Recreational Opportunities
at CREW Hiking - Camping - Hunting
Thanks to the Trust's land conservation
efforts, visitors to the CREW trails can explore the "real" Florida with lush
ferns, pine flatwoods, abundant wildflowers, hardwood hammocks, an expansive
marsh, and seasonal ponds. It's home to some of Florida's most amazing
creatures! Wildlife "detectives" may discover tracks of the Florida panther,
black bear, deer, bobcat, and many more.
HIKING at the CREW Marsh Trail
System Explore the "real" Florida at our public trails
which offer five miles of hiking through lovely pine flatwoods, a hardwood
hammock, and along the 5,000-acre Corkscrew Marsh. The trails feature
three loops of one to two miles each through four distinct natural
communities. The trails are free and open daily from sunrise to sunset.
Trail guide brochures with maps are available at the trailhead kiosk Please
register each time you come to hike. The trails are designed for
pedestrians, so no horseback riding or bicycles are allowed. There is no
potable water, so you should bring along something to drink. There is a
port-o-let in the parking area. (For more information on the trails,
click here)
Guided Hikes Guided hikes are available for the public and
groups. For more information on guided hikes,
click
here.
CAMPING at CREW
The primitive campsite can accommodate 20
campers.
CREW's primitive campsite is available for public use
by special permit. It is ideal for youth groups such as scouts or
church groups. Donations are encouraged. The campsite,
located in a hammock at the southwestern end of the CREW trail system, is
approximately a two-mile hike from our main entrance, or it's approximately
three-quarters of a mile hike from Gate 3.
Campers must bring their own water. A grill and
picnic table are available. Campfires are not allowed unless special
permission is granted during favorable conditions. Pets must be kept
on a leash at all times. To check availability and obtain a permit,
please call the CREW Land & Water Trust at 239-657-2253 or
click here for application form. We'll
mail or fax an application to you. After you've completed it and
returned the form to us, we'll send you a signed copy along with all the
necessary information, including a map to the campsite. Plan on a one to two
week turn-around time on permits. Happy camping!
HUNTING
at CREW CREW has been designated a "Wildlife and
Environmental Area" by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission
which regulates hunting on CREW lands. A FWC biologist is assigned to
the CREW area to conduct wildlife surveys and land management practices for
wildlife. Hunting is NOT allowed in the CREW Marsh Hiking Trail area. CREW
has a very limited hunting program regulated by
quota
permits, which can be obtained by contacting the
FWC. For more specific information about hunting at CREW call
239-867-3216.
About the TRAILS Marsh Trail Loop The marsh loop (approx. 1.5 miles round-trip)
leads to an observation deck overlooking the expansive Corkscrew Marsh. A marsh
is a grassy wetland. Marshes help keep our streams and lakes clean. The
Corkscrew Marsh is dominated by sawgrass and also contains other aquatic plants
such as fragrant water lily, pickerel weed and duck potato. The marsh is home to
alligators, frogs, deer, and wading birds including snowy egrets, wood storks,
and limpkins. The paths on this loop provide a wonderful opportunity to spot
animal tracks!
Photographs of CREW Wildflowers
Hammock Trail
The hammock trail (approximately two miles round-trip) leads you to a beautiful,
hushed cathedral of lush, subtropical forest. Hammocks or “tree islands” are
home to ancient live oaks and cabbage palms, which form a high canopy that
provides a habitat for shade-tolerant plants such as the strap fern and
resurrection fern. Other plants include wild coffee and mulberry.
The oaks are laced with a variety of epiphytes (air plants) such as wild pine
and Spanish moss, while the boots of the cabbage palm are home to ferns such as
shoestring fern and golden polypody. The cool shade of the hammock invites
feral hogs for resting and rooting (you may see the ruts they produce)! Since
the path through the hammock is narrower than our other trail loops, the
gorgeous foliage is right at your side!
Pine Flatwoods Trail Loop
Another trail loop (approximately one-and-a-half miles) takes you through
pine flatwoods, a habitat which covers more area than any other natural
community in South Florida. The dominant tree, slash pine (named for cuts made
across the bark to collect sap for turpentine), and plants such as saw palmetto
and wiregrass need fire to survive. Pine flatwoods provide food and habitat for
a variety of wildlife including black bear, panther, snakes, deer, and turkey.
Back Row: Ayounga Riddick, Fred Davis, Ellen Lindblad, Bill
Hammond
Front Row: Jacque Rippe, Samantha Cooper, Chelsea Nagel, Dotty Brown & Jim
Goodwin
All join in the ribbon-cutting for the new boardwalks and Popash Slough
Trail Opening on January 8th, 2005.
Popash Slough Trail and Boardwalks
In January 2005, we opened a new trail, complete with two boardwalks, that
connects the Marsh Loop Trail to the Oak Hammock. This 1/2 mile long
connector takes hikers from the marsh tower overlook across a 660-foot
boardwalk that spans the edge of the sawgrass marsh and takes hikers east to
the new Popash Slough Trail. The popash slough trail winds through mixed
pine/oak habitat and into a gorgeous "old Florida" feeling cabbage palm/oak
hammock then onto a second boardwalk across a beautiful popash slough. The
final leg of this trail takes hikers by some awesome burl-covered live oak
trees and into the original oak hammock then out to the oak hammock trail
back to the trailhead.
System
