Target Earth International -- Jaguar Creek -- General Public Use




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General Public Use

We hope you can come and visit, but Jaguar Creek is often busy with groups and there are some safety issues you should know about before you come.

Come! Jaguar Creek Reserve, its trails and the grounds of Jaguar Creek, including the creek, are open to general public use from sun up to sun down most days of the year. The buildings are not open to the general public, except through previous arrangement. Upon arrival please check in with a Jaguar Creek Staff member. Use is free and donations are accepted to further the work here.
Please let us know in advance if you will be visiting. We might be closed the day you wish to come! Call or email and we will be expecting you and can give you a brief tour and explain what Jaguar Creek is all about. If you just wander down the road and into Jaguar Creek, we may not have time to talk due to our work responsibilities or due to the needs of the group that is here.
Look through the rest of the website and you will see that we are not a hotel, resort or tourist lodge or campground. Accordingly please don't expect us to act the part. This is also not the place for raucous parties. Think research, ministry and education and you are thinking the way we think about ourselves.

General Public Activities and Regulations

Upon arrival please check in with a Jaguar Creek Staff member. We like to know who is here, what you would like to do and where you will be.

Swimming? You must have shoes on to swim in Jaguar Creek due to the rough and sharp nature of the bedrock in the creek bed. Flip flops, and most sandals will not provide enough protection for your feet. DO NOT swim near the caves at either end of the creek. Swim with another person and look out for sharp rocks. The creek is closed to swimming at dusk.

Hiking? You must have good hiking shoes and water. Although gorgeous, trails can be slippery, muddy and at times steep. You must stay on the trails and use the boardwalks when possible. Visitors can not carry or use a machete anywhere on the grounds and smoking while on a trail or road is prohibited. Mosquitoes can often be companions, but bring a human one too. The trails are closed to hiking at dusk.

Picnicking? Feel free to bring food and drink (no beer fests please). You should be able to use our entrance palapa with its picnic table, trash cans and the composting toilets, but you won't be able to use our kitchen or dining room. Make sure you clean up.

Nature Viewing? We hope you see a bit of the beauty that is here. If you see something out of the ordinary, perhaps a jaguar on a trail, please let us know! If you are a bird watcher, let us know since we'd like to record what you saw. If you are a professional biologist we require copies of all information gathered and you must have made previous arrangements to collect.

Prohibited Activities

Visitors may not carry or use a firearm or machete.

Visitors may not use any building except by previous agreement.

No stick or log or firewood or palm leaf gathering or collecting of any kind without previous permission. Fireworks, camping, campfires, and pets or pack animals are not allowed. Bicycles are allowed on the road, but not trails. No littering, loud music, or excessive use of alcoholic beverages. Due to fire danger smoking is only allowed in the middle of the entrance parking lot and is prohibited in the forest or trails and roads.

Should you become aware of any of these prohibited activities occurring please immediately report this information to any Jaguar Creek staff member. Since this is private property we have the option to ask anyone to leave at any time and for any reason.