The Indian River Chapter of the Florida Trail Association
is responsible for
creating and maintaining trails in the East Central Florida area. We are
one of several chapters of the Florida Trail Association located around the
state each responsible for trails in their area. We usually hold monthly
meetings in the Public Library in Melbourne on Fee Street on the first
Thursday of each month at 7:00 PM but a couple of times a year we decide
we have had enough meetings and have a picnic instead, by demand of the
membership.
In addition to our trail building we also hold scheduled hikes on trails in
our area and sometimes beyond, nothing formal but whatever seems to present
itself. The hikes we do do are scheduled in advance and open to the public
except when they are on private property and depending on the landowner
If you want to participate in one of the hikes it is suggested that you call
the hike leader as listed in the schedule and confirm that the hike will be
held as scheduled. Sometimes, because of factors such as weather and high
water levels, some hikes may be rescheduled for other areas or delayed to a
later date. See the links below for schedules of upcoming hikes.
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Gary W. (Co-Organizer)'s November 4, 2019 message:
It's been pretty wet out there. We've had a lot of rain, but what we've noticed is that many of our hiking venues which we frequent are having issues with inadequate water drainage out of the preserves. At least this is what we have observed at Fox Lake and Pine Island, and I am certain that this is the case for many of our venues. So we need to start later this year, and attempt some of our "upland" hikes first.
We are saddened by Jim Escoffier's decision to step down from leading our hikes this year. I am certain that he has some important reasons for doing so, but I am happy to report that Jim will still be joining us on several of our hikes planned for this year. We have some "big boots" to fill, which we cannot do. We will try our best to provide an excellent variety of hiking venues of easy to moderate, and occasionally, a much longer hike, like Doris Leeper in Volusia County, which everyone enjoys.
Many of our hikes will begin at 9AM this year, particularly those of shorter duration. Notices for our hikes will continue to be posted on Meetup.com, but if anyone is in need of an email announcement, we can accommodate that. And several more are to be announced along the way. So, don't forget to join us this year, as our leadership team will do everything that they can to ensure that you can continue enjoying hiking through our beautiful hammock preserves of central Florida, while enjoying the camaraderie of seeing our old friends, and many new friends that we will make. And, of course, any suggestions or comments that you might have that you believe can enhance our effort to continue offering these hikes will always be welcomed and seriously considered .
See you on the trails,
Signed, our leadership committee this year:
Gary Wasserman, David Newkirk, Janine Homery, Marcia Brown
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