Crestview to join Florida Trail Gateway Community
The city has been selected, by vote of the City Council, to become part of the Florida Trail Gateway Community.
It’s not official yet, said Mayor David Cadle, who signed a proclamation Thursday signifying the partnership will ensue.
But once it is, Crestview will be the third city in the state to join the community, said Wallace Mayo, chairman of the Choctawhatchee chapter of the Florida Trail Association.
The other two gateway communities are White Springs, located along the Suwannee River, and Belleview, in southern Marion County.
It’s by invitation of the association’s state headquarters in Gainesville that Crestview becomes a member.
“Being part of the Gateway Community is like a partnership between the Florida Trail and the local community,” Mayo said.
It’s a joint venture that Cadle believes will be economically good for the city.
“I don’t see how it could be bad for us,” he added.
Once the deal is done, the Florida Trail Association will provide signs to place at different entrances to the city to announce its new role.
It will also promote Crestview and the area’s various hotels, restaurants and recreational opportunities, including Blackwater River State Park, to trail hikers, who can stop to explore the northern city for day or more before continuing on.
“I think everybody is excited about it,” Cadle said.
To join, a city must be within proximity of the Florida Trail, which stretches 1,400 miles from the Panhandle to near Cape Coral.
Crestview’s access to the hiking trail is located near the south end of the Shoal River along Little Silver Road. To find it, travel Little Silver Road for about two miles. A wooden sign on the left marks the trailhead.
For more information about the Florida Trail Association or to see a map of the trail, visit www.floridatrail.org.