Blue Trail Preview

1

White Loop Trail Head

The blue trail connects to the white loop on the south side. Begin your hike on the white loop and travel south towards the Indian River Lagoon. The first half of the hike travels through an oak hammock. You can see many plants and animals along the white trail including oaks, saw palmetto, pine trees, Spanish moss, lizards, and insects.

2

Wetlands

At this point, the white loop trail travels across low lying land. The land here gently slopes downward slowly losing elevation until collecting in the wetland. Depending on the time of year this area can have high standing water or be very dry. This moist habitat is the perfect place to look for frogs! While standing on the bridge looking east, the trees to your left are white mangroves. The presence of mangroves is another sign of wet habitat. If you turn to your right the trees in this area are covered in white or greenish spots. These spots are called lichens. Lichens are a special organism made of fungus and algae cells. The cells of the fungus and algae form layers that work together to make one organism. Lichens absorb many pollutants from the environment around them making lichens good indicators of pollution.

3

White Trail Continued

At this point, the white trail begins it's a loop. Go to the left to reach the trailhead for the blue trail. While following this path the white trail slowly travels gains elevation as it becomes drier.

4

The hole on your right

On the right side of the trail, there is a round hole. On closer inspection you will notice that this is actually a hollowed-out palm tree trunk, note the fibrous appearance of the outer walls. This hole was left behind from palm tree that became sick and decomposed, leaving only a hollow stump in the ground. This hole can provide a damp and cool habitat for many insects and even fish during the rainy season!

5

Blue Trail

From the head of the blue trail, the lagoon is about an 8-minute walk to the lagoon. This trail travels out of the main oak hammock and into a more coastal habitat of mangroves.

6

Blue Trail Continued

At this point, you are well into the coastal habitat and can see mangroves on both sides of the trail. There are three types of mangroves in Florida; the red mangrove, black mangrove, and white mangrove. Mangroves are salt-tolerant trees that grove along the shores of the Indian River Lagoon. The mangroves around you now are white mangroves. White mangroves grow the furthest from water in drier soils. As you move closer to the lagoon look for the other two types of mangroves. Black mangroves will be the next species you see. This tree is identified by the small snorkel roots that are sticking straight out of the ground like little fingers. Red mangroves live the closest to the water and are identified by large prop and drop roots and come off the trunk of the tree, this makes it appear to have many trunks.

7

Indian River Lagoon

The Indian River Lagoon is a brackish water estuary that connects freshwater rivers to the saltwater ocean. This is one of the most diverse areas of Florida and is home to more than 43,000 species. This area of the lagoon is home to many Atlantic and southern stingrays as well as horseshoe crabs. You may be able to find the molt of a horseshoe crab along the shore. These animals grow by molting their outer hard skeleton and growing a new one. The Indian River Lagoon is declining in health due to pollution and increased human interaction. You can help the lagoon by picking up trash, recycling, cleaning up after your pet, and using reusable water bottles.