Your Next Adventure
Your Next Adventure
Florida's Legacy Trail Getaway Bike Tour
Trip Overview
In spring and fall, biking the Legacy Trail and quiet coastal roads around sunny Venice, Florida, makes a perfect 4-day getaway. With numerous trails and cycling routes … along the waterfront, through state parks and through quiet neighborhoods … there’s plenty to see and explore by bike. Afterward, relax and enjoy a drink at the pool and tiki bar at your resort hotel.
The centerpiece of this tour is the newly expanded Legacy Trail. This rail trail recently was completed all the way into downtown Sarasota. You enjoy spinning along the entire length of the trail from Venice to Sarasota. Plus, you ride the trail as a connector to other local quiet trails and back roads. You also enjoy seafood and fresh veggies at waterside and outdoor-dining venues.
Whether you’re looking for a casual ride along beaches or a chance to do some long-distance optional road rides, find your biking bliss on our Florida's Legacy Trail Getaway Bike Tour.
See a list of all of our Florida tours.
Itinerary
From start to finish, check out the route.
Meet your leaders at 1 p.m. at the Casey Key Resorts - Mainland for a short van ride to Venice Island, where you can pedal and explore! This ride is on quieter roads, shoulders, bike lanes and dedicated bike paths around the perimeter of the island. You visit South Jetty Park and the “cut,” an active waterway between Venice and Casey Key that leads to the open Gulf of Mexico. Then spin along to Caspersen Beach Park at the south end of the island. A bike trail along the Intracoastal Waterway brings you back into lovely downtown Venice Beach. Dinner is together at a casual waterfront restaurant near the hotel.
After a hearty breakfast, you start your ride on the south end of Casey Key, watching birds and local people fishing. The winding route along Casey Key is a treat. Take your time to enjoy the beaches, mansions and views. From the north end of Casey Key, you take back roads to the midpoint of the Legacy Trail and bike northward to the end in downtown Sarasota. Enjoy lunch in Sarasota and then you have the option to shuttle over and visit the Marie Selby Botanical Gardens an exhibits and then van back to the hotel. Or avid cyclists can opt for more miles and return by bike south on the trail. Nearby dedicated bike lanes also enable longer rides. Tonight’s dinner is on your own in Venice.
Today’s ride takes you back along the Legacy Trail into Venice, then along a dedicated bike trail beside the Intracoastal Waterway — part of the network providing protected passage for boats from Boston to Florida and around the Gulf to Texas. After traversing the quiet neighborhood roads of South Venice, you cross a bridge onto Manasota Key and enjoy riding along a barrier island. At the southern end of Manasota Key, you visit Stump Pass Beach State Park. Return to Venice Island — via bike or van — and explore the beaches there, including the opportunity to sift the sand for plentiful fossilized shark teeth. Your final celebratory dinner is at a local restaurant.
You start at the south end of the Legacy Trail at the old Venice train station, where the Ringling Brothers would arrive with their circus animals and equipment by train to spend the winter. You ride to the midpoint of the trail in south Sarasota and either shuttle back to the hotel … or ride back for more miles. After everyone checks out, you have a farewell lunch together at the Casey Key Fish House.
Map
Dates & Pricing
Prices are per person based on double occupancy (2 people in one room). Single supplement for private room is listed at the top of this page. A deposit of $500 holds your reservation for most tours. For weekend tours, the deposit is $300.
What’s Included
3 nights' lodging, 3 breakfasts, 2 dinners (on your own for 1 dinner), optional entrance fee to Selby Botanical Gardens. We also include detailed maps and itineraries, experienced guides, full van support — plus use of a bike and helmet. Airfare is not included.
Dates & Pricing
Prices are per person based on double occupancy (2 people in one room). Single supplement for private room is listed at the top of this page. A deposit of $500 holds your reservation for most tours. For weekend tours, the deposit is $300.
What’s Included
3 nights' lodging, 3 breakfasts, 2 dinners (on your own for 1 dinner), optional entrance fee to Selby Botanical Gardens. We also include detailed maps and itineraries, experienced guides, full van support — plus use of a bike and helmet. Airfare is not included.
Inns
Where you stay along the way.
Gallery
Images from this tour. Click each to see it larger.
v1.3.30