It's a simple question: What is the best park in Alachua County? Getting one answer, however, is anything but easy.
Alachua County has dozens of spots set aside for recreation and conservation, but each has something that makes it unique in the minds and hearts of area residents.
Whether playground or pool, skate park or sinkhole, this area's parks and preserves offer something for everyone just about year-round
The Sun asked its readers what parks in Alachua County stand out to them and why, and below is a round-up of what they had to say. Use this guide — as well as a new map and searchable database of all city, county and state-owned parks on Gainesville.com — to plan your next family outing.
Best playground: Northeast Park
Off Northeast 16th Avenue, tucked behind the baseball fields and tennis courts, past the fenced-in dog park and open walking trails is a huge playground just waiting for kids of all ages to climb and jump and swing.
Northeast Park is a quiet place to play. It's tucked back from a main road and shaded by tall trees that offer a reprieve from Gainesville's hot summers.
Kathy Stewart, founder of the free website Fun4GatorKids.com, usually takes her kids to parks in the southwest part of town where the family lives, but when she's looking for an adventure for Becca, 8, and Ryan, 5, she takes them to the playground at Northeast.
"We love that one," Stewart said. "There are features for little, little kids, but the big kids like all the monkey bars and merry-go-round."
Location: 400 NE 16th Ave., Gainesville
Hours: Seven days a week, sunrise to sunset
Walking/jogging trails: Yes
Playground: Yes
Picnic tables: Yes
Dogs allowed: Yes
Restrooms: Yes
Cost: Free
Honorable mentions: Green Tree and the nearby Kiwanis Challenge Playground in Gainesville; Hampstead Park in Haile Plantation; Carl's Corner Spin Playground in Brytan
Best dog park: Squirrell Ridge
Squirrel Ridge Park has one thing that most dogs crave: lots and lots of room to run.
The two fenced-in, off-leash dog parks — one for big dogs, one for small dogs — nestled behind a large open field and small playground is a favorite of man's four-legged friends.
“I like how they can socialize,” said Santa Fe College student Lauren Montgomery of her two dogs, Rosie, a border collie mix, and Ruby, a bassett hound. “Everyone's dogs really play together and are so good together.”
Montgomery brings her dogs to the park, which is free, a couple times a week to get exercise and play with other pooches.
“I can let them off the leash, and they just run around,” she said. “They love it.”
Location: 1603 SW Williston Road, Gainesville
Hours: Seven days a week, sunrise to sunset
Walking/jogging trails: No
Playground: Yes
Picnic tables: Yes
Dogs allowed: Yes
Restrooms: No
Cost: Free
Honorable mentions: Forest Ridge in Gainesville
Most unique to Gainesville: Devil's Millhopper
When visiting Devil's Millhopper, the geological wonder in northwest Gainesville, there's one number to know: 232.
That's how many steps one must climb down — and then back up — to view this one-of-a-kind state park hidden amidst the sandy terrain and pine forest of North Central Florida.
The limestone sinkhole measures 120-feet deep and leads down into a lush, shaded landscape that has a soundtrack of singing birds and trickling water. A half-mile nature trail surrounds the top of the sinkhole.
Park rangers lead guided walks through the park at 10 am each Saturday.
Location: 4732 Millhopper Road, Gainesville
Hours: 9 am-5 pm Wednesday through Sunday; closed Monday and Tuesday
Walking/jogging trails: Yes
Playground: No
Picnic tables: Yes
Dogs allowed: Yes, on a leash
Restrooms: Yes
Cost: $4 per vehicle; $2 for pedestrians and bicyclists
Honorable mentions: Kanapaha Botanical Gardens in Gainesville; Dudley Farm Historic State Park in Newberry
Best place to see real Florida: Paynes Prairie Preserve State Park
Naturalist and artist William Bartram first described the natural wonders of what he called the “great Alachua Savannah” in 1774, and much of what he saw then is still there today.
The 21,000-acre park is home to alligators, bison, wild horses and hundreds of species of birds. Visitors have the chance to see the wildlife in its natural habitat along hiking and equestrian trails, bike paths, picnic areas and on the water by canoe or kayak.
If you've never been, start your day at the air-conditioned Visitor Center, which is open from 9 am to 4 pm daily. If you've got a weekend, spend the night under the stars at one of the park's campsites, and don't miss the 50-foot-high observation tower.
Location: 100 Savannah Blvd., Micanopy
Hours: 8 am-sundown, seven days a week
Walking/jogging trails: Yes
Playground: No
Picnic tables: Yes
Dogs allowed: Yes, with the exception of some of the trails
Restrooms: Yes
Cost: $4-$6 per vehicle; $2 for pedestrians and bicyclists; camping starts at $18.
Honorable mentions: Morningside Nature Center
Best place to bike: San Felasco Hammock Preserve State Park
With more than 30 miles of cross-country trails, San Felasco Hammock State Park is a mountain-biker's dream. More than 15 trails of varying distances are interconnected and take riders of all levels up steep climbs, over hills and open fields and across wooded hammocks.
Randy Brown, park manager at San Felasco, said the park is different from the county's rail-trails in that its biking trails don't go through any towns. Instead, outdoor adventurers travel through 18 natural communities found within the state preserve.
“You're seeing the real Florida,” he said. “You won't see Mickey Mouse anywhere on our trails.”
The almost 20 miles of trails range from the 1-mile Cotton Tail Trail for beginners to the more challenging Conquistador Trail, which has steep up and down turns.
“It's not for the faint of heart, for sure,” Brown said.
Location: Bike and equestrian trailhead is at 13201 Progress Blvd., Alachua; hiking trailhead is at 11101 Millhopper Road, Gainesville.
Hours: 8 am-sundown, seven days a week
Walking/jogging trails: Yes
Playground: No
Picnic tables: Yes
Dogs allowed: Yes, on a hand-held leash on the hiking trails only
Restrooms: Yes
Cost: $4 per vehicle; $2 for pedestrians and bicyclists
Honorable mentions: Gainesville-Hawthorne Trail
Best place for kids to splash: Hal Brady Recreation Complex
For families looking for a cheap way to beat the heat each summer, it doesn't get much better than the free splash pad at the Hal Brady Recreation Complex near downtown Alachua.
Water shoots from the ground, falls from buckets and sprays out of brightly colored fountains, making for hours of wet fun in the sun for young children.
And parents concerned about safety need not worry: The play area — and nearby shaded picnic tables — are surrounded by a high chain-link fence with a childproof gate.
Location: 14300 NW 146th Terrace, Alachua
Hours: Splash pad opens around the first of March, depending on weather; 9 am-6 pm daily
Walking/jogging trails: No
Playground: Yes
Picnic tables: Yes
Dogs allowed: No
Restrooms: Yes
Cost: Free
Honorable mentions: H. Spurgeon Cherry Pool and splash pad at Westside Park in Gainesville; Poe Springs in High Springs
Best park to skateboard: Possum Creek
The concrete ramps, pipes and rails at the skate park at Possum Creek Park are a stark contrast to the open fields and tree-lined nature walks that surround the 18,000-square-foot haven for skateboarders and bikers.
The popular park reopened last year — it first opened in the 1990s — with a large playground, two dog parks, a boardwalk and jogging trail, but the skate park is its biggest draw. Skateboarders of all ages ride across the banks and around curves, while people who have come to enjoy the parks many other activities look on.
Location: 4009 NW 53rd Ave., Gainesville
Hours: Seven days a week, sunrise to sunset
Walking/jogging trails: Yes
Playground: Yes
Picnic tables: Yes
Dogs allowed: Yes
Restrooms: Yes
Cost: Free
Best park for a birthday party: Westside Park
Visit Westside Park on any given Saturday, and you'll most likely find the covered picnic areas decorated with balloons and streamers. Children will be running back and forth from the playground to the tables, where they'll sing “Happy Birthday” to a good friend.
A popular birthday destination, the park also features a running trail, baseball fields, basketball and tennis courts and a skate park, not to mention a community center and pool.
Karen Pruss, an executive assistant at the Gainesville Chamber of Commerce, and her husband Bill got married at the park 27 years ago.
“We went over on our lunch hour and got married — we eloped at the park,” she said.
A year later, the family celebrated their son Taylor's first birthday at Westside. The family has had endless picnics and barbecues at the park throughout the last two decades.
“It's a wonderful park for small kids, or adults who want to exercise or walk their dog,” Pruss said.
Location: 1001 NW 34th St., Gainesville
Hours: Seven days a week, sunrise to sunset
Walking/jogging trails: Yes
Playground: Yes
Picnic tables: Yes
Dogs allowed: Yes, on a leash
Restrooms: Yes
Cost: Free; call for admission prices and hours for the pool and tennis courts.
Honorable mentions: Kanapaha Veterans Park, Green Tree and Northside parks in Gainesville
Best kept secret: Mill Creek Preserve
The county's oldest Alachua County Forever conservation area, Mill Creek Preserve opened to the public on Earth Day 2008.
Since that time, the park has added marked trails, including the recent 0.6-mile Hammock Trail in November, which includes two foot bridges made from recycled and reused materials.
Gainesville freelance writer Mike Walker said Mill Creek's remote location makes it an ideal place to spot wildlife.
“With some of the bigger parks, the crowd, it's a blessing and a curse,” he said. “And for anyone's who's serious about photographing wildlife, I've never run into another person when I've been at Mill Creek.”
Location: Corner of County Road 241 and 236, north of Alachua
Hours: Seven days a week, sunrise to sunset
Walking/jogging trails: Yes
Playground: No
Picnic tables: No
Dogs allowed: Yes, on a leash
Restrooms: No
Cost: Free
Honorable mentions: Cellon Live Oak in LaCrosse
More Information:
Parks database
Search a database for parks in Alachua County. Check by zip code, park name or activities and features offered at each location. Detailed information about each park also is available.
http://www.gainesville.com/article/20110130/ARTICLES/110129497?p=all&tc=pgall
Search a database for parks in Alachua County. Check by zip code, park name or activities and features offered at each location. Detailed information about each park also is available.
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