Next to the elementary school are tennis courts with parking and rest rooms. After a stretch of sand turning into high-rent housing, the trail ends abruptly at 3.5 miles. Across the road is a beachside parking lot. Already under way is a 7-mile bike path on the east end of the barrier island at Navarre Beach. The Panhandle's bike path visionaries would like to see the beach trails become part of a 40-mile loop of interconnecting paths.
Big dreamers go way back in the history of Pensacola Beach.
Before the founding of St. Augustine, there was explorer Don Tristan de Luna whose plan to create a colony of 1,400 Spaniards on the Gulf barrier beaches in 1559 ended after a hurricane destroyed their ships and killed their livestock. Although de Luna abandoned Pensacola Beach more than 440 years ago, his name remains on streets, high rises and real estate offices. Same goes for the Native Americans who met de Luna when he landed. There is plenty of scenic beauty for cyclists on Pensacola Beach. All rights reserved.