A 6 day 310 mile bike packing (camping) tour of central Florida. Starting in Inverness we will loop over to the Seminole Forest and back. The surfaces are bike path, road, sand road, single track, double track and forest roads that will require a wide tire for many sections of the route.
The 2024 participants agreed on a tire width recommendation: 45 mm is minimum and will require solid skills, wider is always better. I will be riding my 2.6 Mezcal shod adventure bike again (which is overkill, but plush)
There is a document that contains a route map and additional details on the event.
Event Fee $113 payable upon registration. With Fee payment you will receive an invitation to RWGPS route map with the specific route for download to your navigation device.
Day 1 – Holder Mine Camp to Santos Camp and Trailhead (50 miles)
The State park campground is near mile 50 from our start location at the Holder Mine SP camp. There are multiple Mtn bike trails here so it is called “Mtn. Bike Heaven”.
https://www.floridastateparks.org/parks-and-trails/santos-trailhead-campground
Day 2 – Santos to Volusia (54 miles)
We will stop at Silver Springs SP at mile 8, then continue on to Volusia.
Our campsite for day 2 is St. John River Camp https://www.stjohnsrivercampground.com/
Day 3 – Volusia to Seminole Forest (41 miles)
Our campsite for day 3 is Seminole Wind Horse camp – showers, restroom and pavilion. https://seminolewindhorsecamp.com/
Day 4 - Seminole Winds to Lake Apopka (51 miles)
Our campsite for day 4 is a Hip camp just off the route half way around Lake Apopka. Planned stop at mile 25 to take a dip in Wekiwa Springs. This campsite more primitive, but it is a perfect way point and takes all riders around Lake Apopka to view the gators and wildlife.
Day 5 – Lake Apopa to Ridge Manor RV Park (64 miles)
This is the longest day, but includes the rest of Lake Apopka and the bike path around Lake Minneola. Ridge Manor RV park has offered an open area for us to camp and access to showers and shelter. https://www.ridgemanorcampground.com
Day 6 – Ridge Manor to Finish location (45 miles)
This is a shortened day with the finish is the start location at Holder Mine SP campsites outside of Inverness. The route winds through the Withlacoochee State Forest and the Citrus WMA for some great back country adventure.