Biking Florida's Paisley Woods Mountain Bike Trail

Florida's Ocala National Forest offers the Paisley Woods Mountain Bike Trail. Occasional cactus plants dot the terrain which is mostly forested with clear sight lines due to sparse ground-level foliage and only some minor elevation change. The trail is predominantly well-maintained single-track and was developed by the Lake County Bicycle & Pedestrian Program, Lake County Rails-to-Trails, and Florida Freewheelers in cooperation with the Ocala National Forest.

They do let you know what you'll be in for before you begin this ride.

Other than some sections of loose sand, this is a wonderful trail. It is for bikers only as horses have their own trails. The length of 22 miles can be split into two loops, the Clearwater Lake Loop at 10 miles and the Alexander Springs Loop at 12 miles. Yellow blazes clearly mark the trail and turns.

I spotted this gopher tortoise lumbering slowly near the trail. It was my first one, so I took its picture!