World traveler Nejila Innerarity found adventure right in her own backyard and enjoys sharing her fascination with Hollywood with fellow adventurers through Hollywood Trails: Eco-Adventure Kewl Bicycle Tours (HT4), a business she launched in January 2009.
HT4 offers four roundtrip guided tours of Downtown Hollywood, the beach, historic Hollywood Lakes section and neighboring hotspots that cover between five and 30 miles of interesting local sites along safe bike paths and the beach. Special promotional tours and catered options are also available.
Tour themes include “mystery, intrigue and mayhem, along with history, architecture, art, culture and nature – all there for family entertainment,” Innerarity said. “HT4 provides fun, safe, informative, eco-friendly bicycle tours that show visitors and locals the wonders of Hollywood and the fun of ‘going more green.’”
The idea for starting HT4 arose out of necessity. “When any of my visitors would come up from Jamaica, Trinidad, London or other parts of the world, I always wanted to take them on guided tours that show off the best part of Hollywood, and couldn’t find any,” said Innerarity, a native of Jamaica and a Hollywood Lakes resident since 2001.
An avid traveler, she has vacationed in more than 65 international cities and enjoyed an eclectic background as a dancer in several dance companies, a dance teacher, in-line skater, physical fitness buff, information technology specialist and marketing consultant who handled marketing and development for six years for the former Arts Academy of Hollywood. Innerarity is active in the community as the chairperson of the ArtsPark Advisory Board and a volunteer with the Art and Culture Center of Hollywood.
Her four ongoing Hollywood tours are “Historic Architecture, Notorious Mob Bosses & Movie Locations,” “Eco-Mangroves,” “City of the Arts” and “Hardcore Eco.” HT4 tours are designed for locals as well as visitors, and Innerarity enjoys the challenge of introducing interesting details about the City to those who think they really know Hollywood.
“The testimonials are strong, and the usual response is, ‘I had no idea that all this was going on in Hollywood,’” she said. “Everyone really enjoys their time seeing the real Hollywood, not just our beautiful beaches.”
In the “Historic Architecture, Notorious Mob Bosses & Movie Locations” tour, participants learn about the rich history of Hollywood and
city founder Joseph W. Young. The tour explores the scenic Lakes area that New York and Chicago mobsters once called home, and where well-known movies were shot, including “Marley & Me,” starring Owen Wilson and Jennifer Aniston, and “The Hours,” starring Meryl Streep and Nicole Kidman.
The “Eco-Mangroves” tour features the Anne Kolb Nature Center at West Lake Park, a 1,600-acre wetland nature preserve, and the historic Dania Pier. An extended tour is offered that includes a seven-mile ride through the John U. Lloyd Beach State Park in Dania Beach and a swim.
The “City of the Arts” tour encompasses the ArtsPark at Young Circle, museums and downtown art galleries. The three-hour “Hardcore Eco,” the only tour that is restricted to adults, includes all the features of the other three tours.
“Our tours are always improving,” Innerarity said. “I love Hollywood, and so we want to show the most interesting things that Hollywood has to offer – then and now.”
She counts tourists from as far away as Rhode Island and Maine among her repeat customers.
“A few of my clients that live up north have come back, or made plans to come back, to take more tours,” Innerarity said. “That’s why we love to include specialized tours with added history from other walks of life outside of Hollywood.”
She said her clients also appreciate Hollywood Trails’ emphasis on customer service. “If you are not happy, you get your money back, no questions asked,” she said. “All tours are guaranteed.”
Following on the success of Hollywood Trails, Innerarity expanded her business in September to include bicycle tours of Fort Lauderdale’s Las Olas district. Las Olas Trails: Eco-Adventure Bicycle Tours & Rentals (LOT5) offers five different tours that cover between five and 30 miles, as well as special promotional events.
Both LOT5 and HT4 offer daily tours. Hollywood tours originate at Sun & Fun Cycles on Hayes Street near the Hollywood Beach Broadwalk.
A special event planned for Saturday, Nov. 27 will combine the “Eco-Mangroves” and “City of the Arts” trails in a three-hour, 10-mile roundtrip tour that includes the conservatory at the Anne Kolb Nature Center at West Lake Park; museums, art galleries and art shops in Downtown Hollywood; and lunch at Sage French Café. The cost is $75 per person.
For more information on Hollywood bicycle tours available from HT4, call Innerarity at 202-375-0283 or visit www.hollywoodtrails.org.
