Four conspicuous species of shrubby stunted oaks: sand live oak, myrtle oak, chapman’s oak and scrub oak are indicative of sand pine scrub which is the preferred home of the endangered Florida scrub jay. Acorns are extremely important in the diet of these birds, especially from September to March. The jays harvest and cache thousands of these scrub oak’s acorns in their territory. Each scrub jay may cache 6,000 to 8,000 acorns a year! The acorns are buried beneath the surface of the sand in openings in the fall and then retrieved and consumed in the winter and early spring. Scrub oaks provide the ultimate swag for these natural geocachers.
This geocache is placed in Highlands Hammock State Park with the permission of park management. All locations must be approved by the Volunteer Geocache Coordinator Sarah Straub (DTISarah@gmail.com) and adhere to the guidelines set by the park for geocache placement.
Vehicles are not permitted to park on any roadway within the park boundary. All vehicles must park within designated parking areas. The park is open from 8:00AM until sundown, 365 days a year. The admission fees are as follows: $6.00 per vehicle. Limit 2-8 people per vehicle. $4.00 Single Occupant Vehicle. $2.00 Pedestrians, bicyclists, extra passengers, passengers in vehicle with holder of Annual Individual Entrance Pass. Camping is available in the park as well.
Highlands Hammock State Park's Website
For more information about accessing cache locations please visit the ranger station to view a copy of Essential Eligibility Criteria for Geocaching at Highlands Hammock State Park.
Please remember to cache responsibly and stay on designated trails.