West Orange Trail, Recreational trail in Orange County, Florida.
The West Orange Trail is a 22-mile (35 km) paved multi-use rail trail owned by Orange County Parks and Recreation. It runs from Killarney Station at the Lake/Orange county line east through downtown Oakland and Winter Garden, then north to Apopka, ending at Welch Road. Most of its length follows old railroad grades, including the Orange Belt Railway and Florida Midland Railroad, and it crosses the Florida Turnpike on a converted railroad bridge.
Most of the trail runs on former railroad grades. East of Oakland it uses the rights-of-way of two lines that ran side by side, the Orange Belt Railway and the Tavares and Gulf Railroad. North of Apopka it follows the old Florida Midland Railroad, which ended there around 1900. The downtown Apopka section, with a bridge over US 441, opened in June 2007.
The trail follows the old Orange Belt Railway and Tavares and Gulf Railroad grades, and in Winter Garden it runs down the median of Plant Street where the railroad once ran. The route passes through downtown Oakland at Mile 2 and downtown Winter Garden at Mile 5, where the Winter Garden Station sits at 455 E. Plant St.
Distances are measured east from Killarney Station, the mile zero marker at the Lake–Orange county line, with a marker every tenth of a mile for locating yourself in an emergency. Bike and skate rental is at Killarney Station; Chapin Station has basketball and tennis courts. Seven outposts between the four main stations add parking, and some have a drinking fountain and portable toilet.
The trail's mile markers sit every tenth of a mile, measured east from Killarney Station at mile zero, so a marker is always close at hand during an emergency. A spur off the main route leads to the Clarcona Horseman's Park Outpost on Damon Road.
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