PALM BAY, Fla. -- The Compound, Brevard County's best kept secret, is getting cleaned up.
- Volunteers clean up area known as "The Compound"
- It's a popular spot for thrill seekers, extreme sports enthusiasts
- Illegal dumping has created a hazard for riders
It’s a hidden spot where thrill seekers bring their trucks, ATV’S and motorcycles.
On Sunday, more than 50 of them came to take out the trash.
Some people say the place is about 200 acres of open space. But with illegal dumping, it’s creating a hazard for riders.
Locals and people from neighboring cities all came out to clean this place up, picking up trash like mattresses and other road hazards.
The stretch of road is considered public but once you get off trail it’s considered private property.
Nobody really knows how many people own the property, all they know is that it’s been a place for extreme sport enthusiasts to come out to play for decades.
By cleaning up, they are hoping to be able to continue using this vacant land for mudding, off-roading, and camping.
Malabar's fire chief Mike Foley is one of these thrill seekers who is helping clean up the place.
“Cleaning up after everybody makes a mess, we appreciate what the city of Palm Bay is doing for us. So as a thank you we are cleaning up,” Foley said.
Joe Swengrosh, the man behind organizing the cleanup, said he enjoys driving his truck in the trails, hills and mudding. He said people all over the state travel here because there is no other spot like this is Florida.
According to volunteers like Tom Becke, nature trails like the Compound are hard to find because of non-stop development. People can come out here and enjoy being around nature without hearing the everyday city sound.
Some of the volunteers are camping out overnight to start picking up more trash first thing Monday morning. The city will be removing the larger debris that's been left behind like the cars and boats.