Heartland Chapter / FL Trail Association

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Heartland Chapter / FL Trail Association Heartland serves FTA members from DeSoto, Hardee, Highlands & Polk Counties. We also maintain trails at Arbuckle & TENOROC. 📧e-mail us: [email protected]

We volunteer to maintain the FNST in Green Swamp East & along the Kissimmee River at KICCO WMA.

🩷 💜 Florida's Fall Wildflowers such as goldenrod, blazing star, sunflowers & asters are providing bright colors with the...
10/17/2026

🩷 💜 Florida's Fall Wildflowers such as goldenrod, blazing star, sunflowers & asters are providing bright colors with their beautiful blooms -- which then become HUGE HUBS of pollinator activity. 🐝 🦋 Native grasses like lovegrass, indiangrass, muhly & bluestems are also bursting out and creating lovely textures! 🎋 Thanks to Sam & FNPS for the super Field Trip in Heartland Country‼️

💚 FTA Heartland joined a Friday morning AUTUMN WILDFLOWER FIELD TRIP with Sam and friends from the Heartland Chapter of ...
10/17/2026

💚 FTA Heartland joined a Friday morning AUTUMN WILDFLOWER FIELD TRIP with Sam and friends from the Heartland Chapter of the Florida Native Plant Society. 👁️ We spotted a wide variety of fall wildflowers that are KEYSTONE species for Florida’s wildlife ......
💛 ... Goldenrod alone supports 82 caterpillar species and 4 native bee species❗️
🩷 ... Muhly grass and seed‑bearing plants provide winter forage for songbirds❗️
💜 ... Blazing star and tickseed add late‑season nectar -- crucial as other blooms fade.❗️

🍻 BOKTOBERFEST is back this weekend -- Friday, October 16 thru Sunday, Oct. 18‼️ P.R.O.S.T. 🍺 🇩🇪 Head to 1151 Tower B...
10/16/2026

🍻 BOKTOBERFEST is back this weekend -- Friday, October 16 thru Sunday, Oct. 18‼️ P.R.O.S.T. 🍺 🇩🇪 Head to 1151 Tower Boulevard in LAKE WALES for Live Polka Music, German-inspired Food, hiking on ~2 miles of trails of the Lake Wales Ridge, and a Weekend of FALL FUN at the Gardens❗️ Celebrate BOKTOBERFEST daily this weekend from 8am to 6pm in Heartland Country! ⏰

🇩🇪 From bratwurst and giant pretzels to German nachos, there’s plenty to enjoy! 🔅 Who’s ready to celebrate❓⁉️ 💃 Find event details here ..... https://boktowergardens.org/events/ 🇩🇪 F.R.E.E. for members • $25 for non-member adults 😎

📸 LOU ALBRECHT is Heartland's favorite photographer, and he recently shared great images from the trail as we continue c...
10/15/2026

📸 LOU ALBRECHT is Heartland's favorite photographer, and he recently shared great images from the trail as we continue celebrating 'Florida Native Plant Month'‼️ On his solo hike in Polk County, Lou spotted asters, chaffhead, dayflowers, goldenrod, panaflox and m.o.r.e.❗️

🐯 The Nature Conservancy's Tiger Creek was allegedly named because Florida panthers were seen there by early settlers -- 🐯 though others say the sun that shines through trees onto the creek creates tiger STRIPES of slowly moving shadows & light. ☀️ We've seen it❗️

👹 For those who loved Polk County's Haunted Jail Tours in the past, our Sheriff's teams have created a brand-new scare‼️...
10/14/2026

👹 For those who loved Polk County's Haunted Jail Tours in the past, our Sheriff's teams have created a brand-new scare‼️ This year they present: "SHERIFF’S HAUNTED TRAIL TOUR" at 2430 Bob Phillips Road in Bartow, FL 33830❗️ COME... IF... YOU... DARE‼️

😅 The trail tour will be up and running on 2 weekends: October 16 & 17 and October 23 & 24, from 6:00pm to 10:30pm -- all 4 spooky nights. 🦇

👽 As you may know, the old jail in Bartow where they held past haunts was torn down. B.O.O.❗️ 👻 But thanks to their determined Detention Staff, this new HAUNTED TRAIL will knock your socks off. 🦶 It’s located on property near the Central County Jail in Bartow -- that’s SCARY enough, right❓ -- but they PROMISE to 'Let You Out' when the fun’s over‼️

⭐️ The Polk County Sheriff's Office is accepting donations for admission ..... $15.00 for adults and $5.00 for kids 10 years old and under. https://www.polksheriff.org/events/2026/10/23/default-calendar/haunted-trail-tour

🎃 Halloween is a great time for some unique Outdoor Adventures. 👿 With many cities around the state hosting Halloween-...
10/14/2026

🎃 Halloween is a great time for some unique Outdoor Adventures. 👿 With many cities around the state hosting Halloween-themed spaces like haunted mansions, creepy trails, eerie carriage rides, and much more, the opportunities are endless. 🧟‍♂️ https://www.hauntedtrails.com/florida

🧛‍♂️ https://www.hauntedtrails.com/hauntedtrails/florida

🤡 HAUNTED ACRES FLORIDA at 4802 W Knights Griffin Road in Plant City is a walking trail with famous horror killers, a haunted jail, haunted hospital and more. 👻 https://www.pembertonhauntedacres.com/

🧌 SIR HENRY'S HAUNTED TRAIL is an outdoor haunted trail located at 2837 S Frontage Road in Plant City -- in the heart of central Florida between Tampa and Orlando. ☠️ https://www.sirhenryshauntedtrail.com/

🎃 https://www.thetravel.com/most-haunted-hiking-trails-in-florida/

🩵🩷 SARA PENNY -- one of Heartland's favorite Activity Leaders -- just completed hiking the 130-mile JOHN MUIR WAY acros...
10/13/2026

🩵🩷 SARA PENNY -- one of Heartland's favorite Activity Leaders -- just completed hiking the 130-mile JOHN MUIR WAY across Scotland‼️ She'll be back to lead events for us in December❗️

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 JOHN MUIR WAY is a 215-kilometre continuous long-distance route in southern Scotland -- running from Helensburgh, Argyll and Bute in the west to Dunbar, East Lothian in the east. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 It's named in honour of the Scottish conservationist John Muir, who was born in Dunbar in 1838 and became a FOUNDER of the United States National Park Service. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 One of Scotland's 'Great Trails', the route provides a coast-to-coast route across Scotland, 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

🌿 In celebration of FLORIDA NATIVE PLANT MONTH. 💚 Heartland visited with Florida Master Gardeners and Heartland Chapte...
10/12/2026

🌿 In celebration of FLORIDA NATIVE PLANT MONTH. 💚 Heartland visited with Florida Master Gardeners and Heartland Chapter of the Florida Native Plant Society at Lakeland,'s Munn Park for the weekly Farmer's Curb Market. 🪴 https://downtownlkld.com/farmerscurbmarket/

💥 The Lakeland Downtown Farmers Curb Market was established in 2004 and enjoys between 3,500 and 5,500 customers each Saturday. 😎 The Market currently has 230 vendors on its roster with an average of 120 in attendance on any given Saturday. 🍅

🤎 One of Heartland's newest members -- Dr. Lori Shank of Fort Meade -- invited our Public Relations Chair for a 5-mile r...
10/11/2026

🤎 One of Heartland's newest members -- Dr. Lori Shank of Fort Meade -- invited our Public Relations Chair for a 5-mile ride at Peace River Park on Saturday. 🐴 Dr. Shank has been riding for decades, and in addition to her veterinary practice, also RESCUES many 4-footed creatures❗️

🤎 Thank you to our good friend Norman X. for sharing this trail cam photo of a Polk County BOBCAT and her twin kits! 🐭 ...
10/10/2026

🤎 Thank you to our good friend Norman X. for sharing this trail cam photo of a Polk County BOBCAT and her twin kits! 🐭 Always good news in helping control our rodent populations❗️

Address

Florida Trail Association LLC Mailing Address: P. O. Box #140430
Gainesville, FL
32614

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