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    Brighter Pastures

    5.0 (1 review)
    Open • Open 24 hours

    Brighter Pastures Photos

    Recommended Reviews - Brighter Pastures

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    6 years ago

    Helpful 2
    Thanks 1
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    Makin' Tracks Trail Rides - Me and Kit!

    Makin' Tracks Trail Rides

    4.8(19 reviews)
    43.0 mi

    This place had great reviews on Yelp so I went for it! It was slightly underwhelming for what the…read moreother reviews were saying. It was an experience to be in the rural country area of Florida. Time stops here so don't expect everything to be as the time slot shows. It's a dirt road out to a house with a little old sign that barely appears to be the business. We pulled in and looked around for the owner and eventually found him preparing everything for our ride. It took some time standing around waiting for some of this family to arrive to go on the ride with us. In the mean time we let the goats and chickens and horses. All the horses look well taken care of and all the animals seem happy so that was a good sign. There's a definitely a moment of "what did I get us into" when we pulled up to the barn and saw the behind the scenes and waited around a bit for them to load everything up into the trailer. We followed them to the trailhead in our car and then saddled up and headed out. I've been on better trails before for the ride so it was a bit underwhelming, but the Florida foliage was unique and pretty. Our guide was training a new lead horse so we had a few jumpy moments, but he knows what he's doing and showed us his training skills. All our horses were very well behaved and felt safe to be on. Overall, it's definitely a novice business and nothing special, but the opportunity to interact with some real country folks made it feel authentic and was neat.

    Makin' Tracks Trail Rides is a family owned business and you truly feel the love and warmth of the…read morecommunity and love the workers and stable hands give to the rides. I really recommend this ride to anyone! they do a 75$ hour dry trail ride and a 120$ 3 hour ride where you spend one hour riding to the river an hour litterly swimming with the horses and an hour coming back ! We did the dry ride and will def be back for the swimming with the horses. Thank you for showing my mom and i a great time!!

    Photos
    Makin' Tracks Trail Rides - This mustang likes to go FAST!

    This mustang likes to go FAST!

    Makin' Tracks Trail Rides - Group photo at the end with Kit kat , Lexi , Lily and Bones

    Group photo at the end with Kit kat , Lexi , Lily and Bones

    Makin' Tracks Trail Rides - Riding on the trail

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    Riding on the trail

    Gainesville - Hawthorne State Trail - Well marked Mile Markers

    Gainesville - Hawthorne State Trail

    3.0(6 reviews)
    19.1 mi

    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.

    Photos
    Gainesville - Hawthorne State Trail - Nice clear ride paths

    Nice clear ride paths

    Gainesville - Hawthorne State Trail - Gainesville-Hawthorne Trail

    Gainesville-Hawthorne Trail

    Gainesville - Hawthorne State Trail - Gainesville-Hawthorne Trail, MILE 6

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    Gainesville-Hawthorne Trail, MILE 6

    Brighter Pastures - horsebackriding - Updated September 2026

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