Hi everyone, just thought I'd share our experience with alternative routes to 95 and the turnpike for traveling down to Key West or therebouts.On our way down we took SR441 from Vero all the way to SR27 where we went west and around the west side of Lake Okeechobee. You CANNOT see the lake from this road, there are 'scenic' trails which are small roads that allow you access to the top of the man-made rim around the lake. They are kind of steep and some are dirt roads. SR27 does take you through Clewiston and Belle Glade where you can take 80 East to West Palm to where 441 turns into SR7 and on down. There is more traffic on this road, but I must point out(due to our truck breaking down)that the Hampton Inn near the turnpike on Lake Worth Road is very worth the $99 charge/night. They have the MOST comfortable beds and rooms I have ever been in for a motel. They are very hospitable also and have a great free breakfast.On our way back, we took SR997 from Florida City up to where it runs into 98/441 and around the EAST side of the lake. You CANNOT see the lake from this road either, with the exception of one bridge where you get a short glimpse of how vast this great body of water is! They have the same 'scenic' routes. I don't reccommend taking this side due to the road being very torn up and not very bike friendly. It also takes you through some questionable areas that you may not want to be on a bike to go through. This is a relatively traffic-free route depending on when you're traveling, but beware that the majority is two-lane highways and even though the speed limit is 55 there are idiots that feel they must do at least 70 and try to pass whenever they can, we saw a couple of close calls. As I mentioned earlier, the road going down the WEST side, although longer, is at least paved better and has been repaired. Either way, make sure you can go without gas for a while, as for the majority of the ride it is nothing but farms, farms and more farms, and plenty of smelly cows. So don't let anyone fool you when they say there is no land in Florida!I don't reccommend riding this route or the Keys for that matter in the summer time. We rode mostly at night due to the weather being over 100 degrees during the day and considering in Key West we never got out of 2nd gear, it gets very very hot!!
This is a motorcycle ride in the state of Florida. This motorcycle route has 10 scenery characteristics and other road conditions to help you plan your road trip. This motorcycle map was created by crtr in July. Click here to see other Motorcycle Roads by crtr