Tamiami Trail questions

[brianreynolds]

I am contemplating a road trip to Florida after Christmas.  One of the goals will be to visit counties.  Yes, I am one of those who tally counties on mob-rule.com
I prefer to "pass through"  counties; that is, I like to exit the county in a different location that where I entered.  Silly?  I suppose.  But we all have our self-imposed rules, don't we?  Nipping a corner is enough to count it though.
The maps I have consulted thus far are ambiguous about US-41 and Monroe County.  Does anyone have the definitive answer whether US-41 actually enters Monroe County?
There appears to be an alternative.  On US-41 Tamiami Trail, just west of the Shark Valley Visitor Center, the road angles to the northeast.  A local road continues west into Monroe County, reconnecting  with US-41 about 20 miles out.
Is this an old routing of US-41?  If so, it might be worth traveling for historical reasons.  What is the travel quality of this road?  Is this a place where a yankee tourist might enter and never emerge?  Advice please.
--
Brian Reynolds
Hastings Michigan

[formulanone]

There's never been any sign denoting that Tamiami Trail passes through Monroe County. My guess is that Barron Collier intended it that way, since he financed a great deal of the route, he wanted it to stay within his county's lands as much as possible.

If the weather has been dry for some time (and it usually is during December), you can try the Loop Road section that crosses in "mainland" Monroe County, but from my experience, only advisable with a vehicle designed for rough terrain or off-road use. A pickup would be sufficient in most cases.

https://www.aaroads.com/forum/index.php?top6650.msg14019#msg148019

One very dry December, I tackled it with no major problems. Another time, I attempted Loop Road in the summer, and had to turn around (the roadway resembled a canal). The photos in the link above were from November of 2011. It likely resembles what most rural roads we're like 100+ years ago.

While the up-close view of Everglades National Park is like nothing else, if you want to play it safe, nobody's ever been disappointed with Overseas Highway (US 1) in the Keys.

[mefailenglish]

I'm about 99% sure the Tamiami Trail does not enter Monroe County. 

If you want to enter in one spot and exit in another, take US 1 down to the keys, then Card Sound Road (CR 905) on your trip back north.

[NE2]

According to http://data.labins.org/2003/SurveyData/LandRecords/CCR/detail.cfm?Docnum=2136%2E00000&Township=54&Range=35 there's a 1" iron pipe in the pavement marking the section (and county) corner.

And this is interesting: http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=25.804721,-80.872421&spn=0.008809,0.016512&gl=us&t=m&z=17&layer=c&cbll=25.805101,-80.872812&panoid=_ajb7rVMRmcYUwgP2Z1z_g&cbp=12,359.79,,1,20.61
If you park there and walk to the trees you should be in Monroe County.

[dfilpus]

It looks like the tricounty corner is on the north side of the road. Since this is the northeast corner of Monroe County, the road has to cross through Monroe County.

[NE2]

It looks like the tricounty corner is on the north side of the road. Since this is the northeast corner of Monroe County, the road has to cross through Monroe County.

The only evidence for that being the exact location is the spray painted text, which may be incorrect. If I wanted to be sure I'd find the iron pipe.

[brianreynolds]

It looks like the tricounty corner is on the north side of the road. Since this is the northeast corner of Monroe County, the road has to cross through Monroe County.

The only evidence for that being the exact location is the spray painted text, which may be incorrect. If I wanted to be sure I'd find the iron pipe.

I have had this peculiar interest/obsession with roads and road maps, and other road-related matters since I was a child in the mid-1950s.  Trying to parlay this OCD into a marketable skill, I have been a licensed professional land surveyor since the mid-1980s.  I am very familiar with the  "pipe in the road" to mark a section corner (which in this case is also happens to be a government survey township corner, which in this case is also happen to be a country tri-corner).

I am also quite familiar with the corner recording forms, having filed over 2,000 of them over the past 25+ years.  All of this information is really good stuff.

I am about 2/3 sure I will be traveling to Florida.  Obviously, that means there is a 33%± chance this road trip will fall through.  If I get there, be assured that I will stop and look for this corner.  Whether I find it or not, I will report my findings back here in this trread.

My thanks to all for your insights.

--
Brian Reynolds
Hastings Michigan

[Alps]

USGS quads suggest that the road does indeed clip the corner of Monroe, at least traveling eastbound. I've counted it as a clinched county after a close examination.

[realjd]

Is Loop Road really that poorly maintained that you need a 4x4 or truck? It's on my list of must drive roads, but I drive a sedan.

Why not make a quick jaunt to Key Largo if you're in the Miami area? It violates your pass-thru county rule, but Monroe County could justifiably count as an exception since it really had only one way in and out.

[brianreynolds]

Is Loop Road really that poorly maintained that you need a 4x4 or truck? It's on my list of must drive roads, but I drive a sedan.

Why not make a quick jaunt to Key Largo if you're in the Miami area? It violates your pass-thru county rule, but Monroe County could justifiably count as an exception since it really had only one way in and out.

The road through the keys is on my list of "must drive" roads, but I'll save that one for another road trip.  I would like for my wife to be along for that trip.  I'm pretty sure she would enjoy that as much as I would.
For my travels in December (and possibly on into January) I will be flying (at extraordinarily low altitude) solo.  My style of travel and my goals sometimes don't align well with my wife's.  She has no interest in (and not much tolerance for) visiting counties for the sake of visiting counties.
Some of you will already be familiar with the Extra Milers Club.  These are folks who take their visits to counties seriously.  Well, maybe not all that seriously.  After all, the goal is to have fun.  Visiting counties is just a means toward that end.  I have visited their website a couple dozen times, and have come within a whisker of joining more than once.  Eventually, I will.  It's inevitable.
The reason I bring this up is that I enjoy (and wholeheartedly subscribe to) their (unofficial?) motto.   "...because the shortest distance between two points is no fun!"  
I sense that I am taking the conversation into an area that is not geographically specific.  Rather than be redirected by the moderator, I'll continue this in the General Highways section.
However, I am working on a proposed itinerary for my Florida travels, and am about 60% done with that.  I'll stop back with specifics.  As always, I am open to suggestion from those who know about alternate routes, local eats, and (The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly) points of interest.
--
Brian Reynolds
Hastings Michigan

[NJRoadfan]

It looks like the tricounty corner is on the north side of the road. Since this is the northeast corner of Monroe County, the road has to cross through Monroe County.

Marker in question: http://goo.gl/maps/Imn49

Looks like that house off the road there is in Monroe County. You can always ring the doorbell and ask 'em where their tax bill comes from!

[formulanone]

Is Loop Road really that poorly maintained that you need a 4x4 or truck? It's on my list of must drive roads, but I drive a sedan.

About a third of it is paved, another third of it could be driven on in just about any reasonable vehicle, but the part in the middle requires dry conditions or ground clearance. I think also having a narrow car and patience helped, in my case.

[realjd]

My wife's Murano could handle that, especially during the dry season.

[kphoger]

My wife's Murano could handle that, especially during the dry season.

A road bike could probably handle that, as long as you know how to handle it.

[tvketchum]

Collier Seminole State Park has a Bay City Walking Dredge on display, which was used to build the Tamaimi Trail/US 41. It is one of the last known survining exaples of  machines once common in swampland areas throughout the world used to build the roads to connect to the rest of the 'dry' world.