Lake City Lakes Loop

Location: Lake City, FL, United States

This 17.7 mile route is for recreational bicyclists. It is mostly paved and travels through an urban area. Serious riders may find it a bit slow for their liking.

Although most of the route consists of paved roads, most of the paved roads have no shoulders. Sidewalk is available adjacent to most of the route. Therefore, families with small children should limit themselves to Alligator Lake and downtown Lake DeSoto.

The route starts at Alligator Lake Recreation Area, which provides parking and restrooms. The James Montgomery Trail at Alligator Lake consists of hard-packed dirt, and riders can use this trail to explore the area along the lake before beginning the route to downtown Lake City. There are good biking, hiking and wildlife viewing opportunities at Alligator Lake, so it is worth exploring. A kiosk near the restrooms provides paper copies of the various trails. The recreation area has good hiking, biking and wildlife viewing opportunities.

Alligator Lake usually closes at sunset, so if starting the route from the lake, be sure to allow enough time to return to the lake and retrieve your vehicle. Additionally, the recreation area is closed to the public on Monday. Another good location to start the route is downtown Lake City where ample parking is available.

The route leaves the park and travels south down Columbia County Road 133, before heading northwest on Columbia County Road 252, then north towards Lake City on U.S. 441. A quick side trip off of U.S. 441 allows riders to visit a scenic viewpoint on Alligator Lake.

The route passes Isabella Lake, Lake DeSoto, and some nice places to eat in downtown Lake City. Lake City also offers plenty of convenience stores. Riders make a loop around Lake De Soto. Benches along the lake are a great place to stop and take in the views of the lake and town. The route then heads north on N Marion Avenue through downtown Lake City to the intersection of N Marion Avenue and NE Bascom Norris Drive, where the route turns right. Bascom Norris Drive has a four-foot paved shoulder and also has an adjoining sidewalk. The route proceeds along Bascom Norris Drive across the railroad tracks where it makes a short jog onto Washington Street, follows approximately 100 yards of unpaved Seymour Road, then returns to pavement on Old Jacksonville Highway before it connects to Avalon Avenue/Country Club Road, which returns to Alligator Lake Recreation Area.

Those wishing to avoid the 100 yards of dirt road on Seymour Road can continue down Bascom Norris Road and turn right at U.S. 90 (Duval Street) to its intersection with Country Club Road. This segment of U.S. 90 has no paved shoulders but does have a sidewalk.
The Original Florida Tourism Task Force (dba Visit Natural North Florida) and the North Central Florida Regional Planning Council do not warrant the safety of the routes on this map for use by bicyclists. Bicyclists should use these routes only if they have the adequate skill level as bicyclists, and bicyclists must make that determination. All the roads shown are used by automobiles and trucks, and bicyclists assume the risks for their own safety when using the roads and/or routes indicated on this map. The Original Florida Tourism Task Force, the local governments in which these bicycle routes are located and the North Central Florida Regional Planning Council are not responsible for any damages whatsoever from its use.