Find the top rated mountain biking trails in Gainesville, whether you're looking for an easy short mountain biking trail or a long mountain biking trail, you'll find what you're looking for. Click on a mountain biking trail below to find trail descriptions, trail maps, photos, and reviews.
I rode from Larry Carroll park in Baldwin at the western end to the eastern end at the Amazon distribution center. I did pass by a snake on the trail. Be sure to take your own water and snacks. There are no facilities between these 2 points. The park in Baldwin has no facilities. There was a bathroom at the eastern endpoint by the Amazon place. Otherwise a nice, quiet, smooth ride for most wheeled creations.
We rode about 13 miles of the trail starting at the Chamber of Commerce in Chiefland then traveled West at Wilcox Junction past the Suwannee River where we turned around to our starting point. The trail was wide, paved and easily navigated. Very smooth and the parts we traveled had little to no road noise. Reason for a 4 out of a 5 rating. The trail is absolutely straight with pretty much the same vegetation the whole length. Not real exciting but it is one of those trails you can lay down some uninterrupted miles. Next time in the area we will do additional sections.
The trail has now been paved from Hampton to Keystone, adding at least 7 more miles to the rail trail. A new parking lot was just finished near that trailhead at Bobby Sheppard Ballpark, and it has a water fountain and restrooms. This new section of the trail is shaded by trees, has smooth pavement, and goes through a cypress swamp and behind several farms, and it is separated enough from the highway that it is a really nice ride. You can see where they are starting to pave the next section to the west, which will eventually connect to lake butler.
On a recent trip, I jogged the first two miles up and two miles back of the eastern end at Imeson Road. Was a joy as the trail there is straight, no curves, and no elevation changes. Have to occasionally stop for street crossings. The only thing wrong is there are no benches other than at the trailhead.
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 just wanted to provide an update to individuals that have used the trail. Construction to pave the trail west from Hampton has started on January 1st from the CSX railroad crossing west across Highway 301 continuing on the former historic Southern Railway / NS right of way.
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.
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