Hiking Trails in Alachua County, Florida

Trail Maps, Photos, and Other Information

Hiking trails, horseback riding, and off-road biking with great views of natural wonders near Gainesville, Florida. Includes location maps to get you there, trail maps so you won’t get lost, and identification of many plants and animals. #LiveFloridaBeauty

Barr Hammock Preserve – Levy Loop Trail
6.5 mile loop around a restored marshland, great for hiking or biking with abundant wildlife and other nature-viewing

Barr Hammock Preserve – South Trails
Dozens of miles of shaded canopy trails rich in wildlife, free for use by hikers, mountain bikers, and horseback riders

Bivens Arm Nature Park
A nice spot in Gainesville for a family picnic gathering and a short nature walk

Cone’s Dike Trail
An easy 5-mile there-and-back at Payne’s Prairie (see below) with marsh plenty of opportunities for flower spotting, birding, and other seeing animals

Lake Alto Park
Boating ramp, fishing, and picnic area plus two long trails, Tree Frog Trail and a LEAFS Society Trail, also linked from the page

Lake Alto Preserve
Multiple trails form a 4-mile loop that includes extensive boardwalk over a swamp and a lake view

LEAFS Stewardship Forest
Forest with trails preserved by the Longleaf Ecology and Forestry Society

Little Orange Creek Preserve
Kathy Cantwell there-and-back trail near Hawthorne offers one of the most fun short trails you can find anywhere

Longleaf Flatwoods Reserve
Six to ten miles of hiking amid longleaf pines in this beautiful, 3000-acre reserve

Orange Creek Conservation Area – North Tract
Five miles of loops for hiking and horseback – see also the Orange Creek South Tract in Hiking Marion County

Paynes Prairie Preserve North Entrance
You’ll never get this close to alligators and all kinds of marshland birds except at the zoo

Paynes Prairie State Preserve
Hours of hiking trails with a great view of Paynes Prairie and picnicking at Lake Wauberg – see also Cone’s Dike Trail at this location

Prairie Creek Preserve
Miles of rich trails including pines, old forest, and swamp and marshlands, lovingly and well maintained by the Alachua Conservation Trust

San Felasco Hammock – Creek Sink Trail
A fun, 2.3 mile hiking or running loop through dense woods with a creek and sink hole ponds, moist and green year around from same parking area as Spring Grove Trail, directly below

San Felasco Hammock – Spring Grove Trail
Six-mile loop in sandy hills amid beech and oak for hiking and birding

Sweetwater Preserve
Rich in wildlife, this preserve has two entrances near Gainesville, and a bench overlooking an active swamp steals the show

Sweetwater Wetlands Park
A stroll around ponds with some of the best birding opportunities in central Florida

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