The route covers approximately 79 miles through Marion, Citrus and Hernando counties, crossing from expanding suburban communities into vast forests, rolling terrain and remote rural settlements in west central Florida. The ride connects communities such as Dunnellon, Citrus Springs, Pine Ridge, Beverly Hills, Lecanto and Lake Lindsey, along with numerous ghost towns and protected natural areas surrounding the Citrus Wildlife Management Area.
The journey begins in Dunnellon, a town founded during the late nineteenth century railroad and phosphate mining boom in Florida. The discovery of major phosphate deposits rapidly transformed the region, while the Silver Springs, Ocala and Gulf Railroad connected the area to the rest of the state. The route passes through the small historic downtown before crossing the Withlacoochee River into Citrus County.
Farther ahead lies Citrus Springs, a massive subdivision created by the Mackle Brothers Company during Florida’s twentieth century real estate expansion. Although originally designed with tens of thousands of residential lots, much of the community remains partially undeveloped and surrounded by forest. The ride continues through Pine Ridge, Beverly Hills, Black Diamond and Citrus Hills, suburban communities built among gentle hills, springs and wooded landscapes uncommon in Florida’s typically flat terrain.
The route proceeds toward Lecanto near the former ghost town of Viana, a settlement dating back to the late nineteenth century. Lecanto originally emerged as a small rural community surrounded by pine forests and farmland. Today it remains relatively quiet compared to the heavily urbanized coastal sections of Citrus County. Beyond this point the landscape changes dramatically upon entering the vast Citrus Wildlife Management Area.
This enormous protected reserve contains pine forests, wetlands, abandoned quarries and numerous caves formed within Florida’s limestone terrain. The area also preserves traces of vanished settlements such as Mount Lee, Pumkinsville and Mannsfield. For several miles the route crosses roads surrounded almost entirely by wilderness and protected land.
After crossing into Hernando County, the route reaches the historic crossroads of Ringgold, a former stagecoach stop and trading settlement where a few original structures still survive. Farther ahead the ride continues toward Lake Lindsey, a tiny rural community surrounded by forests, conservation lands and scattered lakes. The area remains isolated and preserves a deeply rural atmosphere shaped by churches, secondary roads and agricultural land.
The final section returns toward Dunnellon along the same rural corridor through forests, hills and former settlements of inland Florida. Throughout the entire ride, the route reflects the strong contrast between modern suburban expansion and some of the last large natural landscapes still surviving in west central Florida, many now threatened by new highway and development projects.
