Nature Coast

Continuing our Nature Coast road trip, we headed to Fort Island Trail, another scenic drive in Citrus County.  Located just south of the city of Crystal River, this drive includes stops on the Gulf and on the river.

All the way at the end of Ft. Island Trail is a boat ramp directly on the Gulf.

Next we stopped at a fishing pier which includes a boardwalk.  One part of the boardwalk goes to the Ft. Island Trail beach–a public swimming beach on the Gulf.  Thanks to the numerous septic tanks in the area, this beach is quite often closed because of e-coli contamination.  Not a place that I send our guests to swim!

Heading back towards 19, on the north side of the road there is a public park and boat ramp onto the Crystal River.

That’s the end of this road trip.  If the weather stays wonderful, we’ll be hitting more beaches and parks in the weeks to come.

Since the weather was so great last weekend, Terry and I decided to take a Nature Coast road trip.

My first drive on the Ozello Trail was probably over 30 years ago.  An acquaintance had  recommended going to Peck’s Old Port Cove for seafood.  Since that visit, very little has changed on the drive.  Just north of Homosassa Springs, the 9-mile road is full of curves and goes through oak hammocks and salt marshes.  Great views and a fun drive–especially if you have a little red sports car!

Located at the very end of the trail, the Ozello Community Park includes several picnic tables and a boat ramp.

Peck’s Old Port Cove continues to be a popular restaurant on the trail.  While we didn’t eat lunch there this time, we have often brought out-of-state visitors for the drive, the food, and the view:

A couple snaps on the way back to the main road:

Our road trip on the Nature Coast continues on Thursday!