All the construction is over. There is peace in the park again, whether you are bringing your dogs…read moreto run i the dog park or playing pickle ball in the brand new courts, or just chillin in a hammock and watching the birds flit around. This park is relaxing! You can even grill here and have a picnic while your children play on the playground!

Tom Petty Park is a cool park named for Gainesville, Florida's favorite son. Tom Petty is probably…read morethe most famous person to come out of Gainesville and it is fitting to have a park named after him. The park itself is pretty nice. It offers plenty of parking, has a nice walking path, tennis courts, a baseball field and more. It was a nice place to spend a bit of time on a Tuesday mid to late afternoon. I enjoyed walking the trail and just chilling. There was a decent amount of people in the park and they all seemed to be enjoying Tom Petty Park, as well. Tom Petty was an iconic rock and roller with a string of hits including "Listen to Her Heart," "Running Down a Dream," "American Girl," "Don't Do Me Like That," "Here Comes My Girl,"Free Falling," and more. It is fitting that Gainesville, Florida remembers Tom Petty and honor him with a park.

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.

Extremely boring trail, nothing more than two, one foot tall overlooks. I went here in March, the…read moretrail is very small and the creek overlooks had zero water. If you have kids it has a large playground, in general I dont recommend.

Recently I visited the Hogtown Creek Headwaters Park again, and it has expanded! The nature station…read morethat has been under construction for a while now is finally open, and is staffed on the weekends! There is a really nice exhibit inside detailing the history of the park and the house it is housed in, as well as some history of the area including the pitch farm that was in the area. In addition to the history exhibit, there are also nature exhibits showing the local fauna and flora. Definitely worth a visit now!

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.

A very neat place to see. Devil's Den Prehistoric Spring is…read moretucked away beside Cedar Lakes Woods & Gardens in Williston, Florida. Both locations are literally right next to each other. The Devil's Den is a fascinating hidden gem that offers a true taste of Florida's unique geology. A cenote is a natural sinkhole formed when limestone bedrock collapses. Most are very unique and all share that they seem to have crystal-clear groundwater beneath and an opening above for sunlight to reach the water through a hole in the ceiling. It is essentially a window into an underground aquifer. The springs typically have 72-degree spring water making it cool and refreshing no matter how hot it is outside. The experience is especially rewarding if you're visiting a cenote for the first time. The entrance is easy to miss from the walkway. We walked right past it. Gear rentals are available on-site, making it accessible even for beginners. You check in at the office and pay your fee and sign the waivers and then you can enter and descend a set of stairs with a notably low ceiling. Watch your head!. It is a little bit dark on the first landing but it had plenty of light at the large landing by the water. Below, the cavern opens up to reveal the stunning underground spring, perfect for snorkeling. We did not go snorkeling this visit but may try it the next time. Right next to the cenote is a pleasant above-ground pool area with a beach area and chairs. Right next to the cenote entrance are several covered tables for groups.. It's a convenient spot to dry off, eat a snack, or simply enjoy the surroundings after your swim. Overall, Devil's Den is a neat and unique geological feature that's well worth the stop, especially if you're exploring central Florida's springs. It's not a large site, so you won't spend all day there, but the chance to snorkel inside a real cenote creates a memorable, bucket-list moment.

What a cool place this is! We're camping here and get to take advantage of all the amenities…read more Regarding the Den itself: There's a huge swimming pond. You can play volleyball in the water (or on the lawn), make your way to the middle island in the pond and relax on a hammock, or simply relax in the water. The spring itself is down some stairs. It costs $30 to snorkel and I think $50 to scuba. You have to have mask and fins on at all times - you can't just swim in the spring. We're here in the "off" season and it hasn't been crowded at all. If you want to enjoy just the swimming pond / Oasis it's $15 a day. It's free if you camp here. The campground itself is small, only 30 sites. Most have full hookups and 5-6 are electric only. It's shady and quiet in the campground. We will definitely stay here again!

We do not live in the Gainesville area but we do have family that does. We came here for a…read morebirthday party for my nephew and this place is very similar to the other trampoline parks I've been to. This one, however has arcades, laser tag, and a rope course. Looks like they had party room options but our party was located upstairs at a long picnic type table. What I did like was that they had large loungers (very comfortable) available along the wall upstairs where parents and the adult guests could sit while the party took place. The kids jumped for about an hour then came upstairs for the pizza, chicken tenders, and cake. Given that the party seemed rushed there was no time to open gifts so we helped take them to the parent's car then we all left. My main reason for not giving 5 stars is that we were all advised that prior to the party to fill out the online waiver (which is required for all of these types of parks), which we did fill out. Upon arriving, we were asked to fill out a paper waiver -- I advised the young staff member that we already filled this out online so why are we now having to fill it out again. She seemed to be dumbfounded and didn't know -- told me that she was just told to have all party guests fill out the waiver and that she thought it was because they were having system issues but wasn't sure. Frustrating but I made the hubs fill it out since I did it online previously and didn't feel like filling it out again.

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.

This is a park that is well off the beaten path, buried in the back of a small housing development…read moreoff of Newberry Road in Gainesville. There is a small parking area and then a couple of paths that lead into the park. It is but a short walk into the park itself, and I can see it as being a good place to take a dog for a walk. In the park itself there is a small play area for children, as well as a community garden where you will see various food plants being grown. It was a bit overgrown when I was there, but it is towards the end of summer and the way weeds grow right now it isn't all that surprising. The park includes a couple of vita-course implements for exercise, but nothing like some of the other parks in town that have full courses. If you are interested in a park that is well off the beaten path that few people even know of, this should certainly be on your list.

I was beyond pleasantly surprised by this park! Like many other parks, it lists a non-existent…read moreaddress. So we made our way to the neighborhood and just poked around a little until we found the northeast entrance at SW 38th St. There was only parking for one car here. About 50 yards down the paved path from the entrance, there was a fork in the road with a dirt path. The paved path straight ahead leads to private property. Another 50 yards down the dirt path, a clearing in the trees opens to a quaint little playground, a community garden, wide open space, and what appears to be neighborhood sand toys. During our visit, I walked the surrounding paths to discover a small parking lot off SW 40th St. We also had the MOST AMAZING experience with one of the neighbors that participated in the community garden. She invited my kiddos to help pull a turnip, a few carrots, and taste some edible flowers and herbs! It was such a special experience for my family. Wild Spaces Public Places is planning a renovation, closing for 6 weeks beginning March 2019. I hope they are able to keep the special feel of this hidden gem (maybe just add some restrooms)!

Formerly Westside Park this 26.3 acre City of Gainesville park with many pine trees offers a nice…read moreplayground, recreation center, tennis courts, racquetball courts, basketball courts, three baseball fields, and a 1.5 miles of shaded trails. This serene outdoor area with bathrooms has a variety of activities for all ages.

I have driven up and down 8th ave hundreds of times, but I never really stopped at the park on the…read morecorner. I can't believe that all the years and years that I have lived in Gainesville, that I never knew there was a pool in this park and that pool has a huge waterslide!! What?!? This park has plenty of parking, a huge playground for children, two baseball diamonds, basketball courts and more! How did I not know this?!? Why didn't I pull over and explore! If you have young children, you have to come here, at least once! You'll never come here just once! Once you see it, you'll want to come back again and again! I know I want to!