Lake Lafayette Trails, Florida

Project Type: Design
Length: 5 miles in 2004
Use: mountain bike
Dimensions: 18" to 36"

At first glance, the new Lafayette Heritage Trail City Park in Tallahassee looks like a quaint neighborhood park with a lake view and a small kiddy playground. In reality, it is a premier North Florida trailhead at the center point of a new mixed-use trail system that branches out over 10 miles in both directions covering nearly 2,000 acres of contiguous parklands and conservation easements.

Many locals are familiar with the 8-mile long Cadillac Bike Trail, which resides within the now opened Lafayette Heritage Trail Park. In an effort to make the Cadillac more sustainable, fun, and scenic, some reroutes have been designed. Trail Solutions worked with staff and volunteers to start implementing the reroutes. A number of full bench sections and a few structures were built as a result. The new segments reflect current best trail practices and are good examples of how trails can be built on steep slopes with minimal long-term impact and nominal maintenance needs. This is important because many Florida land managers assume it is not possible to responsibly install challenging singletrack trails on sensitive side slopes, but in the red clay hills of Tallahassee it is entirely possible.