Green Swamp Loop

The Green Swamp Loop is recognized as a West Central Florida favorite motorcycle encounter in 2upTouring.com.  Situated between Tampa and Orlando, Green Swamp is a wilderness preserve covering nearly 110,000 acres. Containing over 71 miles of unimproved dirt roads, the preserve is best known for dual sporting and mountain biking.

The Green Swamp Loop circumvents the preserve, covering over 130 miles of mostly older farm and county roads with a few state roads here and there. Many of the roads don't even show up on my Garmin Nuvi so it's a good idea to have written directions as a backup. Ride directions can be found by clicking HERE.

I did a solo run on the Green Swamp Loop yesterday covering about 175 miles including my ride up and back from North Tampa. It's a route that offers a good deal of twisties and sweepers and, in some areas, some uncharacteristic (for Florida) elevation. Keep a keen eye out for collections of sand in the turns though.

One thing you'll note running the Green Swamp Loop is that you seem to be constantly under a canopy of trees.

There are plenty of scenic places to stop along the way.

The route even cuts across my favorite bicycle trail. The Withlacoochee State Bicycle Trail is 46 miles from Dade City/Trilby up to Dunellon. The halfway point is Floral City.

I had one fueling stop toward the end of this loop. I ran 238 miles on the tank of premium and the range indicator said I had another 30 miles. I'm not sure I would attempt that range, but I'm happy that the Versys can cover some significant miles between fueling. Anyway, the fuel stop took 5.04 gallons for 47.22 miles per gallon; a little less than my previous reading of 48.64.

This trip took me up to 635 total miles on the Versys 1000 LT. It's run smoothly without a hitch or a hiccup.