Ultra-marathon director urges paving of remaining 15 miles of Lost Trail and requests pedestrian bridges

Brendan Berry, race director for the annual 118-mile Lost Trail ultramarathon, urged the County Coalition to pursue paving and safety improvements on the trail that encircles Lake Okeechobee.

Berry said he has run the event for 20 years and described the trail as generally in “exceptional” condition where completed, but he identified a roughly 15-mile unpaved stretch in the lake’s northwest corner that he described as rough, rocky and hazardous to walkers, runners, bicyclists and parents pushing strollers. He said the race route requires runners to use sections of highway and narrow vehicle bridges where no pedestrian lane exists; he asked the coalition to build dedicated pedestrian bridges across Taylor Creek, the Kissimmee River and the Indian Prairie Canal, pointing to a recent pedestrian bridge at Harney Pond as an example.

A coalition member, Mitchell Latsman of Friends of the Everglades, clarified that requests for bridge construction and lane improvements may fall under local metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs) and local transportation agencies rather than the coalition itself.

Why this matters: Improvements would affect public recreation, safety for trail users and connectivity for a long-distance recreational route that also draws visitors and community events.

Ending: Berry asked for the coalition to investigate paving and bridge options; coalition staff and members suggested taking the request to appropriate local transportation authorities and MPOs for engineering and funding assessment.