Road Trip & Camping: Montgomery, Alabama! - FTA Members Only

Let’s go on a Road Trip! This will be a trip to Montgomery, Alabama where we can sight-see, hike and car camp. Due to Covid, this event is open to FTA and Apalachee Chapter members only. Limit 10 people (waiting list available). You must be fully-vaccinated and are required to show me your COVID vaccination card (in person or via email before May 10th). Thank you for your cooperation!

The trip begins at 7:30am by meeting first at the Publix Lake Ella parking lot under the trees (look for my blue Honda Civic). We’ll organize, sign waivers and head out by 8:00am. The drive is approximately 4 hours to Montgomery. We can eat lunch, see the local sites, and then head to the campground about 17 miles from downtown. Thursday morning we can hike the Swayback Bridge Trail. We head back to Tallahassee on Friday morning after staying two nights. Details about each below.

Site-Seeing:
The Legacy Museum: From Enslavement to Mass Incarceration & https://museumandmemorial.eji.org/museum

The National Memorial for Peace and Justice https://museumandmemorial.eji.org/memorial

Other Civil Rights related museums are closed due to COVID (at this time). We can view from the outside the Dexter Avenue Parsonage/Home to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the Dexter Avenue King Memorial Baptist Church. Many sites abound and are still open, and we can discuss where the group wants to go at the time. Masks and social distancing required inside buildings.

Hiking:
Swayback Bridge Trail – 4.7 well-marked moderate trail about 11 miles from camping site https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/alabama/swayback-bridge-trail

Camping:
Car camping available at a reserved group site at Fort Toulouse National Historic Park (17 miles from downtown). Cost is $7 per tent per night. Bring your money on May 12th to pay at the park (cash is easiest). Reserved already under my name. My understanding is that the entire campground is generally empty on the weekdays. Our site #33 includes a large field, large fire ring, picnic table and a bathhouse with toilets nearby. Two forts, Mississippian mounds, a small museum and a ~2-mile nature hike are on site to explore. (If you want to bring a RV/camper, you can reserve another site nearby – call 334-567-3002.) https://www.stateparks.com/fort_toulouse_national_historic_park_in_alabama.html

Bring your camping gear, hiking gear and site-seeing gear. Remember it’s May and bring lots of water, bug repellent and sunscreen (and/or wear a hat). I’ll bring the s’mores, you bring the rest to share around the campfire.

Due to Covid, this event is open to FTA members only. Note that signing up on Meetup is NOT the same as a paid membership with FTA. FTA membership: https://www.floridatrail.org/

Check our Meetup site for dates, meeting locations, and any last minute announcements before starting out. Contact: Courtnay Micots (850) 300-0399, courtnaymicots@gmail.com.