Florida Trail Maintenance on the River Trail

The FTA Suncoast Chapter will be lopping (trimming) and clearing the Florida National Scenic Trail in the Croom Tract of the Withlacoochee State Forest near the Silver Lake Recreation Area on Saturday, Nov 14. We'd love to have you join us. We will meet at the Ridge Manor Trailhead pavilion at 8:30AM. The first crew will start lopping from the trailhead to the Florida National Scenic Trail and the River Trail. Crew 1 will walk about five miles and end at the River Trailhead located at the Crooked River Campground. A second crew will drive to the River Trailhead at the Crooked River Campground and lop the Florida National Scenic Trail to Croom Rital Road and back to meet the other crew. Crew 2 will walk 2-3 miles. Crew 2 will give Crew 1 a ride back to their cars at Ridge Manor.

Loppers will be provided. Please bring at least two liters of water, a snack, insect repellent, sunscreen and a hat. Also recommended are work gloves, long pants, long-sleeved shirt, and a hat. If you have a favorite pair of loppers or a folding saw, feel free to bring them.

We can have lunch together afterward in the pavilion at the Ridge Manor Trailhead. If you would like to do this, bring something to eat and drink.

As usual everyone will sign the FTA Assumption of Risk form before we start. You can preview it at this link: https://floridatrail.org/aor/.

Please review the safety information for general maintenance at this link: https://floridatrail.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/FTA-2018-JHA.pdf/. You will sign the acknowledgement on the second page after the safety briefing and before we start lopping.

If you would like credit for your volunteer hours, please set up a volunteer profile on the FTA Volunteer Hours Entry System/Volunteer portal at this link https://floridatrail.galaxydigital.com/. Click Sign Up at the top of the page.

Thank you for helping. It's generous people like you that keep the trails open for all of us to enjoy.