Gainesville is so lucky to have such a wonderful shaded enviroment to visit, free of charge. The…read moretall trees with moss blowing in the breeze are a beautiful example of what North Florida has to offer. The boardwalks are fairly new and are still in pristine condition. My favorite place to park the car is over at Westside Park and walk over, carefully dodging the traffic that blasts down 8th Avenue. If you enter the boardwalk on the North side of 8th Avenue there are breaks in the boardwalk to wonder the footpath trails and streams and sometimes you will end up on standing in people's backyards.

Hogtown Creek Greenway is one of my favorite smaller wild areas in Alachua County and, what is…read moremore, it is close enough to the UF campus and several neighborhoods to make it easy enough to get to without a car. In fact, its trails--while not that long and sometimes flooded out in wet weather--are awesome for mountain biking. The Greenway came about because Hogtown Creek and its various tributaries flow through this lowland area of Gainesville and while there is a lot of development surrounding what has become the Greenway, the lands that compose the Greenway itself would not be suited to development and, more importantly, are essential to not develop given the fragile and unique ecosystems they provide. The City of Gainesville should be praised for its efforts not only protect these lands but to make them open to the public. Just controlling the flow of water in this area-brokering its ability to remain true to the natural course of these creeks while also ensuring that flooding in nearby neighborhoods isn't likely-must have been a huge challenge. To the south-west of the Greenway off of University Avenue, Hogtown Creek is directed through a grouping of canals and other engineered mechanisms to regulate its flow but when it emerges in the Greenway, it returns to its pristine natural status. The Hogtown Greenway, if you enter it via the Loblolly Facility, provides a broad trail that is adept for hiking or mountain biking. A boardwalk has been built to continue this trail over places that are normally (or at least very often) wet and it's a short hike through this area to the 8th Avenue entrance to the Greenway across from Westside Park. The stretch of 8th Avenue here is where the Gainesville Planet Monuments-one obelisk for each of the solar system's planets including Pluto and the Sun-are located so these are a nice diversion to examine up close if you've only driven by them before in a hurry. Within the woods of the Loblolly section, there's a lot to notice if you wish to take the time. An informative sign at the 8th Avenue side of the path notes that a diverse variety of wildlife from river otters to various birds to the rough green snake are found in this environment: You will have to be patient to see them, though. Mostly, like elsewhere in the region, you'll spot squirrels, birds, and perhaps a black racer or other snake. Lizards and insects are also omnipresent and on account of the latter, insect spay is a good idea as to keep the pesky ones off of your body and discouraged from sucking your blood. The boardwalk trail has a smaller off-shoot which leads down to the creek bed itself and makes for a great oppurtunity to examine a creek of this sort up close. The sandy banks, muddy yet peaceful waters of the creek, and canopy of trees above make for a very serene experience. If you continue across 8th Avenue to the opposite side of the street and walk a ways east, you will encounter another boardwalk that runs all the way from 8th Avenue to 16th Avenue, south to north. This boardwalk is a minor yet grand feat of engineering, having been perfectly crafted and took, I can only guess, a fair amount of cash to complete. For that reason if no other (and there are plenty of others) I hope that it's used by a lot of people. When I've been out on the boardwalk with my bike, I have nearly always encountered people walking their dogs or running here, so it seems I am not by far its only fan or user. The magic of the boardwalk is that it runs through a wetland environment which would be very hard to access otherwise and affords a pleasent walk with a great view of what much of this region's natural areas are like if you got right into the thick of them. One can, in theory, continue on 16th Avenue eastward to the Alfred A. Ring Park entrance and there explore even more of Gainesville's diverse ecosystems, depsite being a stone's throw from subdivisions and houses with swimming pools. The boardwalk therefore not only makes for a great means of getting from 16th Avenue over to 8th Avenue (or of course, the other way around) but also a nice diversion into the woods to just get away from your busy life for a moment or two.

Nice Park. my boys enjoy the skate park . It is very clean. The water play area is great in the…read moresummer

Okay now I'm a big skatepark guy, and this place is nice. I used to come here alot when I was…read moreyounger for the splash pad but I stopped going when I got older. But this place is nice. They redid the skatepark sometime I don't know when but it's still amazing. The spot isn't too extreme just a couple half pipes, ramps, rails, and tabletops, but if you're a skater, scooter, Rollerblade anything this is a nice spot would recommend if you're in the area.

While visiting Gainesville I wanted to soak in a bit of nature. Jonesville Park was located nearby…read moremy location and easy to find. I focused on the walking trails, which are all paved. Visiting Jonesville Park provided me with the fresh air I needed!

The Tennis courts are decent, but the bathroom in the shop has the smelliest Most disgusting smell…read morethat they refuse to do anything about. All they need to do is pour some bleach down all The drains. maybe even clean with bleach. it doesn't look like they ever clean the corners of the stalls, and it just absolutely smells horrible in there. there's also a shower In the largest bathroom, the ada handicap stall that needs to be power washed with bleach also. The smell is the time. Like gag worthy horrible. i truly believe they have a sewage problem in that tennis shop building.

Legacy Park in Alachua, Florida is a nice sized park with plenty of parking and has multiple soccer…read morefields, a children's playground and more. Legacy Park is off of a side street and is a good park for sports.

Really nice park. Grounds are well-maintained. When I've gone it hasn't been too busy or crowded…read more We would bring our senior dogs here to explore. We would often hangout in the courts since they were enclosed and we would let the dogs run around. They also have a disc golf area which is well-maintained. I've never been in the senior center but it looks nice from the outside. The park is across the street from Walmart and has ample parking.

Good but you can smell drugs and alcohol but I Still really…read morerecommend and the ppl there are nice

This park is nice but a few things to keep in consideration…read more One. It isn't a crazy park for scooters now as a scooter rider it is a little annoying. Two. Some stuff is cool while others are lame. Three. There are a lot of snakes like a lot and if you're trying to ride and go with the nice flow of this park a kid coming on a bike or scooter that isn't being looked after bu parents can ruin your time. Four. It's crowded. Would recommend though.

What an interestingly shaped skate bowl. I think the skate…read morepark is very small for a skate park, not as small as the old UF skate park but this park is not as large as a skate park should be. ESPECIALLY the bowl. This park is always crowded because all the skaters are always trying to do tricks and it results in no room for people who aren't regulars to become regulars. The actual park part is cool, full of children which can be weird. This park is okay. Terrifying to those with social anxiety and very intimidating to new skaters. Busy every single day, poor park never gets a break.

This family entertainment facility in Gainesville features many trampolines, a four story jungle…read moregym, arcade games, laser tag, rock climbing, zip lining, etc. Prices start at $23.99 for two hours or separate pricing for each area like the Trampoline $17 for an hour but socks must be purchased for $3.50. They offer daily specials Monday to Friday. Pricing a bit expensive for families. It seems dark inside. Little children are jumping with teenagers so a little dangerous. A fun time for kids.

Pretty great for kids to let loose and run around, definitely could use some improvements but all…read morein all a great way to spend a couple of hours letting the kids burn some energy

My review here is for Westside Park, not the recreation center…read more I have always loved this well shaded park. Growing up in Gainesville, it has always been a central location for picnics and outdoor Birthday parties. They have recently updated all of the playground equipment. But, my favorite are the old swings in the central portion of the park because they can withstand adults swinging on them*. There is nothing better than swinging on a hot day to cool off. The enclosed pool with high-dive platforms and water slide are also located withing the area and parking spaces for your car are plentiful during daytime hours on weekdays and early morning on weekends. You can also enter the Hogtown trails on 8th Avenue near here. I posted the address of the recreation center to give you an idea of where the park is located if using GPS. * The underside of the swing notes that they are made for children only, but they have been holding my weight for many years.

Awesome park, everything you would want. Tennis courts,…read morelarge playground area, basketball, baseball fields, etc. Big pool, lots of shade, one big water slide. Cheap rates, residence and nonresidence, same price for the pool, around $2.50. You can buy a season pass. Across from a nice trail with creek, we found some people looking for shark teeth. Yes, you read right. Dogs allowed but must be leashed.

We had an amazing hike through Loblolly Woods Nature Park. It was so peaceful and serene listening…read moreto the small creek and the birds. The park is located near the Solar Walk so you could easily do both if you choose. The nature path is well covered by the trees which I was very thankful for especially in the Florida heat that was in the 90s already. The paths do have lots of tree roots so you must be steady on your feet. They do offer several bridges that you can walk on.

This is another hidden activity spot in Gainesville. Everyone knows about the Planet Walk on 8th…read moreave. As you turn onto 8th ave from 34th st and go East, there is a representation of the sun and all the planets of our solar system, on the side of the street, to give you an idea of how far apart all the planets are. Well, on each side of 8th ave is Loblolly Nature Park, with bike/walking paths, a huge boardwalk, dirt hills for mountain bike jumping, and clear streams that keep Gainesville's watershed flowing. You can park at Massey Park across the street, or just pedal here from home and enjoy the trails. Lots of fun and things to discover!