[ft-l] Croom trail fee?

[dblick at cfl.rr.com (Deb Blick)]

The trail running between the River Junction and Hog Island campgrounds (the trail that FTA calls the Hog Island Trail and DOF calls variously the Croom Trail and the River Trail) does not allow camping, hence it has always been day use only.  I am unaware of any regulatory changes within the rest of the Croom Tact of the Withlacoochee State Forest but I have emailed WSF for clarification of any regulatory changes and will report what they say here when I get an answer.

As far as the fees go - with all the budget cuts in state agencies, parking and day use fees on those sections of the Florida Trail within state parks, state forests, water management districts and FFWCC-owned properties have become common in the last 2 years and we will probably see more and more of them.

Personally, I don't mind being charged a small fee to park my car in a semi-secured trailhead parking area or to camp in a campground with potable water and restroom facilities.  But being charged a use fee to hike on a trail or to camp in a primitive camping area that I or my FTA friends and volunteers have built and maintain and put 100's of hours of sweat equity into is kind of a slap in the face.  Plus, long-distance hikers can be nickled and dimed to death by fees of 50 cents or $1 every time they cross land management boundaries.

Deb

         [ft-l] Croom trail fee?

        I received a report that there is now a daily fee for using the Croom trails and that the trails are open from 8AM - Dusk only.
        - Allen
       
       

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