Alachua: Nature Trails and Florida History

A restored farmhouse, nature preserves, and trails with railroad history offer concrete starting points for planning a trip to Alachua. Nature, literary history, and garden events each offer a different focus—choose which ones you’d like to shape your stay.

Nature Areas and Trails

At San Felasco Hammock Preserve State Park, 18 natural communities provide habitat for bobcats, white-tailed deer, gray foxes, turkeys, and numerous songbird species. The southern two-thirds of the park are designated for hiking only. This means visitors should also observe the designated use of specific areas within the same preserve.

The Gainesville-Hawthorne State Trail runs for 16 miles through local and state nature preserves. The route is paved, with a grassy equestrian trail running alongside it. The trail follows a historic rail corridor that has been converted into a greenway. Features of its railroad history—including connections to railroad towns and locomotives—shape its character.

At Barr Hammock Preserve, the trails described differ in length and type: the 6.5-mile Levy Loop runs around a restored wetland. From the south entrance, there are 13 miles of trails for hikers, cyclists, and horseback riders. Four Creeks Preserve protects the headwaters of Turkey Creek, Blues Creek, Possum Creek, and Hogtown Creek, and helps replenish groundwater.

Little Lake Santa Fe Preserve protects more than 800 feet of shoreline on Little Lake Santa Fe, as well as wetlands in waterways of the Santa Fe River designated as “Outstanding Florida Waters.” A trail about one mile long runs through pine uplands and along the edge of the wetlands; check access and conditions before visiting.

Literature, History, and Special Places

Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings Historic State Park preserves the restored Florida Cracker-style house and farm where Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings wrote her Pulitzer Prize-winning novel “The Yearling.” The interior of the historic house is accessible only on guided tours on selected days. As tour dates may change, check the schedule before your visit. Dudley Farm Historic State Park offers another perspective on rural heritage, with 18 original farm buildings dating from the 1880s to the 1930s.

Devil’s Millhopper Geological State Park is a National Natural Landmark that has drawn visitors since the 1880s. Its bowl-shaped geological depression is 120 feet deep and 500 feet wide. The Matheson History Museum is housed in the Historic Matheson House. High Springs is also home to the Priest Theatre, Florida’s oldest continuously operating movie theater; check its operating status before you travel.

Planning Garden Events and Activities

Kanapaha Botanical Gardens hosts an open house with a fall plant sale each October. The annual Spring Garden Festival features 100 booths offering plants, landscape designs, garden supplies, crafts, educational activities, and food. If you’d like to plan your visit around either event, check the specific dates.

For outdoor activities, Cuscowilla Nature and Retreat Center offers walking trails, picnic areas, and an 18-hole disc golf course to the public. From High Springs, visitors can enjoy the Santa Fe River and surrounding natural areas for hiking, diving, swimming, fishing, canoeing, and tubing. Conditions and services offered by individual operators may change; check ahead. Farmers’ markets in Alachua County offer seasonal produce, crafts, and local flavors. As market days vary, it’s worth checking the dates before visiting.

Then match the hotel’s location to your own travel plans.

Discover more destinations: Gainesville, High Springs, Alachua, Waldo, Micanopy, Pasco, Okaloosa, Pinellas.

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