What it actually is
The trail is a former rail corridor, now a 12 foot wide paved path shared by walkers, runners and cyclists. It runs 19 miles through St. Johns and Putnam counties, opens at 8am and closes at sunset every day of the year, and costs nothing to use or park at. It is signed from State Road 207 near Elkton.
Being a rail corridor, it is flat and straight for long stretches, which makes it forgiving if you are riding with children or have not been on a bike in a while. The surroundings are working farmland rather than scenery laid on for visitors: fields, treelines, drainage canals, the occasional packing shed.
One honest thing about the name
The trail does not reach either city centre. At the St. Augustine end it starts just west of I-95, at the edge of the small community of Vermont Heights, and the last stretch east dead ends at a railway crossing. The western end finishes at East River Road in Putnam County, across the river from Palatka itself. You are riding between the two, not from one door to the other.
The trailheads, east to west
| Trailhead | County | What is there |
|---|---|---|
| Vermont Blvd | St. Johns | Map kiosk, roadside parking only. The furthest east you can join. |
| Vermont Heights | St. Johns | Parking, restroom, picnic area, map kiosk. About a mile on. |
| Armstrong Park | St. Johns | Parking, restrooms, picnic area, playground. Five miles from the eastern end. |
| Cora C. Harrison Preserve | St. Johns | Parking, restroom, picnic area. Nine miles in, seven from the far end. |
| East River Road | Putnam | Three roadside spaces and a map kiosk. The western end. |
Ride the full length from the Vermont Boulevard end and back and you have done 35 miles. From Vermont Heights it is 34. Palatka is a designated Florida Trail Town and is the usual mid-trip stop for anyone doing the whole thing.
Take the road crossings seriously. Traffic does not stop for trail users, and the responsibility to stop is yours.
Why this matters if you are booking a week
Almost everyone who visits St. Augustine books within a mile or two of the water, and prices follow that. Move inland along this corridor and the same week costs a good deal less, for a house with more room around it. What you give up is the walk to the sand. What you get back is quiet, space, and a considerably smaller bill.
It suits some trips and not others. If the plan is to be on the beach at nine every morning, stay on the beach. If the plan is a base for a week of driving out to the fort, the beach, the river and the springs, then the inland side is worth a look, and the trail is there on the days you would rather not drive at all.
What is out here
The corridor runs through the agricultural belt west of St. Augustine: potato and cabbage country, with Hastings at its centre, and on into Putnam County toward the St. Johns River. Palatka sits on the river and is an older, plainer Florida than the Spanish colonial streets on the coast. There are farms, horse properties, river access, and a railroad history that is the reason this trail exists at all.
It is a different holiday from a beach one. Quieter, slower, and much cheaper. For some people that is a compromise. For others it is the actual point.