Ordinary golf carts may use only designated golf cart roadways posted at 30 mph or less, which in Welaka means the streets the town has designated: Sportsman's Harbor, Second Avenue, Fourth Avenue and Front Street in their entirety, plus Oak, Shell and Palmetto Streets. A street-legal LSV may use any road posted at 35 mph or less, and every road inside Welaka town limits is posted 35 mph or under. In an LSV, the whole town is open.
The rest of this page walks the map.
The streets in the ordinance
Florida allows golf carts only on roadways designated for them with a posted limit of 30 mph or less. The town has designated these as the primary collector streets for golf cart operation in Welaka:
- Sportsman's Harbor
- Second Avenue, in its entirety
- Fourth Avenue, in its entirety
- Front Street, in its entirety
- Oak Street
- Shell Street
- Palmetto Street
If you are on a private, unregistered golf cart, that list is your world.
The crossovers
An ordinary golf cart cannot travel along County Road 309 or County Road 308B. It can cross them, at the specific intersections the town marked as crossovers.
In a street-legal LSV you are not limited to those marked crossovers inside town, but the advice holds anyway. Treat a county road crossing the way you would a railroad track. Stop. Look both ways twice. Cross at a right angle and keep moving. Traffic on 309 is not expecting a cart.
What changes in a street-legal LSV
Florida Statute 316.2122 gives a low-speed vehicle any street posted at 35 mph or less.
Inside Welaka town limits, that is every road. Not seven streets and a couple of crossovers. Every road in town.
So when you rent from us, the question stops being "can I drive there" and becomes "do I want to." The residential grid, the runs down toward the water, the connection between wherever you are staying and the boat ramp. All of it.
The limit shows up outside town. Every route out of Welaka includes stretches posted above 35, and an LSV cannot travel along one of those. You may cross a faster road at an intersection. You cannot drive down it. Leave the cart in town and take the car if your plan involves a run between towns.
So we bring it to you. We live here, and hauling a cart to where somebody is staying is a short trip in a town this size. Free inside Welaka city limits, and by arrangement to Fruitland, Georgetown, Pomona Park, Crescent City, Palatka, East Palatka and St. Augustine. Call (386) 603-0295 first to confirm we can reach your address.
Where our renters actually drive
The legal map and the useful map are not the same thing. Here is what a normal day looks like.
| Destination | How it goes |
|---|---|
| Welaka Boat Ramp | The single most common run. Gear down in the morning, back for lunch, down again at dusk. |
| Sunset Landing | A scenic drive-by on the water. Worth a slow lap to start or end the day. |
| Welaka Town Hall, 400 4th Avenue | Fourth Avenue is designated end to end. Easy. |
| Shrimps 'R Us and More | Family-style casual seafood, lunch and dinner. Big rooms for banquets and parties, a covered pavilion outside and tiki bars. The stop that fits a 6-seater's worth of people. |
| Long's Log Cabin Bar and Package | A historic bar, established 1929. Package store attached, so it doubles as the beer run on the way back to the rental. Somebody sober drives. |
| Andersen's Lodge | On the St. Johns, with Andersen's Bar & Grill on site. Plenty of our renters are staying here, which makes it the shortest cart trip in town: out the door and gone. |
| Lexi's Deli and Cafe, Bomba's Home Cooking | Short hops on the town grid. Park where you would park a car. |
| Welaka Fish, Crab and Bait, 676 3rd Ave | Bait run. The reason people rent a cart in the first place. |
| Boat Bar at Welaka Lodge | Fine by cart. Somebody sober drives. |
| Bryant's Wharf Kayak Launch | Cart to the launch, paddle, cart back. |
| Welaka National Fish Hatchery and Aquarium | Check the posted limits on the way. Worth the trip. |
| Anything outside town limits | Check the posted limit. Between-town runs mean taking the car. Call us and we will deliver instead. |
Ask us at delivery and we will talk through the route from wherever you are staying.
Where you cannot go
Roads posted above 35 mph. You will not find one inside town limits, 309 and 308B included. You will on the way out of town. Crossing at an intersection is allowed. Driving along one is not.
The trails and the state forest. Welaka State Forest, the Bartram Trail, Mud Spring Trail and Beecher Run Nature Trail are for walking. Our rental agreement keeps the cart on pavement.
When can you drive?
An LSV runs day or night. It comes with headlamps, taillamps, brake lights and turn signals as standard equipment, which is exactly what after-dark operation requires.
An ordinary golf cart runs between sunrise and sunset unless the town has approved night operation and the cart carries headlights, taillights, brake lights, turn signals and a windshield.
Either way, the roads here get dark fast and there is not much shoulder. Slow down after sundown.
The rules that apply everywhere you drive
- 25 mph cap
- Everybody in a seat, nobody standing while the cart is moving
- Occupants limited to the number of available seats
- Working brakes, steering, tires, a rearview mirror and reflectors front and rear
Our carts come inspected and street legal. The seat rule is on you.
One thing worth saying out loud
Welaka is a one-stoplight town on the St. Johns River, and most of the streets you will use are residential. People walk dogs on them. Kids ride bikes on them. Somebody is always backing a boat trailer out of a driveway.
Drive like you live here for the weekend, because you do.
Ready to book? Book online. Staying outside Welaka? Call (386) 603-0295 first to confirm we can deliver to you.
Read next: Street-Legal Golf Carts in Welaka, FL and Things to Do in Welaka by Golf Cart
Sources
- Town of Welaka for local street designations (the town has removed its annual golf cart certificate requirement; confirm current local rules with Town Hall).
- Florida Statute 316.2122, low-speed vehicles
- Florida Statute 316.212, golf carts on public roads
Last updated August 10, 2026. Street designations can change. Confirm with the Town of Welaka, 400 4th Avenue.