The Legacy Trail is an multi-use recreational

rail trail A rail trail is a shared-use path on railway right of way. Rail trails are typically constructed after a railway has been abandoned and the track has been removed, but may also share the right of way with active railways, light rail, or streetc ...

connecting

Sarasota Sarasota () is a city in Sarasota County on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The area is renowned for its cultural and environmental amenities, beaches, resorts, and the Sarasota School of Architecture. The city is located in the sou ...

and

Venice, Florida Venice is a city in Sarasota County, Florida, United States. The city includes what locals call "Venice Island", a portion of the mainland that is accessed via bridges over the artificially created Intracoastal Waterway. The city is located in S ...

. It runs along a former portion of the

Seminole Gulf Railway The Seminole Gulf Railway is a short line freight and passenger excursion railroad headquartered in Fort Myers, Florida, that operates two former CSX Transportation railroad lines in Southwest Florida. The company's Fort Myers Division, which ...

corridor (most of which was originally a

Seaboard Air Line Railroad The Seaboard Air Line Railroad , which styled itself "The Route of Courteous Service," was an American railroad which existed from April 14, 1900, until July 1, 1967, when it merged with the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad, its longtime rival, t ...

corridor). The trail runs from the Historic Venice Train Depot to Fruitville Road in

. The original segment of the trail from Venice to Palmer Ranch opened in 2008 and it was extended to central Sarasota in 2022.

Route description

The Legacy Trail begins in Venice at the Historic Venice Train Depot. At the depot, which now operates as a bus terminal for SCAT, the trail connects to the

Venetian Waterway Park The Venetian Waterway Park is a concrete trail in Sarasota County, Florida located in Venice. It was a public–private partnership between Venice Area Beautification Inc. (VABI), Sarasota County, and the city of Venice. It consists of two t ...

(which runs south along the

Intracoastal Waterway The Intracoastal Waterway (ICW) is a inland waterway along the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico coasts of the United States, running from Massachusetts southward along the Atlantic Seaboard and around the southern tip of Florida, then following t ...

to the

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico ( es, Golfo de México) is an ocean basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, largely surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United ...

). From the Venice Depot, the trail runs north along the former rail corridor, crosses over the U.S. 41 Venice Bypass on an overpass, and enters Nokomis. North of Nokomis, it crosses Dona Bay and passes through Laurel. Another overpass carries the trail over Laurel Road. North of Laurel, the trail passes underneath State Road 681 and runs through Oscar Scherer State Park, where it connects to the park's trails. It continues north through

Osprey The osprey (''Pandion haliaetus''), , also called sea hawk, river hawk, and fish hawk, is a diurnal, fish-eating bird of prey with a cosmopolitan range. It is a large raptor reaching more than in length and across the wings. It is brown o ...

and passes Culverhouse Nature Park near Palmer Ranch. The trail crosses Clark Road just north of Palmer Ranch continues north through Bee Ridge and Sarasota Springs. The trail crosses Bahia Vista Street and Phillippi Creek before turning west toward downtown Sarasota. At Shade Avenue, A short spur continues west to School Avenue while the main trail turns north and passes Payne Park before terminating at Fruitville Road.

Historic elements

The Legacy Trail contains references to its past as the area's railroad corridor. The trail's milepost numbers (numbered 885–902) correspond to the railroad's original mile numbering. Original

trestle bridge A trestle bridge is a bridge composed of a number of short spans supported by closely spaced frames. A trestle (sometimes tressel) is a rigid frame used as a support, historically a tripod used to support a stool or a pair of isosceles triangl ...

crossings remain at South Creek (near Oscar Scherer State Park), Phillippi Creek, and a creek near Beneva Road. Information plaques are placed along the trail detailing the history of the railroad corridor. Roadway crossings on the original segment also include decorative railroad crossing signals with crossbucks reading ''Sarasota Rail Trail''.

History

The railroad line from School Avenue (on the trail's spur) to a point near Beneva Road was originally built in 1903 by

(via their

Florida West Shore Railway The Seaboard Air Line Railroad's Sarasota Subdivision (W Line) was a rail line that ran from the company's main line at Turkey Creek, Florida, Turkey Creek south to Palmetto, Florida, Palmetto, Bradenton, Florida, Bradenton, Sarasota, Florida, Sar ...

subsidiary) and was extended south from there to Venice in 1911. Track from Shade Avenue north to Fruitville Road was built in 1927 by the

Atlantic Coast Line Railroad The Atlantic Coast Line Railroad was a United States Class I railroad formed in 1900, though predecessor railroads had used the ACL brand since 1871. In 1967 it merged with long-time rival Seaboard Air Line Railroad to form the Seaboard Coas ...

(via their Tampa Southern Railroad subsidiary). The two lines were consolidated onto the route the trail follows today in 1967 when the Atlantic Coast Line and Seaboard Air Line merged and became the

Seaboard Coast Line Railroad The Seaboard Coast Line Railroad was a Class I railroad company operating in the Southeastern United States beginning in 1967. Its passenger operations were taken over by Amtrak in 1971. Eventually, the railroad was merged with its affiliate li ...

(which later became part of

CSX Transportation CSX Transportation , known colloquially as simply CSX, is a Class I freight railroad operating in the Eastern United States and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. The railroad operates approximately 21,000 route miles () of track. ...

). In Venice, the railroad line was integral to the city's history and benefited the city's economy. The railroad was used by cadets and faculty of the Kentucky Military Institute for winter classes from 1933 to 1970, transported patients to Fred H. Albee's Florida Medical Center from 1932 to 1942, transported goods and servicemen to Venice Army Air Field during , and used by Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, which was headquartered in Venice from 1959 to 1992. The circus was the last consistent service the rail line carried. Owing to decreased demand for service and the heavily deteriorated condition of the tracks and bridges,

and

, who had been leasing the line from CSX since 1987, came to an agreement with

Sarasota County Sarasota County is a county located in Southwest Florida. At the 2020 US census, the population was 434,006. Its county seat is Sarasota and its largest city is North Port. Sarasota County is part of the North Port–Sarasota–Bradenton, FL ...

to abandon the railroad line south of Palmer Ranch. In return, Sarasota County, in conjunction with

The Trust for Public Land The Trust for Public Land is a U.S. nonprofit organization with a mission to "create parks and protect land for people, ensuring healthy, livable communities for generations to come". Since its founding in 1972, the Trust for Public Land has compl ...

, purchased and acquired the right of way in December 2004 for $11.75 million to use as a public recreational trail. The original segment of Legacy Trail from the Venice to Culverhouse Nature Park near Palmer Ranch opened to the public on March 28, 2008. In 2011, a pedestrian overpass was built to carry the trail over the U.S. 41 Venice Bypass, a major six-lane highway. Prior to the overpass's construction, trail users had to use a crosswalk at an adjacent intersection. The $3.1 million overpass is tall, spans , and was built with federal stimulus funding. Another

pedestrian overpass A footbridge (also a pedestrian bridge, pedestrian overpass, or pedestrian overcrossing) is a bridge designed solely for pedestrians.''Oxford English Dictionary'' While the primary meaning for a bridge is a structure which links "two points at ...

constructed by

FDOT 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 ...

over Laurel Road started construction in November 2017 and was completed in late 2018. In early 2017, Seminole Gulf Railway and CSX announced their intention to abandon an additional of the remaining southern segment of the railroad up to a point just south of Fruitville Road. In December 2017, Sarasota County, in conjunction with

, purchased and acquired of the former railroad corridor right of way for $7.9 million, which extended the county's ownership of the corridor up to Ashton Road, approximately north of Clark Road. In November 2018, Sarasota County voters approved a referendum to acquire and improve of the former railroad corridor and extending the trail. By early 2020, Seminole Gulf removed tracks and signals from the corridor, and trail construction started shortly after. The first segments of the northern extension, which include the segment from the original trail at Culverhouse Nature Park to Sawyer Loop Road and the segment from Ashton Road to Bahia Vista Street opened on July 8, 2021. The segment from Sawyer Loop Road to Ashton Road opened on October 7, 2021. The final segment from Bahia Vista Street to Fruitville Road opened on March 3, 2022.

Future

The Legacy Trail is planned to be part of the Southwest Coast Regional Connector, an initiative 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 ...

to built a continuous multi-use trail from

Tampa Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and the seat of Hillsborough C ...

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adm ...

. The

plans to build overpasses for the trail at Clark Road and Bee Ridge Road. They are planned be complete by 2024. The overpass over Clark Road will also include realigning its intersection with McIntosh Road.

North Port Connector

An connector trail to North Port is also under construction. The North Port Connector will connect to the Legacy Trail in Nokomis and run east along Florence Street, Edmondson Street, and Border Road. It would then turn south along South Moon Drive, cross

Interstate 75 Interstate 75 (I-75) is a major north–south Interstate Highway in the Great Lakes and Southeastern regions of the United States. As with most Interstates that end in 5, it is a major cross-country, north–south route, traveling from St ...

, and turn east along Forbes Trail. The trail will then continue east along Interstate 75 and then turn south into North Port near Warm Mineral Springs. An additional unpaved path would run from the North Port Connector south to

Deer Prairie Creek Preserve Deer Prairie Creek Preserve is a natural area with of trail in unincorporated Sarasota County, Florida, USA, around along the Myakka River. History The land was acquired between 2000 and 2004 through a partnership between Sarasota County’s ...

. The North Port connector would also connect to an unpaved trail through T. Mabry Carlton Reserve.

Gallery

Image:Legacy Trail south end.jpg, Southern terminus near Historic Venice Train Depot Image:Legacy Trail Shelter.JPG, Covered benches called "stations" can be found throughout the trail every few miles Image:Legacy Trail.jpg, Legacy Trail near Nokomis Image:Legacy Trail Dona Bay.jpg, Bridge over Dona Bay

References

External links

{{Attached KML, display=inline,title
Friends of The Legacy Trail
nonprofit organization established in 2006 that supports, promotes, enhances, and protects The Legacy Trail
TrailLink profile for Legacy Trail

a
100 Florida Trails
Transportation in Sarasota County, Florida Hiking trails in Florida Rail trails in Florida Bike paths in Florida Seaboard Air Line Railroad Protected areas of Sarasota County, Florida 2004 establishments in Florida Parks in Sarasota County, Florida