The Gilchrist Club

About the Club

The Gilchrist Club is a private, exclusive hunting and sporting club and a unique corporate retreat and meeting facility, designed for the enjoyment of its discriminating membership.  From its beginnings as a family retreat, to its future as a regionally renowned conservation space, the Club represents an invaluable natural treasure.  The staff at The Gilchrist Club is as committed to the quality of the Club experience as they are dedicated to the preservation and utilization of this slice of Old Florida.

Our History

Menke and Meehan purchased the initial 23,000 acres of property in 1989 as a private outdoor recreation and hunting retreat for family and business associates.

In 1998, the first permanent onsite lodge was built. By 1999, the popularity of the site with its visitors gave birth to the idea of creating a private members-only hunting club.

The Club held its first membership quail hunt in November 1999 with a few jeeps, dogs and three guides. Soon thereafter, the offering expanded to include deer, hog, turkey and alligator hunts.

In 2002, two additional lodges and the Suwannee Lake Restaurant were built.

In 2004, the Club added a 5-Stand shooting pavilion as well as a rifle and pistol range, providing guests and hunters a place to hone shooting skills on clay targets. 2005 saw the expansion of the restaurant, the addition of a small pro shop, the purchase of additional jeeps and construction of two larger six-bedroom lodges.

In addition to the purchase of other contiguous tracts of land over the years, the Club purchased a 12-acre compound in 2007, adding a three-bedroom home on the Santa Fe River to its holdings.

In 2008, the Club’s total area increased to almost 27,000 acres; in 2010, the club’s 14-station sporting clays course was added. In 2012, several new quail fields were opened, expanding the huntable fields to 18.