Find the top rated walking trails in Gainesville, whether you're looking for an easy short walking trail or a long walking trail, you'll find what you're looking for. Click on a walking trail below to find trail descriptions, trail maps, photos, and reviews.
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Paralleling State Route 21, this multiuse path provides an important connection between the charming community of Keystone Heights and Gold Head Branch State Park. The trail begins downtown at a...
Suwannee River Greenway includes an east-west route between the Suwannee and Ichetucknee rivers, as well as a short north-south section the starts mid-way between the two rivers and heads to the Santa...
This 12-mile paved path joins two outstanding north central Florida state parks, Ichetucknee Springs and O'Leno. The greenway goes through the town of Fort White and includes a little rolling terrain....
The Waldo Road Greenway, Depot Avenue Rail-Trail, and Kermit Sigmon Bike Trail are seamlessly connected as part of Gainesville's ever-expanding rail-trail network, offering users three trails in one....
One of the Sunshine State's best-kept trail secrets, the Nature Coast State Trail connects five small rural towns—Cross City, Old Town, Fanning Springs, Trenton and Chiefland—along a T-shaped, 32-mile...
The West 6th St Trail utilizes an abandoned rail corridor that runs partially parallel to West 6th Street, through an urban area of Gainesville. The paved hiking and biking pathway connects to the...
Lying largely within the Marjorie Harris Carr Cross Florida Greenway, this trail passes 2.5 miles through stands of cypress and across the Withlacoochee River over a magnificent new (in 2014) bridge....
The Palatka-to-St. Augustine State Trail currently runs through the communities of Armstrong, Elkton, and Vermont Heights in northeastern Florida. Much of the route follows State Route 207, hence its...
The Palatka Urban Trail provides a safe bike-ped route over St. John’s River via Memorial Bridge. The trail is a connector between the Lake Butler-Palatka section and the Palatka-St. Augustine Trail....
Rolling out of the city’s west side, the Palatka-to-Lake Butler State Trail offers a slice of quiet paradise, journeying more than 25 miles to Keystone Heights through well-canopied forests, pine...
The Black Creek Trail parallels U.S. Highway 17, from Orange Park south to Black Creek Park near Lakeside, FL, just south of Jacksonville. Passing through scenic forest and wetlands, the trail...
Connecting the university town of Gainesville with rural Hawthorne, this 16.5-mile trail makes for a great day trip, complete with a hill or two and plenty of wildlife. While the path roughly...
Just west of bustling downtown Jacksonville, the Jacksonville-Baldwin Rail-Trail, one of north Florida's oldest, traverses a rural setting of hardwood uplands, wetlands and pine flatwoods. A dense...
The Archer Braid Trail runs for 6 miles between the cities of Archer and Gainesville in north-central Florida. Future construction will continue the trail east to the University of Florida. The paved...
The 46-mile Withlacoochee State Trail is a must-do pure Florida experience for any trail enthusiast. Situated between Orlando and Tampa, it hosts a steady stream of visitors and locals on its paved...
The UF Campus Greenway was completed in 2016 and now winds across the University of Florida in Gainesville, uniting the east and west sides of the sprawling school grounds. The beautiful, paved trail...
The Withlacoochee Bay Trail extends from the Gulf, north of Crystal River and south of Inglis, nearly 5 miles east to just beyond North Suncoast Boulevard. The trail provides access to a 758-acre...
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The Marjorie Harris Carr Cross-Florida Greenway is on a mission to create a non-motorized conduit stretching 110 miles from the Gulf of Mexico to St. John’s River in Palatka. The corridor showcases...
The 46-mile Withlacoochee State Trail is a must-do pure Florida experience for any trail enthusiast. Situated between Orlando and Tampa, it hosts a steady stream of visitors and locals on its paved...
Just west of bustling downtown Jacksonville, the Jacksonville-Baldwin Rail-Trail, one of north Florida's oldest, traverses a rural setting of hardwood uplands, wetlands and pine flatwoods. A dense...
Connecting the university town of Gainesville with rural Hawthorne, this 16.5-mile trail makes for a great day trip, complete with a hill or two and plenty of wildlife. While the path roughly...
The Palatka-to-St. Augustine State Trail currently runs through the communities of Armstrong, Elkton, and Vermont Heights in northeastern Florida. Much of the route follows State Route 207, hence its...
The Black Creek Trail parallels U.S. Highway 17, from Orange Park south to Black Creek Park near Lakeside, FL, just south of Jacksonville. Passing through scenic forest and wetlands, the trail...
The UF Campus Greenway was completed in 2016 and now winds across the University of Florida in Gainesville, uniting the east and west sides of the sprawling school grounds. The beautiful, paved trail...
The Withlacoochee Bay Trail extends from the Gulf, north of Crystal River and south of Inglis, nearly 5 miles east to just beyond North Suncoast Boulevard. The trail provides access to a 758-acre...
The Palatka Urban Trail provides a safe bike-ped route over St. John’s River via Memorial Bridge. The trail is a connector between the Lake Butler-Palatka section and the Palatka-St. Augustine Trail....
Rolling out of the city’s west side, the Palatka-to-Lake Butler State Trail offers a slice of quiet paradise, journeying more than 25 miles to Keystone Heights through well-canopied forests, pine...
Paralleling State Route 21, this multiuse path provides an important connection between the charming community of Keystone Heights and Gold Head Branch State Park. The trail begins downtown at a...
This 12-mile paved path joins two outstanding north central Florida state parks, Ichetucknee Springs and O'Leno. The greenway goes through the town of Fort White and includes a little rolling terrain....
One of the Sunshine State's best-kept trail secrets, the Nature Coast State Trail connects five small rural towns—Cross City, Old Town, Fanning Springs, Trenton and Chiefland—along a T-shaped, 32-mile...
The West 6th St Trail utilizes an abandoned rail corridor that runs partially parallel to West 6th Street, through an urban area of Gainesville. The paved hiking and biking pathway connects to the...
The Marjorie Harris Carr Cross-Florida Greenway is on a mission to create a non-motorized conduit stretching 110 miles from the Gulf of Mexico to St. John’s River in Palatka. The corridor showcases...
The Waldo Road Greenway, Depot Avenue Rail-Trail, and Kermit Sigmon Bike Trail are seamlessly connected as part of Gainesville's ever-expanding rail-trail network, offering users three trails in one....
Lying largely within the Marjorie Harris Carr Cross Florida Greenway, this trail passes 2.5 miles through stands of cypress and across the Withlacoochee River over a magnificent new (in 2014) bridge....
Suwannee River Greenway includes an east-west route between the Suwannee and Ichetucknee rivers, as well as a short north-south section the starts mid-way between the two rivers and heads to the Santa...
The Archer Braid Trail runs for 6 miles between the cities of Archer and Gainesville in north-central Florida. Future construction will continue the trail east to the University of Florida. The paved...
Connecting the university town of Gainesville with rural Hawthorne, this 16.5-mile trail makes for a great day trip, complete with a hill or two and plenty of wildlife. While the path roughly...
Rolling out of the city’s west side, the Palatka-to-Lake Butler State Trail offers a slice of quiet paradise, journeying more than 25 miles to Keystone Heights through well-canopied forests, pine...
The Palatka Urban Trail provides a safe bike-ped route over St. John’s River via Memorial Bridge. The trail is a connector between the Lake Butler-Palatka section and the Palatka-St. Augustine Trail....
The Palatka-to-St. Augustine State Trail currently runs through the communities of Armstrong, Elkton, and Vermont Heights in northeastern Florida. Much of the route follows State Route 207, hence its...
The Waldo Road Greenway, Depot Avenue Rail-Trail, and Kermit Sigmon Bike Trail are seamlessly connected as part of Gainesville's ever-expanding rail-trail network, offering users three trails in one....
One of the Sunshine State's best-kept trail secrets, the Nature Coast State Trail connects five small rural towns—Cross City, Old Town, Fanning Springs, Trenton and Chiefland—along a T-shaped, 32-mile...
The 46-mile Withlacoochee State Trail is a must-do pure Florida experience for any trail enthusiast. Situated between Orlando and Tampa, it hosts a steady stream of visitors and locals on its paved...
The West 6th St Trail utilizes an abandoned rail corridor that runs partially parallel to West 6th Street, through an urban area of Gainesville. The paved hiking and biking pathway connects to the...
The Black Creek Trail parallels U.S. Highway 17, from Orange Park south to Black Creek Park near Lakeside, FL, just south of Jacksonville. Passing through scenic forest and wetlands, the trail...
The UF Campus Greenway was completed in 2016 and now winds across the University of Florida in Gainesville, uniting the east and west sides of the sprawling school grounds. The beautiful, paved trail...
Paralleling State Route 21, this multiuse path provides an important connection between the charming community of Keystone Heights and Gold Head Branch State Park. The trail begins downtown at a...
The Marjorie Harris Carr Cross-Florida Greenway is on a mission to create a non-motorized conduit stretching 110 miles from the Gulf of Mexico to St. John’s River in Palatka. The corridor showcases...
Suwannee River Greenway includes an east-west route between the Suwannee and Ichetucknee rivers, as well as a short north-south section the starts mid-way between the two rivers and heads to the Santa...
The Archer Braid Trail runs for 6 miles between the cities of Archer and Gainesville in north-central Florida. Future construction will continue the trail east to the University of Florida. The paved...
This 12-mile paved path joins two outstanding north central Florida state parks, Ichetucknee Springs and O'Leno. The greenway goes through the town of Fort White and includes a little rolling terrain....
Just west of bustling downtown Jacksonville, the Jacksonville-Baldwin Rail-Trail, one of north Florida's oldest, traverses a rural setting of hardwood uplands, wetlands and pine flatwoods. A dense...
The Withlacoochee Bay Trail extends from the Gulf, north of Crystal River and south of Inglis, nearly 5 miles east to just beyond North Suncoast Boulevard. The trail provides access to a 758-acre...
Lying largely within the Marjorie Harris Carr Cross Florida Greenway, this trail passes 2.5 miles through stands of cypress and across the Withlacoochee River over a magnificent new (in 2014) bridge....
As a long time user of the Withlacoochee State Trail I noticed the pavement over the past 10 years has been neglected. The paved surface is extremely bumpy and somewhat dangerous especially at the north end of the Trail. Passing other riders is dangerous because you never know when an edge pothole is going to take you out as you pass. In addition, it seems riders on this trail like to spread out making passing with available pavement dangerous. What ever happened to the rule "keep right". I would go somewhere else to ride.
Just moved here from Pasco County on the west coast of Florida where I was spoiled by the Suncoast / Starkey trails. Only been on two trails, St. Aug to Palatka (which i found depressing, and annoying playing frogger across two 4 lane divided highways and a stretch next to a manure plant).
This trail was a breath of fresh air though. It's mostly wooded, and sheltered from the winds for the most part. There are two spots to get fresh, clean, cold and GOOD TASTING water. Being creative with the routes to get 30, 35, 40 and 50 mile rides.
Only complaint is that there are sections that are very bumpy, and until you find the right lines you're going to get rattled around on a road bike with narrow tires...
Once again, I have to tip my helmet to the people planning Florida's biking system!!! I have ridden (and reviewed ) some of the other trails on the planned cross Florida route. The MHC is another shining example of what a State and counties can achieve!!! What a great use of taxpayer money!!! The trail in very well maintained. Very clean. The ride is varied with hills, dense forest, curves, a newer growth forest-all on a nice wide , smooth path!!! I did the 33 mile round trip and am looking forward to the extensions that are planned in the future!!!! Bravo!!!
There are parts of this trail that take your breath away, with lakes and streams and boardwalks that take you out into nature. The trail is well maintained with lots of shade. It’s awesome!
Love the newly paved path. (4 stars) there’s a bathroom near the cemetery/picnic area. (Didn’t see it until we were driving to Palatka) The only thing I didn’t like about the newly built portion...no shade. The bridges were cool and we did see some gators and turtles. Maybe ride it in the early morning or late afternoon during the hot months. Just a thought...
WoW what a fantastic trail. We started our journey in Baldwin at the trailhead which is a former rail station. WE traveled towards Jacksonville. The trail offers great sights. The trail is flat as well as paved. The trail cuts through wooded areas that offer a ton of wild life. We saw a Black Snake (actual name as well as color) not poisonous, Turkeys, Turtles, Eagles. We did not expect this trail to be as good as it is. Take water on this trip. There are rest areas about every five miles apart. We rode the trail in April on a sunny and 85 degree day. We found other cyclist on this trail to be natives and very friendly and glad to have out of towners riding the trail. This is a connector trail and even though the traffic at times was heavy it was always well spaced apart. Enjoy this one.
Attended the ribbon cutting ceremony on Saturday 6 April, 2019. About 200 people...riders, trail group pavilions, dignitaries, and trail friends. Official opening of the last link from Spuds thru Hastings to the rest of the segment starting west of Hastings. Beautiful run. Got a newly broken in 40.6 mile bike saddle butt on the new Palatka to St Augustine State Trail, which will become another finished segment of the St Johns River 2 Sea Loop, a 250 mile loop in north central Florida.
Parked in Hastings FL and went east out first to the end of segment near I-95 heading towards St Augustine 24.2 miles out and back. Then headed west to the trailhead in Palatka. 16.4 miles out and back. Little sore in the saddle the last few miles. Overall. A great day, and a new daily distance record. 283 total miles recorded in the first two months of trail biking in central Florida. Mostly rails to trails corridors.
All I can say is it is definitely worth the trip. Beautiful trail, well maintained and friendly people.
Great trail with lots of curves and hills to keep it interesting.Also a lot of shade and few road crossings. Other then Santos trail head there is no water available which can be an issue. Bike rentals available at Santos trail head.
Rode from Keystone Heights to end-of-trail in Palatka. 10 miles Keystone Heights to Florahome; 12 miles Florahome to Palatka. There are some mile markers on the trail but it can be confusing. The end-of-the trail in Palatka is MM6 (why not 0). So if you are at MM16, you are actually 10 miles from Palatka. The trail is in great condition! A small part of the trail (10 yards) is covered by water but it was only a few inches deep and easy to cross. There is also a small parking lot on Forest Hills Road in Melrose adjacent to the trail.
This trail is great when it comes to biking in Florida. Beautiful scenery, lots of forest riding and farms. Few miles of highway riding. Can make this ride 50+ miles easily.
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