Celebrating Belleview: The Newest Florida Trail Gateway Community

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The Florida Trail Association welcomes Belleview as the newest Florida Trail Gateway Community! On February 6, the Belleview City Commission unanimously approved a proclamation which Mayor Tammy C. Moore signed. Belleview, “The City with Small Town Charm,” is a historic community in southern Marion County just a few miles south of the Marjorie Harris Carr Cross Florida Greenway.

On Saturday February 24, join us for our movable celebration of the designation of Belleview as a Florida Trail Gateway Community. The day kicks off with coffee and muffins from Belleview coffee shop B.D. Beans Café at 8:15 AM at the Santos Trailhead, off US 441 on SE 80th St. At 8:30, Kenneth Smith will lead a short hike out to the historic bridge piers in Santos. For those who want to wander farther, we’ll caravan to the Land Bridge Trailhead on CR 475A and take a guided hike along the Florida Trail to the Land Bridge over Interstate 75 and the historic canal diggings.

Florida Trail Gateway Communities provide destinations around which you can plan your outdoor recreation. Head to a Gateway Community for a weekend or more and set up your base camp at a local campground, or enjoy creature comforts at a motel or bed and breakfast. You’ll find hometown restaurants, shops, and other in-town amenities to complement your outdoor forays on the Florida Trail and other trails—hiking, biking, paddling, birding, and equestrian. Get to know the backroads and byways and genuine friendliness of small town Florida—visit a Florida Trail Gateway Community!

The Florida Trail is Florida’s own National Scenic Trail, a 1,400-mile footpath across Florida in partnership between the nonprofit Florida Trail Association and its volunteers; the federal manager, the USDA Forest Service; and land management agencies throughout the state.
For more about the Florida Trail and the Gateway Community program, visit www.floridatrail.org.

FTA Staff @ February 20, 2007