Flagler County Land Management is inviting residents to explore a unique section of Princess Place Preserve during its next “Walk in the Park” guided tour on February 11.
The free two-hour hike will take participants through the Sandhill Section of the preserve, located at 2500 Princess Place Road in Palm Coast. The tour is limited to 15 registrants and begins at 9 a.m. sharp. Participants are asked to arrive by 8:45 a.m. for a safety briefing and additional details about the hike, which is described as easy and takes place on sandy trails and service roads.
Ralph Risch, Natural Resource Specialist 3, will guide the walk and explain what makes this area ecologically significant.
“During this hike we will look at overgrown sandhill habitat that has become upland hardwood hammock. We will also see restored, healthy sandhill, which is a unique and increasingly rare Florida habitat due to fire suppression and conversion to citrus,” Risch said. “We will examine the plant species typical of sandhill, such as wiregrass and turkey oak and longleaf pine, and discuss some of the animals that can be found there.”
Risch noted that Princess Place Preserve and the adjacent Pellicer Conservation area are home to the third largest population of striped newts in the world, based on the number of breeding ponds these threatened amphibians use.
“Additionally, many wintering migrant birds will be there as they fatten themselves up in preparation for spring migration,” Risch said.
Participants must register online, which requires creating an account and signing two waivers for liability and photo/video release. Registration remains open through February 10. Hikers should bring a personal water bottle, wear long pants and closed-toe shoes, and apply sunscreen and insect repellent as needed. Binoculars are recommended for bird watching.
Registered participants will meet at the park’s equestrian parking area, located roughly 1.25 miles from the preserve entrance. To reach the parking area, visitors should enter Princess Place Preserve from Old Kings Road and drive east about one mile to an open gate through a wooden fence. After passing through the gate, the equestrian parking area will be on the left after approximately another quarter mile.
