Explore the best rated trails in Gainesville, FL. Whether you're looking for an easy walking trail or a bike trail like the UF Campus Greenway and 6th Street Rail Trail . With more than 19 trails covering 254 miles you're bound to find a perfect trail for you. Click on any trail below to find trail descriptions, trail maps, photos, and reviews.
Hands down the most beautiful trail to be found. Lots of trees, cool shade and well maintained. I particularly like the segment from the 49th Street Trailhead that leads to the Santos Trail versus toward 200.
Started at Dunnellon and after several miles turned back. There is absolutely no shade whatsoever and not much to look at as it runs behind homes.
Easy to ride, cover in a lots of shade beautiful scenery
I have ridden this trail several times between the trail end at the St. Augustine end and the Amtrak station in Palatka.
The trail is nearly "calibrate you level" flat the whole way except for the bridge over the St. Johns River. It's easy to pedal.
A couple of long chunks of trail are along route 207, but the trail has it's own right of way, separated from the road by 30 feet or so. It can be a bit noisy and the traffic is moderate. There's not much shade, but there are nice views of farm fields.
The vast majority of the rest of the trail is shaded and runs through some wild areas, some wooded back yards and across a few streams. Very pleasing. The trail also goes through Hastings that has some interesting buildings. Just east of Hastings, is a farm complex that has a couple long horn cattle in a field as well as an old train station, caboose and locomotive that were apparently a museum at one time.
The trail winds along some streets of East Palatka, then over the bridge to Palatka proper. The trail will take you to the northwest side of town, but I usually turn around at the Amtrak station.
There is good parking, restrooms and bottle filling stations at the Vermont Heights, Armstrong and Cora C. Harrison (Hastings) trailheads. There is also some fast food and a gas station convenience store in East Palatka as well as a small parking lot.
The Amtrak station also has rest rooms as well as a small railroad museum inside.
There are a few road crossings with route 207 - which is a four lane highway with a median. They are all equipped with traffic signals to get you safely across.
The trail surface is asphalt-paved all the way and generally pretty good. There are some sections where it's getting bumpy from roots pushing up and the county should really try harder to keep the surface clean of leaves and pine needles, but there is nothing unsafe for a road bike - a hybrid/dual sport might make for a more comfortable ride, though.
What this trail REALLY needs is completion into St. Augustine. It would be a great tourist attraction and could help boost the economic activity of towns along the route.
This trail used to be the mainline of the Florida East Coast Railroad connecting Jacksonville to Miami (and briefly, Key West) along the east coast of Florida. Palatka was once a rail hub. But, the FEC built the Bunnell cut-off - a straight route from St. Augustine to Bunnell - to shorten the route and the Palatka "branch" declined and was abandoned before becoming a rail trail.
In three sections we completed this long trail, outstanding all through with side trips on connecting trails made for some longer rides. Many parts are tree shaded.
The asphalt surface is in good condition. Most of the trail runs along a highway. The scenery is nothing to get excited about.
Most of the trail is shady. The asphalt surface is in pretty good shape. We saw a deer on our ride.
The scenery is really good. We completed the ride just before noon and the trail was still very shaded. The pavement is very smooth, making for a very pleasant bike ride.
We have rode this a couple times in the last couple months. We parked at north end point of main trail where future trail will cross HWY 100 north of Keystone. It’s not really a parking area but there is room for about 6 cars and I saw other people parking there so we did too. As other people have said it is within 20-30 yards at times of HWY100 but it ducks in and out of the woods and there is plenty of trail that isn’t close to the highway. We rode out 22 miles to south of the State Forest north of Palatka and then headed back. There is a little
Great trail, I only planned on riding 1/2 but the wife got ahead of me & we went all the way. Made the turn & it started the heaviest rain I've ever ridden in. we stopped at stations & under passes then stood in the rain as we waited for the train to pass. Finished up after the rain quit for a great ride.
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