General James A. Van Fleet State Trail
| General James A. Van Fleet State Trail | |
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IUCN category V (protected landscape/seascape)
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Mabel Trailhead's picnic shelter, a.k.a. Mabel Station.
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| Location | Lake, Polk and Sumter counties, United States |
| Nearest city | Lakeland, Florida |
| Coordinates | 28°28′52″N 81°56′02″W / 28.48111°N 81.93389°WCoordinates: 28°28′52″N 81°56′02″W / 28.48111°N 81.93389°W |
| Area | 29.2-mile (47.0 km) length |
| Governing body | Florida Department of Environmental Protection |
General James A. Van Fleet State Trail is a rail trail in Florida, named after General James A. Van Fleet, who was a distinguished combat commander in both World Wars and the Korean War.
It is protected as a Florida State Park and occupies a 29.2-mile (47.0 km) abandoned portion of the Seaboard Air Line Railroad's Florida Western and Northern corridor through Central Florida's Green Swamp area. It extends from Polk City in the south to Mabel in the north.
It passes through Bay Lake and crosses Lake, Polk and Sumter counties.
The entire 29.2-mile (47.0 km) length of the trail is paved approximately 12-foot (3.7 m) wide and is mostly straight, containing only one slight curve toward the southern end of the trail just north of the Polk City trailhead.
Among the wildlife that can be seen along the trail are egrets, herons and various raptors. Also sighted are white-tailed deer, Florida gopher tortoises, American alligators, raccoons and nine-banded armadillos.
Activities include walking, running, inline skating, hiking, horseback riding, biking, and viewing wildlife.
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