[1] As Florida's first rail trail, it was repurposed principally for bicycles, but pedestrians also use it.

[2] The former Charlotte Harbor and Northern Railway was abandoned in 1981 after the closure of the phosphate port on the south end of the island.

Bayard Sharp, an heir of the Du Pont family who controlled the Gasparilla Inn, saw the need for a bike path after one of his employees had been killed on a bicycle on the island.

It parallels Gasparilla Road from the causeway, passing behind the historic Charlotte Harbor and Northern Railway Depot a few blocks before reaching 1st Street.

At 1st Street it runs west through the downtown area and turns south to continue along Gulf Boulevard past Gasparilla Island Lights, terminating at Belcher Road and Gulf Boulevard.