Welcome to the volunteer page. We help the Florida Division of Forestry maintain the shared use trail system at Goethe State Forest in Levy County, Florida. Please click words that are underlined for more information.
The Goethe Challenge Endurance Ride will be held on December 19, 2009. This is our annual fund raiser for trail enhancements in the Forest. Many volunteers and Trail Partners help to put this event on year after year and we say THANK YOU!
If you would like to be a Sponsor this year, please contact us. Our success depends on your support...we couldn't do it without you!
THANK YOU VOLUNTEERS....YOU ARE THE BEST!
Contact the Friends of Florida State Forests to see how you can help your forest.
All of the aluminum markers were donated by our friends at Trailers USA in Ocala, FL. Our trails are suitable for hiking, biking, riding horses and driving carriages. Unlicensed vehicles and ATV's are not allowed on the forest. Open roads that have name signs are drivable (weather permitting) by cars and trucks.The trails are color coded and are marked going one-way for safety.
There are three trailheads for shared use. They are all along CR 337. The northern trailhead is Black Prong and it is just north of CR 326. The middle trailhead is Apex ; this is also the site of the new office complex. It is located on CR 337, just south of SR 121. And Tidewater is at the bottom of CR 337, just before you get to CR 336. The newest trailhead is Buck Island Pond and it is on CR 337 too. It is not designed for horse trailers. There is a new hiking trail that goes near the pond and an observation platform as well. The Orange Trail intersects this new loop and there is a horse trail connector there also. Maps are located on the Forest web page under "links".
All of these trailheads have picnic tables, water spigots, a bulletin board(kiosk), fire grills and hitching posts. Tidewater and Blackprong both have beautiful restrooms too. There are approximately 20-30 miles of marked trails at each site, making the Goethe Trail System one of the largest in the South. There is a board walk trail to the Big Cypress Tree off of Cow Creek Road and the Forest is also part of the Great Florida Birding Trail. For more information on the the Goethe Trail System, click here.
Goethe is also a Wildlife Management Area click for the dates when hunting is allowed. The trails remain open but caution and respect are highly recommended. Notices of hunting dates are posted on the kiosks at each trailhead. For more detailed information about the forest, click on the Goethe State Forest web link or call (352) 465-8585.
User fees are being collected at each trailhead, please use the envelopes provided and keep your stub. Annual permits that are good at all State Forests (and are the best value) are available at the office . Please remember to have a copy of your Coggins Test papers with you AT ALL TIMES, even on the trail!
Happy trails!
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