Water lovers have new access to Turkey Creek

BY GEORGE WHITE
FLORIDA TODAY

Enlarge this image Buy this photo   New access point. From left, Ranger Oli Johnson, chairman of the advisory board to the Friends of Turkey Creek , John Mongioi and advisory board member Jim Perkins stand at the directional sign at a new canoe launch in the Turkey Creek Sanctuary in Palm Bay. George White, FLORIDA TODAY

PALM BAY — A new access to Turkey Creek inside the expanded city-owned Turkey Creek Sanctuary puts canoeists and kayakers right to the best waters in Palm Bay.

The mulch-covered path from Briar Creek Boulevard (off Port Malabar Boulevard) and a small picnic pavilion, were made possible through donations from Florida City Gas, work by crews from Palm Bay Parks and Recreation, and the ongoing efforts of the 180-member Friends of Turkey Creek.

“We’ve had these 16 acres for a couple of years and we’ve been looking for an access and this seems like the natural place to put in,” said Ranger Oli Johnson.

Once the location was chosen, crews had to find a way through the dense palmetto.

“We originally had to blaze a trail and it was tough getting it cut through,” he said.

The access — which appears to have once been an informal swimming hole — is located 150 yards upstream of the Port Malabar Boulevard bridge and about three-quarters of a mile downstream of the sanctuary’s canoe deck.

Formerly, public-use water access to the sanctuary often required the eight-mile roundtrip paddle from Goode Park, a trip that is almost void of shade.

Inside the sanctuary, the creek meanders among large trees.

“The nicest, most shady part of the stream starts right here,” said John Mongioi, chairman of the seven-member advisory board for the Friends of Turkey Creek.

“You see more and more people out on the water. People have discovered Turkey Creek and this should help,” he said.

Plans for the expanded sanctuary may include another pavilion further to the south, he said.

The Turkey Creek Sanctuary, which is owned and operated by the city, is located at 1518 Port Malabar Blvd.

For more information, visit the Web site www.palmbayflorida.org For more information about the Friends of Turkey Creek, visit the Web site www.foturkeycreek.org