The Palatka-Lake Butler State Trail (PLB) corridor stretches nearly from the vicinity of Lake Butler,

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

Palatka, Florida Palatka () is a city in northeastern Florida and it is the county seat of Putnam County, Florida, United States. The population was 10,558 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Putnam County. Palatka is the principal city of the Palatka Mi ...

. The project is located along the former

Georgia Southern and Florida Railway The Georgia Southern and Florida Railway , also known as the ''Suwanee River Route'' from its crossing of the Suwanee River, was founded in 1885 as the Georgia Southern and Florida ''Railroad'' and began operations between Macon, GA and Valdosta, ...

right-of-way and the trail is being constructed on top of the existing abandoned railroad bed through (from east to west) Putnam,

Clay Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4). Clays develop plasticity when wet, due to a molecular film of water surrounding the clay par ...

Bradford Bradford is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Bradford district in West Yorkshire, England. The city is in the Pennines' eastern foothills on the banks of the Bradford Beck. Bradford had a population of 349,561 at the 2011 ...

, and

Union Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...

counties. The corridor was purchased with Preservation 2000 funds through the Office of Greenways and Trails Acquisition Program. The Rails to Trails Conservancy played a key role in preserving the corridor for conversion to a rail-trail and the trail was designated as part of the Florida Greenways & Trails System in 2007. Construction of a multi-use recreational trail along this corridor is being completed in phases, and the first paved section of opened in Clay County in 2008. The paved trail now runs from western

Keystone Heights Keystone Heights is a city located in southwestern Clay County, Florida, United States. The population of the city was 1,446 at the 2020 census. The city's name is derived from the state of Pennsylvania's nickname, the "Keystone State". History ...

through and past Florahome through the southern edges of the Etoniah Creek State Forest. The eastern end of the pavement is diagonally west of the Kay Larkin Airport in Palatka. The construction was administered by the

Florida Department of Transportation The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) is a decentralized agency charged with the establishment, maintenance, and regulation of public transportation in the state of Florida. The department was formed in 1969. It absorbed the powers of t ...

(FDOT) and funded in part through the Transportation Equity Act of the 21st Century Act (TEA-21). The Trail is managed by the DEP Office of Greenways & Trails.Office of Greenways and Trails (Retrieved on 2009-04-06)
/ref> The Clay County segment of the PLB Trail running through

ties into a , the FDOT constructed. This bike path runs north from downtown

Mike Roess Gold Head Branch State Park Gold Head Branch State Park, a Florida State Park, is just shy of 2400 acres (8 km²) of rolling sandhills, marshes, ravines, lakes and scrub located midway between Gainesville and Jacksonville, six miles (10 km) north of Keystone He ...

. Twin Lakes Park in Keystone Heights serves as the main trailhead for the Clay County segment and was developed by Clay County with funding from the Florida Recreation Development Assistance Program. The remainder of the PLB Trail is still in the design phase. The final design must be completed before any additional paving can occur and the recreational trail is fully constructed. There are plans to connect St. Augustine to Lake City by way of this trail system at some future date, to make the total length of the Trail over . A section of the

Florida National Scenic Trail The Florida Trail is one of eleven National Scenic Trails in the United States. It currently runs , from Big Cypress National Preserve (between Miami and Naples, Florida along the Tamiami Trail) to Fort Pickens at Gulf Islands National Seashore, ...

is being developed adjacent to the PLB Trail.

Gallery

File:Union Depot and old tracks.JPG, The former Lake Bulter Union Depot next to the trail. Image:NewRiverBridge.jpg, Old railroad trestle over the New River, future route of Palatka-Lake Butler State Trail as well as the

. Image:Palatka-Lake Butler Trail West Florahome Bridge.JPG, Trail bridge on the Palatka-Lake Butler State Trail west of Florahome. File:FL 100 near Palatka-Lake Butler Trail Xing-03.jpg, Newly paved (as of March 2023) section along SR 100 west of

References

External links

Palatka-Lake Butler State Trail
a
Florida State Parks

a
100 Florida Trails

Palatka-Lake Butler State Trail
at Florida Hikes {{Protected Areas of Florida Protected areas of Bradford County, Florida Protected areas of Clay County, Florida Hiking trails in Florida Protected areas of Putnam County, Florida Protected areas of Union County, Florida Rail trails in Florida Bike paths in Florida 2007 establishments in Florida