Springs and Spirits Mixed Surfaces – Weeki Wachee Preserve & The “Chaz”

Name: Springs and Spirits Mixed Surfaces – Weeki Wachee Preserve & The “Chaz”
Start: 2026-04-18T08:30:00-04:00
End: 2026-04-18T14:00:00-04:00
Location: Weekiwachee Preserve, 2345 Osowaw Blvd, Spring Hill, FL 34607, USA

Schedule

Sat Apr 18 2026 at 08:30 am to 02:00 pm

UTC-04:00

Location

Weekiwachee Preserve, 2345 Osowaw Blvd, Spring Hill, FL 34607, USA | Spring Hill, FL

Join us on this appx 47 to 50-mile mixed surfaces ride. Gravel bikes with 40mm+ width tires, or fast rolling MTBs/ ATBs. 80% unpaved, 20% paved. The paved road riding is shared with vehicles. Moderate pace with stops. Pedaling is mandatory, swimming is optional…
The route will primarily consist of hard-pack dirt roads and double-track, and will take us through Weeki Wachee Preserve then north to Linda Pedersen Park, onto paved roads then into Chaz for a gravelly loop and dip in the springs (if you’re so inclined), and then back south to Weeki Wachee Preserve. Connecting between Weeki and Chaz requires riding appx 4-mi of paved roads (each way), so if you’re not comfortable with riding paved roads shared with vehicles this is not your ride.
Weeki Wachee, named by the Creek Indians - meaning Little Spring, is a diverse 11,206-acre preserve which along with other adjoining conservation lands in the Springs Coast provides habitat to a wide variety of plants and animals including the Florida Black Bear. Around 950-acres of the property was mined for limestone by W.L. Cobb Construction from 1981 to 1995, which left the remnant deep clear lakes at the preserve. The SWFWMD acquired the property in 1995 and began environmental restoration activities which are ongoing. Trails in the preserve consist primarily of hard-pack dirt/ gravel roads with views of lakes, wetlands and forested areas. We’ll be riding from Weeki northbound to Chaz.
There’s a lot to digest with Chassahowitzka WMA (aka “Chaz”), from an old Seminole name meaning “pumpkin hanging place” to the historic logging ghost town of Centralia (1910 – 1917), the Chaz may be one of the most unique conservation lands open for bicycling in Florida. At approximately 34,000 acres, the Chaz consists of the largest coastal hardwood swamp south of the Suwannee River and forms a vital link amongst other conservation lands which span hundreds of miles from Pasco Co. to Apalachicola. The property consists of hardwood swamp, wet hammocks, sandhill scrub and pine flatwoods.
In Chaz we’ll stop by Eagle’s Nest Sink and Buford Spring (bring swimsuit if you plan to take a dip) – there are restrooms at Eagle’s Nest but none at Buford. If time allows, we’ll stop by a couple lesser-known springs in the area. Conditions will be a mix of shady forested trails and open sunny dirt roads. Terrain is mostly flat with a couple small rollers. Little to no sand on the route but there could be some areas of mud and ponded water along the rugged historic Bayport Road section (appx 2-mi) depending on conditions leading up to the ride. We’ll pass by NJoy Spirits Distillery (7237 Wild Buck Rd) which has food and libations – say hello to Kevin for me. Bring daytime tail lights and Garmin/ Wahoo radar. Bring plenty of hydration, snacks/ lunch, sun screen, bug spray, tools, tubes and/or tubeless repair kit.
With the popularity of gravel cycling, it has been interesting to see cyclists returning to many of these properties such as the Chaz and Weeki which some of us were exploring in the 1990s. Longer distance adventure rides were also a “thing” back then, so get back out to explore these large properties (WMAs, NWRs, WMD lands, State/ National Forests, etc.). Last time I checked, the old trails and dirt roads we biked in the 1990s are still there. Ride Guide Rob DeGraaf is a Senior Environmental Scientist and Author of Fat Tire Favorites, Guide to West-Central and South Florida Off-Road Bicycling books, and a past director of the Florida Off-Road Bicycling Association (FORBA). Please post any questions under this ride Event or send me a DM.