The Amelia Island Perimeter route follows the runnable perimeter of Amelia Island. It includes approximately 16.5 miles of beach running along the east side, and then a combination of public roads/sidewalks (10.5 miles) and the paved Amelia Island Trail/East Coast Greenway (5.5 miles) along the west side.
Amelia Island is a barrier island at the northeastern tip of the state of Florida. It is the northernmost barrier island on the Florida Atlantic Coast, and the southernmost island in the Sea Islands chain that stretches from South Carolina to Florida on the East Coast. Amelia Island is 13 miles long, and 4 miles wide at its widest point. Beaches stretch from the southern tip of the island, along the east side, and up to the northern tip of the. The west side of the island is marsh that borders the intracoastal waterway.
The route starts and ends at the intersection of Front and Centre streets in historic downtown Fernandina Beach. From the start, runners head south along the west side of the island until they reach Amelia Island State Park. At Amelia Island State Park they run on to the beach and then follow the coast northward, eventually passing around Fort Clinch on the northernmost point of the island. Runners continue to follow the coast until they reach the Dee Dee Bartels boat ramp, at which point they are able to run through that parking lot and access North 14th Street. From there the route continues to follow public roads southward until runners reach the finish at the intersection of Front and Centre.
Along the route runners are taken past or through most of Amelia Island's primary landmarks:
- Historic Downtown and marina
- 2 operating paper mills
- Amelia Island State Park
- The Ritz Carlton and Omni resorts
- Fort Clinch state park (including the civil war-era fort)
- Historic Old Town Fernandina
- Port of Fernandina
- Over 16 miles of beach and coastline
- Submitted by Matt Mueller
