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Legacy Trail in Florida attracts hundreds of thousands

A storyboard about Venice, Florida’s Legacy Trail (Photo provided — Ken Youngblood)

To the editor:

I took this picture of a poster on a storyboard along Venice, Florida’s Legacy Trail. Read what it has to say. A mere 10-mile initial stretch attracted over 240,000 bicyclers, skateboarders, joggers and walkers during the first 10 years of the trail’s existence. Due to Legacy Trail’s popularity, the town fathers have extended the trail from Venice to the outskirts of Sarasota.

The Venice Train Depot pictured in this commentary is a classic structure that has become the nucleus of the Legacy Trail, but it has nothing on Saranac Lake’s train depot, because from Saranac Lake you bicycle toward Tupper Lake and you are rewarded with a rich legacy of Adirondack lumberjacks, the kind of historical destination that attracts people from all over the world to put their bike down, have lunch or dinner, poke around the shops and even visit the Wild Center, maybe stay overnight in a B&B or motel and bike the shore of Tupper Lake come morning.

Then after a big breakfast, bike the two hours back to Saranac Lake, where they can tool around town at their leisure, taking in the architecture of a town built to cure folks with its pure mountain air. Lunch, then browse some shops, maybe visit the Trudeau museum or stroll along the River Walk, maybe bike out to Lake Colby for a swim, stay overnight in a classic Hotel Saranac for some outdoor music in one of the village parks, stay another night so they can pedal on over to Lake Placid and see what it is like to visit a town famous for hosting two Winter Olympics.

Lots to see and do, so there is no hurry wherever you go along the Adirondack Rail Trail. Three unique destinations with plenty of Adirondack wilderness in between. It doesn’t get better than this.

Ken Youngblood

Saranac Lake

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