There are 3.2 miles of marked hiking trails in the State Park and many more that are not marked. The trails in the rainy season may have knee deep water on them. Please take heed to the rules and regulations posted at the bulletin board. There is a $2.00 day use entry fee to access the forest.
Maps may be downloaded using this link http://myfwc.com/media/2530777/Picayune-Strand-Map.pdf
This cache is located in the Picayune Strand State Forest; it is a forest conservation area in Collier County Florida. It is a formerly logged area that was slated to be developed into a massive residential scheme that failed. It is being returned to a natural state.
The land which is now Picayune Strand State Forest was originally logged for cypress trees in the 1940s and 1950s. It was later filled in as pasture land. In the 1960s, Gulf American Land Corporation (founded by Leonard and Julius “Jack” Rosen of Baltimore via Miami) purchased over 57,000 acres (230 km²) to create the largest subdivision in America to be called "Golden Gate Estates". A massive system of canals and roads were built and thus began one of the original “Swampland in Florida” scams.
Picayune Strand State Forest is in the heart of an ecosystem called the Big Cypress Basin. The majority of this hydric forest is under water during periods of considerable rainfall. The forest comprises cypress strands, wet prairie, and pine Flatwoods in the lowlands and subtropical hardwood hammock in the uplands. The northern section of the Belle Meade Tract contains many second growth South Florida slash pines with some remnant trees being over 100 years old.
The forest provides habitat for many species of wildlife making wildlife viewing a popular activity. The following species have been sighted on the forest: American black bear, white-tailed deer, Osceola turkey, bald eagle, Wood stork, big cypress fox squirrel, Swallow-tailed kite Red-cockaded woodpecker and Florida Panther. Although Florida panthers are rarely visible, they do leave tracks for the observant visitor. Female panthers have borne cubs on the state forest in recent years.
These caches have been approved by the kind folks from the Picayune Strand State Forest, so cache with confidence.
