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Palatka and the St. John’s River via
Emeralda Marsh
(about 170 miles
roundtrip starting and ending in Leesburg)
Palatka
is an old Florida city, incorporated over 150 years ago, and lies
along a bend in the St. Johns River, about halfway to Jacksonville.
It has persevered despite a number of major fires and wars and is
known as the "Gem City of the St. Johns River." (Key: US—Federal
Highway; SR—State Road; CR—County Road)
- Depart Gator HD
south on US441 (get in far-left lane).
- At 1st
traffic light (less than 1 mile from Gator HD) turn left on to
SR44.
- Travel east on
SR44. Several miles up the road you will go through a traffic
light.
- Just past the
traffic light, turn left off SR44 on to Emeralda Avenue (there is
a BP Service station at the corner of Emeralda Avenue and SR44).
- Go to the stop
sign and turn left on to Emeralda Island Road.
- Continue on
Emeralda Isle Road through the marsh and lakes (it winds around
and includes several hairpin curves).
- At intersection of
Emeralda Isle Road and CR452, continue straight across CR452.
Emeralda Isle Road is now called Em-En-El Grove Road.
- At stop sign
(intersection of Em-En-El Grove Road and Thomas Boat Landing Road)
turn left on to Thomas Boat Landing Road.
- At the ‘Y’
intersection on Thomas Boat Landing Road, stay to the right.
- At the stop sign
turn right on to CR450 and travel east to Umatilla.
- Turn left on to
SR19 at the traffic light and travel north on SR19 to Palatka.
- At end of SR19
(intersection of SR19 and US17) turn left on to US17.
- Travel
approximately ½ mile and turn right at the large billboard sign
for Corky Bell’s Restaurant. Ride down that road, cross over the
railroad tracks and continue straight into the parking area for
the marina and restaurant (the entrance to the parking area is
directly in front of you as the road turns sharply to the left).
If you don’t have a
hankering for lunch on the river, there are a number of restaurants
in Palatka along SR19.
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