Find the top rated horseback riding trails in Gainesville, whether you're looking for an easy short horseback riding trail or a long horseback riding trail, you'll find what you're looking for. Click on a horseback riding trail below to find trail descriptions, trail maps, photos, and reviews.
We rode from Croom to the south end of this amazing trail. Smooth asphalt, shaded by a canopy of trees it was a quiet place to enjoy a Sunday afternoon.
Today I rode about half of the Jacksonville-Baldwin trail in NE Florida. The weather was in the low 70’s and mostly sunny. Much better than my home in Ohio right now.
I was very impressed with the trail. The path is asphalt paved, and appears to be 8 - 10 ft wide. It’s flat enough to calibrate against—not really, but my elevation varied less than 50 ft.
The trail runs beneath a canopy of mostly pine. The air has a wonderful scent. It was pretty busy for a weekday afternoon—if felt like a safe, secure place.
The parking facilities at the Jacksonville trail head were in good shape. There is even a rooster who acts as parking lot attendant—greeting (or perhaps shaking down) each cyclist. All in all a great experience. I’ll ride it again the next time we pass through.
I rode my bike on this trail in November, 2025. The surface was in good shape. The trail did cross may driveways into businesses and homes, as well as crossing some streets into subdivisions, none of which was a problem. The traffic noise did not bother me. I feel that it just comes with the territory of a trail alongside a highway, and then let it go. Since I did get off I 75 to bike this trail, I ended up parking at Publix Super Market, which was about midway on the trail, rather than driving to Archer. I also biked the spur or loop that included the Veterans Memorial Park. I rode a total of 26 miles, which took me about 2 1/2 hours.
Great trail, but had a dog chase me on my bike, closer to the Amazon district parking, just before the trees canopy and you’re done passing houses. Anyone else run into this issue?
Rode from Palatka to where the trail crosses Vermont Rd about 1.5 miles from trail end. In general, the trail was very good to excellent condition, with the usual root protrusions under the tree canopy . My only real complaint is that there was no signage coming out of Palatka, and no mileage signage at all.Lo
Loved this trail. Overall, I would rate the pavement quality as being very good. Yes there are some bumps and lumps, but that is to be expected when you’re riding deep under tree canopy. And yes, there are some hills! But this is central FL! expected for Central Florida.
This trail was perfect for a gentle ride with my 11-year-old granddaughter, who has never been on a longer trail. Flat, smooth surface. We parked at Otis Road and went a few miles toward Baldwin.
I started the trail in Hamilton. It is paved from there. Unfortunately no good parking. Very smooth and a lot of shade. Road just over 40 miles in July. Would definitely recommend. Needs more parking areas and places to take a break.
We live here and love this trail. We walk it and ride our e-bikes on it and it’s been great since they repaved it. They even added a bridge across the river by Ichetucknee Springs State Park that connects this trail to the O’Leno Trail. Hopefully they will repave the O’Leno Trail one day. Be aware that sadly the locals also use the trail with their golf carts and worse, their ATV’s. Even kids younger than 16 drive them on the trail. Most people are respectful of the walkers and bikers but not all so be careful. Hopefully it won’t take someone getting hurt to get the rules enforced.
This 46 mile trail has a little of everything. Parts have nice shade, some areas are rural and some areas go through small towns. There are multiple access points. Highlights for us were Floral City near the midway point, Ft. Cooper State Park access, and Inverness where the trail skirts the water. There aren't many difficult road crossings and not many climbs to get over high intersection bridges. As of our last ride in 2025, the trail was in good shape. Not terribly crowded. An outstanding ride.
My wife and I took a three week bike trip in late winter 2025 and did 10 trails in 5 different states and the Marjorie Harris was by far the best trail of the trip. It didn’t hurt that the weather was perfect with sunshine and 73 degrees. But the trail was in great shape with plenty of small ups and downs and turns through beautiful wooded areas. It was mid week so not too busy with other riders, but the trail is nice and wide so oncoming and passing is not a problem. It did look like a popular spot for club riders though. Lots of incumbents. People were friendly. The only negative….it’s too short. We would have done 20 miles if the MH ran that far. So ride, don’t walk and put this trail on your bucket list.
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