The Punta Gorda Linear Park is a mile-long

rail trail A rail trail or railway walk is a shared-use path on a Right of way#Rail right of way, railway right of way. Rail trails are typically constructed after a railway has been abandoned and the track has been removed but may also share the rail corr ...

Punta Gorda, Florida Punta Gorda (; ), a city located in Southwest Florida, is the county seat of Charlotte County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 19,471, up from 16,641 at the 2010 census ...

. It runs from Cross Street (

US 41 U.S. Route 41, also U.S. Highway 41 (US 41), is a major north–south United States Numbered Highway System, United States Numbered Highway that runs from Miami, Florida, to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Until 1949, the part i ...

) near Helen Avenue southeast though a residential neighborhood to

Fishermen's Village Shenzhen is a prefecture-level city in the province of Guangdong, China. A special economic zone, it is located on the east bank of the Pearl River estuary on the central coast of Guangdong, bordering Hong Kong to the south, Dongguan to the no ...

. Despite its short length, it connects to the

Harborwalk Harborwalk is a multi-use recreational trail located in Punta Gorda which runs along the Charlotte Harbor and the Peace River. Route description Beginning at Adrienne Street near Bayfront Health Punta Gorda on Marion Avenue, the mostly con ...

at Fishermen's Village, which runs an additional two and a half miles northeast along the

Peace River The Peace River () is a river in Canada that originates in the Rocky Mountains of northern British Columbia and flows to the northeast through northern Alberta. The Peace River joins the Athabasca River in the Peace-Athabasca Delta to form the ...

. It also connects to Punta Gorda's Shared-Use Path along Shreve Street.

History

The Punta Gorda Linear Park runs along a former Florida Southern/

Atlantic Coast Line Railroad The Atlantic Coast Line Railroad was a United States Class I railroad formed in 1900, though predecessor railroads had used the ACL brand since 1871. In 1967, it merged with long-time rival Seaboard Air Line Railroad to form the Seaboard Coast ...

right of way. First built in 1886, this railroad line was the Florida Southern's southernmost trackage (the rail line is still in service east of US 41 and is now operated by Seminole Gulf Railway). It was the terminus of the rail line until 1904 when it was extended to

Fort Myers A fortification (also called a fort, fortress, fastness, or stronghold) is a military construction designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Lati ...

. The rail line provided service to the historic Long Dock in Charlotte Harbor (located near the site of the Isles Yacht Club) from 1886 to 1897. Some of the line was reactivated in 1928 to serve the Maud Street City Dock (which is the dock that Fishermen's Village resides on) up until the early 1970s.

References

{{reflist

External links

TrailLink profile for Punta Gorda Linear Park
Hiking trails in Florida Rail trails in Florida Punta Gorda, Florida Parks in Charlotte County, Florida