You have to bring water!! It is a nice little trek over to…read morethe grassy part of this natural vista, but the summer Florida sun does not abate itself. There is even a stand with pamphlets and two very nice people manning it, to answer your questions. I imagine there are more alligators to see early in the morning, but I went around 10:30a. A nice long boardwalk with one place to sit and get shade from the great ball of fire in the sky. Beautiful trees, remnants of alligator eggs, and water fowl feeding and foraging. I can imagine that the Alachua sink would be more active, after a big rain. I will def go there a day after a big storm, to see the action of the earth!

This place is so wild! I have never seen so many alligators in the wild. You must visit! This was…read moretoday 3/18/26.

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!

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 a very large, comprehensive, trail system based on a former railbed. However, as the paved…read morerailbed trail is what is most-known of the Gainesville-Hawthorne State Trail, I wish to draw attention to the fact that there are a number of smaller, unpaved, trails appropriate for hikers or mountain bikes intersecting with the main trail and located there for access from the main trail. The Susan Wright Trail is one of such and is very nice. There are also various viewing platforms along the way and the integration with Paynes Prairie is very good. It is perfectly possible to drive in a car to one of several trailheads, park, and go biking or running or hiking without doing the entire trail and I think that's what a lot of people use this trail for, especially runners. Bugs can be bad, even in cooler weather as much of the trail abuts swampy areas and for the same reason, the smaller, unpaved trails can be flooded or muddy after even moderate rains. You should also remain on the lookout for snakes as they tend to come to the paved trail to sun themselves. Overall, a nice experience and a great addition to the State Parks offerings in and around Alachua County.

Three weeks ago I was biking this trail for the first time. I somehow crashed and was knocked…read moreunconscious. I was taken by ambulance to the ER and sustained a brain bleed. I have absolutely no recollection of my ride that morning or how or why I crashed. I am since in touch with a local bike club and am learning crashes are not uncommon, due to several reasons, one of which is poor trail maintenance. Apparently there is also a bridge where many accidents have occurred. I don't know if my accident happened there. So just putting this out there to be careful if you decide to ride this trail.

Today I saw an otter get chased by crows that then crossed paths with an alligator only to end in a…read moregator/otter stand-off. The otter, then proceeded down the path to meet a family of sandhill cranes where the parents signal to the young colt to go across the footpath to safety while the two, especially the mother, stood between the otter and her young crane! Amazing! Amazing! Amazing!

This place was awesome if you like to walk trails and see birds, turtles, alligators, rabbits, deer…read moreand small fish. They also have wild horses and wild bison, but we didn't see those. The wetland areas and trails were neat with nice walking bridges and paths over the water. We saw a lot of small alligators, 1 baby alligator and 1 huge alligator. The way the walkways are built the alligators were right at our feet, there is a metal mesh fence to separate you though. This place is a must for anyone that likes nature, plus it was it was free except $5 to park.

Sweet Water Preserve is it nice place to get away to and get at one with nature. It is hard to…read morebelieve that you are just off of a main road in gainesville, Florida as you walk through these paths. I cannot believe that I never noticed the little parking lot that led to this path until today. I will say that I am glad that I found this particular path. They have a warning sign by the little creek saying that alligators are common in this area. It is Florida, after all. This was a nice place to get away too and to take a few minutes out of my work day and just get back as one with nature. There is nothing like walking through the woods to make your body feel at peace. I did not spend a lot of time here, but anytime that I am in gainesville, I think that I will be stopping here. Overall, I will give this place five stars.

Miles of raised gravel walking paths with plenty of open space and habitat galore. Great place to…read morefind serenity. Alligators can always be seen on the banks or in the water quietly waiting for a snack.