If you're driving back to Florida from one of those dreary Gulf coast destinations like Biloxi or New Orleans, chances are (unless you're unfortunate enough to live in Pensacola) you'll be heading east on Interstate 10 through Santa Rosa County. Where, if you're feeling road-weary, you can stop at the rest area near mile marker 30 and walk on the "Stretch Your Legs Trail."The trail is a narrow concrete loop that meanders around the perimeter of the rest area. Several signs are posted that give the length of the loop at 0.267 miles. Clearly someone out there has a compulsion about precision. The trail passes between parking areas and the rest rooms twice, which means traffic on the trail crosses traffic heading to and from the plumbing. Because of that I wouldn't recommend running on the trail, so forget about staging a four-lap "Nautical Mile Championship of North Florida" at the rest area. It is a good place to, well, stretch your legs, though, fighting fatigue that leads to auto accidents. Someone should be hitting up auto insurance companies to fund these at every highway rest area.
This isn't the only such loop on I-10. About another 30 miles east, the Okaloosa County rest area at mile marker 59 (eastbound) has an identical 0.267 mile loop. According to the Florida Department of Transportation, the westbound rest areas in Okaloosa and Santa Rosa Counties each have similar 0.256 mile walking trails. That's it for Interstate 10 in Florida, except for the Fanny Bay Trail in Baker County at the westbound rest area at mile marker 318. A real trail through the Osceola National Forest, the Fanny Bay Trail is in a league of its own. I still dream about the Florida Division of Forestry and the Florida Department of Transportation getting together to put together a similar trail in the Talquin State Forest next to the I-10 rest area in Leon County at mile marker 194. But I'm not holding my breath.Links:
- The Santa Rosa County I-10 rest area at mile marker 30
http://www.dot.state.fl.us/statemaintenanceoffice/Rest_Area_Listing.shtm#Santa Rosa County Rest Area - The Okaloosa County 1-10 rest area at mile marker 59
http://www.dot.state.fl.us/statemaintenanceoffice/Rest_Area_Listing.shtm#Okaloosa County Rest Area - The Fanny Bay Trail at the I-10 rest area (westbound) at mile marker 318
http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2009/09/fanny-bay-trail-osceola-national-forest.html
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