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The Captain Forester Hammock Preserve is located one-mile south of County Road 510 on the Historic Jungle Trail which is a State designated greenway and a byway of the Indian River Lagoon National Scenic Highway. The Jungle Trail is not paved and is frequented by bike riders so you must travel very slowly on it. Captain Frank Forster, the Preserve's namesake, was born in 1856 in Hamburg, Germany. When he came of age he ran away and pursued a sailing career that took him all over the world. When he was ready to settle down he acquired land north of where the Wabasso Bridge is today from the Homestead Act where he built a house and a dock for his sailing ship, the Dood. He named the area Orchid and in 1887 established the first post office in the area where he became the postmaster. He also built a one room schoolhouse on his homestead. In 1893 Captain Forester planted a citrus grove but it was plagued by several years of freezes. When he replanted the grove, he added cabbage, beans, guava and Easter lilies. In 1894 Captain Forester married Albertine Enos who was brought to Florida from Vermont as a child by her mother to recover from Scarlet Fever. in 1897 the couple had their first child Mary. Captain Forester is well regarded for having put Indian River on the map for its produce. In 1905 the St Lucie Tribune praised the "extra fine quality of his fruit" which made up hundreds of boxes of shipments. Captain Forester brought many people to settle the the Orchid/Wabasso area by selling off plots of his lands. One of the pioneering families was the Michaels family whose land is now the Orchid Island Golf and Beach Club. Captain Forester also helped Henry Flagler obtain rights of way through the Vero Beach area in the 1890's for the railroad. In return he was awarded the contract to sell the fruit and vegetables to the dining cars. Captain Forster Hammock Preserve which runs river to ocean was purchased in the mid 1990s by Indian River County with funds from the State Conservation and Recreation Lands Program. The county purchased the land to preserve the cultural and natural resources located here. There are at least 14 designated species listed as Threatened or Endangered by Federal and State Agencies found on the property. Today Captain Foresters citrus grove is a 110-acre conservation area managed by Indian River County. It is open every day from 8 AM until sunset. Dogs are allowed but must be leashed. The preserve was opened with public access improvements including new restrooms and a parking lot on February 17, 2003. You can still see the remains of the old brick homestead chimney on the west side of the parking lot. The preserve includes several different habitats from the shoreline of the Indian River Lagoon to the Coastal Scrub as you hike to the dune along the oceanfront. east. Captain Forster Hammock Preserve contains six distinct natural communities. These include sandy beach, mature oak hammocks, hydric hammock, depression marsh, tidal mangrove swamp, and coastal strand. The largest natural community within the conservation area is a Maritime Hammock, making up 68% of the preserve. it is one of the last remaining mature maritime hammocks in the county. Visiting Captain Forester's Preserve allows you to travel back in time to how this area looked before modern development. I enjoyed hiking on the 1.1 mile out and back trail. There are several shorter dead end trails that shoot off from it. The trail is natural earth so it is not ADA accessible but it is an easy hike, good for all ages and fitness levels. A walk through the preserve provides the perfect opportunity for exercise, photography, bird watching, and nature discovery. There are interpretive and educational signs at the entrance to the preserve, trail head, and along the trail so you can learn about the history of the preserve and the flora and fauna here. The preserve contains many love oak trees where you may see butterflies, orchids, and bromeliads. During migration season, the preserve is a frequent stop for songbirds like yellow-throats, black and white warblers. As you walk east in the preserve the elevation becomes higher and the soil becomes drier. In this area you will find more drought tolerant plant like Simpson's Stopper, bumelia, prickly pear cactus, and snowberry. This is the area where the threatened gopher tortoise makes its home in burrows in the sandy soil. Captain Forester Hammock Preserve is a stop on the Great Florida Birding Trail. read more
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8650 Jungle Trl
Vero Beach, FL 32963
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