In memory of Chuck Goodheart: A life spent building trails, protecting places, and opening the woods to all of us.

Tallahassee’s outdoor community is mourning the loss of Chuck Goodheart, a retired City of Tallahassee parks and trails manager whose fingerprints are on nearly every path, park, and greenway so many of us love. Chuck died following an automobile accident on November 29, leaving behind a family who adored him and a community whose daily lives have been quietly shaped by his work.

For decades, Chuck served in the City’s Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Affairs Department, including as a parks and trails manager and Park Management Specialist for places like Elinor Klapp-Phipps Park and other natural areas across the city. ref: Talgov His work was rarely in the spotlight, but its impact was enormous. A 2010 Gulf Winds Track Club Community Award described how his years of dedication helped create and maintain a network of soft-surface trails that turned Tallahassee into a destination for walkers, runners, and cyclists from around the country. ref: gulfwinds.org

Locally, that meant real places with real memories: Red Bug, Elinor Klapp-Phipps, Lake Heritage Trails, San Luis Ridge, and many other parks that became home turf for group runs, family hikes, kids’ first trail rides, and quiet morning walks. ref: gulfwinds.org Chuck understood that trails were not just lines on a map. They were invitations—for health, for community, and for a deeper connection to the land.

He was also a bridge-builder for mountain biking at a time when it wasn’t obvious that bikes and public parks would coexist. When the City acquired the Phipps property and with it the rugged Red Bug trail, there was concern about liability and safety. Chuck, who knew and respected the riding community, reached out to local mountain bikers and advocates and worked with them to bring the trail into the formal system rather than shut it down. ref: Tallahassee Mountain Bike Association Those conversations helped lay the groundwork for the flourishing trail culture we see today, from Red Bug’s roots and rocks to purpose-built singletrack across the region.

Chuck’s vision went beyond recreation. He was a careful steward of ecosystems and wildlife. As project manager for City-led invasive plant removal and habitat restoration at A.J. Henry, San Luis Mission, Tom Brown Park, and Indianhead Park, he helped reclaim forests, ravines, and streams from invasive species so native plants and animals could thrive again. ref: BugwoodCloud At Piney Z Lake, he partnered with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and Apalachee Audubon to create a nesting island for Least Terns, organizing the heavy work of hauling sand, clearing vegetation, and building up habitat for these delicate shorebirds. ref: Apalachee Audubon Society

He also cared deeply about history and archaeology. In recent years, when a small shack along Bill’s Trail was found to sit on a Native American burial ground, Chuck—by then retired—spoke of the site as one of Tallahassee’s richest archaeological resources and supported efforts to protect it. ref: Tallahassee Democrat At Ayavalla Plantation and Elinor Klapp-Phipps Park, he lent his “enthusiastic support” to a multi-year oral-history and research project documenting the land’s plantation-era past and the stories of the families who lived and worked there. ref: Talgov To Chuck, good trail work meant honoring both the natural and human history under our feet.

Even outside his formal job, he never stopped learning and sharing. He traveled with colleagues to professional trailbuilder conferences, rode iconic mountain bike routes to study design and sustainability, and returned home with ideas to make Tallahassee’s trails better, safer, and more fun. ref: Jim's Trail Resources He volunteered with conservation and hiking organizations, lent his expertise to regional planning efforts, and, as recently as 2023, was being considered for a Natural Scientist/Biologist seat on the Blueprint Citizens Advisory Committee—another sign of how widely his judgment and experience were respected. ref: Blueprint Intergovernmental Agency

For those of us who ride, run, and hike in Tallahassee, Chuck’s legacy isn’t abstract. It’s the feel of pine needles under our tires at Red Bug, the shade of a restored ravine at A.J. Henry, the quiet of a boardwalk overlooking wildlife at Piney Z, the swoop of a singletrack at Phipps. It’s the simple fact that, in a world that often paves everything flat, he spent a career fighting for dirt, trees, birds, and history—and making those things accessible to everyday people.

In the weeks ahead, there will be time for more stories, more official tributes, and, hopefully, some lasting recognition of his work in the parks he helped shape. For now, one of the most fitting ways to honor him may be the simplest: go outside. Ride a lap at Red Bug. Walk a loop at Phipps. Listen for birds at Piney Z. Take someone who’s never been on a trail before and show them why this network of parks and paths is so special.

And as you do, you might spare a quiet thought for Chuck Goodheart—a humble man who spent his life making sure all of us had somewhere beautiful to go.

Photo of Chuck Goodheart compliments of John Kalin.