Black Lake Road

[Nostromo]

I am sorry to bring this subject again, but I have been looking at the excellent Trakker map of the Orlando area and unless there is a catch that I am missing, by far the best short cut from the US27/192 villas to WDW seems to be to take the Black Lake Road that arrives long before even Sherberth Road while going east on the US-192. From what it looks like, Black Lake Road is an easy left turn from the 192 before the latter 'dips' into Osceola County. By keeping to the left fork soon after the aforementioned turn, one seems to go either direct to the entrance of AK or drive past the park to merge into Osceola Parkway. It all seems so straightforward on the map...or is there more to it than meets the eye?

PS: This left fork to Black Lake Road seems to be only in the latest maps ie late 2003 and later. It does not even appear on the Mapquest site. Perhaps it is a new road, built to facilitate those going to AK and beyond. But on Trakker, there is definitely a left fork from the original Black Lake Road that merges directly with Osceola Parkway just past AK.

[jeffc]

black lake road runs off the 192 onto sherbeth road..

by taking black lake road you miss some lights on the 192..

in the high season this will save you time but in the quiet periods its longer than going down the 192 to disney.

[george]

Is the Trakker map of the Orlando area on line or in paper form? Sounds like a must have.

[brianh]

From my recollection Black Lake Road is signed just before the bend in the 192. The junction, which has signals, is just after the start of the bend. You will have to follow the narrow winding course of Black Lake Road and the junction with Sherbeth Road is quite sharp and can sometimes take a while to negotiate. It is therefore only worthwhile if the 192 is busy this far back. Some maps show a more direct route immediately after turning onto Black Lake Road - the direct route has been blocked off, probably since the construction of Animal Kingdom Lodge.

[Seminole]

The last time I was on Sherbeth I was caught in a mile long traffic jam where it connects to the 192. It is only two lane. So the word is out about this "short cut". I chatted with a deputy sheriff there who said that tourists really should not use either Black Lake or Sherbeth because both roads are narrow, winding, Black Lake is very poorly lit and Sherbeth has an optical illusion at night where oncoming traffic appears at one point to be in your lane. The intersection of Black Lake and Sherbeth is an extreme hazard. It is nearly impossible to see traffic on Sherbeth heading to the 192 if you are stopped on Black Lake. The locals use the road to come and go from work and have no patience with visitors as you may find out if at night you have someone flashing lights behind you. Unless and until the county makes much needed road improvements, please be very cautious informing guests about the use of these two roads.

[Nostromo]

George, the tarkker map I referred to is called ORLANDO AREA STREET ATLAS and is a paper map available from www.trakkermaps.com It is an absolute must have at $19.95.

People, in the first place I am talking about using Black Lake Road in broad daylight, in the morning while GOING to the parks in the rush hour. When we return, it will be 7pm or later and so well past peak time; we can then just drive through World Drive into US-192 and continue west to the villas.

Second, I am not talking about the windy bit of Black Lake Road that goes towards Silver Lake area and joins Sherberth Road. There now appears to be a LEFT FORK to Black Lake Road soon after its origin at 192 (it may even have a different name now). This left fork appears to go past the entrance to the main drive of AK and merge into Osceola Parkway. As I said, it is not on many older maps, including non-updated on-line maps.

[orlandobabe]

Nostromo is right. There's no problem using it by day. On an evening when leaving the park and going to the villas west of Disney-nothing could be simpler than coming down World Drive, joining 192 west-where you just filter into the traffic.

We've come from Downtown Disney and been back in Lindfields in 20 mins on an evening.

That's not bad going-with Downtown Disney being further in!

[Ray&Sarah]

You could try online sources for driving directions for no cost!

[Nostromo]

quote:Originally posted by hayter

You could try online sources for driving directions for no cost!

Yes, true. You could also get print-outs, but how many? Even if you manage to get ALL the maps and routes, think of the number of pages and the ink cost! At $19.95 this Trakker Map is excellent value and one of the best investments that I ever made. It is an excellent large scale map and can always be sitting next to you in the car to be used if you're 'stuck' at any time of the day or night. A lot easier than struggling with a laptop on some byway, I would say.

[tinkerbell]

We ALWAYS use Black Lake Road no matter what time of day!