Name: T. Mabry Carlton Reserve ride
Start: 2025-03-23T09:00:00-04:00
Location: T Mabry Carlton Jr Reserve

Join the club on this appx 50-mile ride. Gravel bikes or MTBs. Moderate pace with stops. Approximately 75 percent dirt/ gravel and 25 percent paved (paved trails/ roads). The ride will include primarily flat, hardpack gravel and double track with a 2 ½ mile section of single-track (with a bypass option) and other mixed terrain. Thanks to Sarasota County Off-Road Riders (SCORR) for designing/ maintaining the single-track trails at Carlton!
Acquired by Sarasota County in the early 1980s for environmental conservation and public drinking water supply, Carlton Reserve was historically owned by the Ringling brothers dating back to the 1920s who invested in large land parcels in eastern Sarasota County. The property was then purchased by the MacArthur Foundation and was known as Ringling–MacArthur Reserve.
Carlton Reserve consists of 24,565 acres, and boasts appx 100 miles of off-road trails including gravel/ dirt roads and single-track. The property provides protective natural lands for the Myakka River watershed and along with other nearby conservation lands, enhances water quality in the Charlotte Harbor Estuary. The property is part of a larger mosaic of surrounding conservation lands including: Myakka River State Park, Big Slough Preserve, Myakkahatchee Creek Park, Deer Prairie Creek Preserve, Shewe Ranch, Sleeping Turtles Preserve, and others. The route will lead through or adjacent to many of these properties and will also include an out and back trail to the Windy Sawgrass Camp.
Riders should be self-supported and accustomed to long rides in remote areas. Restroom and water are available near the trailhead, and additional toilet near mile 30. Bring plenty of hydration, food, sun screen, bug spray, tools, tubes and flat repair. Swamp Club member, Garrett Bagby, will be co-leading the ride, and has been biking Carlton Reserve for many years. Ride guide Rob DeGraaf began exploring Carlton and nearby lands around 25 years ago for work and pleasure. Rob is a Senior Environmental Scientist and past Author of Fat Tire Favorites, Guide to West-Central (and South Florida) Florida Off-Road Bicycling books, and a past director of the Florida Off-Road Bicycling Association (FORBA).