north of Spanish River Road, you begin seeing some amazing homes on the ocean side of the road as seen here, and later the high-rise condo buildings appear again.





There are no trailhead parking areas available.  Most property is privately owned but there are three parks along the trail's route, two on the ocean side for beach use, and one on the Intracoastal side.  So you can pay to park in the lots for South Beach Park, Red Reef Park, or Spanish River Park, or simply drive a half mile west to US Highway 1 and park in one of the many shopping center lots there and then bike back to the trail on either Spanish River or Palmetto. 

1 comment:

Vivienne said...

Hey Chuck, I check your blog most every day, and I am waiting for some more pictures. Have you completed your biking in Florida? Ellen said you were joining up with the Sierra Club. What project are you going to work on with them.

My daughter did the Sierra thing twice back 10 years ago. She loved it.

Take it easy, watch out for those snakes.

v