By timbee on January 01, 2010
It just happened to be raining the day we headed east from Gainesville. Hated to pass up the opportunity so I rode it anyways getting soaked. The western part was quite hilly & curvy--atypical of FL rail trails--so I had to go slow. The Gainesville trailhead wasn't easy to find; I could see that the trail extended westward into Gainesville but had no idea how far it went or where else I could've picked it up? Nice trail, hopefully next time I can ride it when it (& my glasses) are dry.
By cagola1 on October 22, 2009
Many of the descriptions of the Trails in Florida start off with - "most scenic trail in Florida, or very scenic". However, I would like to classify the Gainesville-Hawthorne as the most scenic because it looks like it was transplanted from some place not of Florida, making it exceptionally scenic. Nearly most of it in rural lands, and a good portion of it winding its way through hardwoods typically found in other southeastern states except Florida, sprawling oak and long leaf pine out in open grass lands, and general thick woods of the lowlands, this is all about scenic. The month of March brings out the white flowers on the prairie plum trees found in abundance near Paynes Prairie, plus the perfect green on the fresh sweetgum leaves, creates an idealic spring picture. As time goes by, the trail becomes more canopied making for tolerable riding in the warmer months and has created quite a tunnel affect which since there is no vertical relief in Florida, you're really are not missing any views. For a Florida trail, I would rate it 5 out of 5. Bring snaks and fluids.
By drabmuh on May 14, 2008
I have been riding the Gainesville Hawthorne trail weekly for about a year now. I have riden it on both a mountain bike and a road bike and I find the trail fine for both. It's a nice distance and the road is reasonably maintained. It is not rare to see alligators or deer on the trail, so the wildlife is an added bonus to the already beautiful scenery. It's not a difficult trail, after about mile 3, heading from Gainesville, the trail is straight and flat, but there is a decent amount of traffic the trail is well used. I really enjoy this trail a lot and if you are in North Central Florida you are doing yourself a great dis-service by not exploring this trail.