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    Paynes Prairie Preserve State Park

    4.6 (62 reviews)

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    Jessica L.

    Didn't get to see the horses and bison but we saw gators ! Very cool experience. I definitely will come again

    Kathy K.

    With nearly 23,000 acres savanna and over 30 miles of trails, there's plenty to explore at this State park in Micanopy near Gainesville. The park is open 8am until sundown every day. Main entrance admission is $6 per vehicle. After entering we drove down to the visitor center to park. The Visitor Center facilitates the interpretation of natural and cultural significance. Open 9am to 4pm daily and also has restrooms and a small gift shop. We enjoyed the hike to the 50 foot tower providing a nice view of the open visit. We did not happen to see any animals like alligators, bison, deer and horses. But did see birds and insects. It was nice to experience a scenic Central Florida landscape.

    So sweet
    Renee N.

    Bison, Armadillos and Deer oh my! That's just a small example of some of the wildlife you will see when visiting this huge state park. Just south of Gainesville, you will find this unique and magnificent preserve. This park became Florida's first state preserve in 1971 and has now been designated as National Natural Landmark. The preserve is open from 8:00am to sundown. The first time I came here, I was with my daughter and her good friend. We parked the car, and paid our $6 fee and off we went into the preserve. So many beautiful Spanish moss trees and nearly 300 species of birds. The trail was so pretty and not crowded at all. The second time I came with my husband. First we checked out Lake Wauberg and saw some herons. The lake accommodates canoes, and boats with electric motors. Gas powered boats are not allowed. They also provide a pier for fishing. There are campsites as well for overnight visitors. The lake was lovely and very peaceful. I didn't get too close to the edge as there are also alligators here (no thank you). As we were leaving the lake area we encountered a live armadillo. Neither of us had ever seen one before. He was making his way looking for food and didn't pay any attention to us as we gawked at him. The biggest surprise of the visit was when we arrived to the Visitor Center. As we entered we were shocked to see a large herd of bison out back. Bison in Florida? We spoke with the one of the volunteers who explained that the State of Florida in 1975, reintroduced ten bison into the preserve. They have multiplied since then and are now wild roaming. We went out back to get a closer look but there is signage that asks you to keep your distance. We had no problem just viewing them from afar. We decided to walk out to the watch tower and climb up for better views of the preserve. As we made our way out a gentleman caught our attention as he had a huge zoom lens on his camera and was photographing a mother eagle feeding her babies. He asked us if we would like to see and of course we did. It was an incredible experience to witness this scene up close. We did not have enough time to walk any trails on my second visit but we did manage to encounter some pretty Virginia white tailed deer as we were exiting. So glad we had the opportunity to visit this spectacular state park and I look forward to visiting here again in the future.

    Before entering Savannah.
    Tanja N.

    This National Natural Landmark has been on my radar for awhile. Incredible biodiversity, our own savanna in Florida, who would have thought. If you are a bird-watcher, this is a place for you, if you can't travel to Wyoming to watch bison, this is the place for you.. wild horses, alligators, armadillos-Payne Preserve has it all. If you want to see wild horses and bisons, I read the best time of the day to visit are early mornings. We visited late, before sunset and using binoculars we did see both. It is very serene and calm park, not too many visitors on Saturday of our visit.

    Mark P.

    Went hunting for buffalo and wild horses. Sometimes you see em, sometimes you don't. Lots of birds; more than similar such places I've visited recently. And a few leviathan sized gators we saw looming about. Sort of exciting really, the prospect of running into these things in the wild ...on foot. lol. Exhilarating, almost. It's an Amazing place, rich in history, all 23,000 acres of it, with several many points of access including a visitor center, camping, recreation area, and observation towers. There's even a quick stop boardwalk heading North on 441; Ecopassage Observation Boardwalk, it's called. Recommending venturing early to avoid social hour at the tower and all its incessant prattle. How did I not know about this place sooner?

    Martina D.

    Paynes Prairie Preserve State Park is an AOK destination.  The visitor center isn't much, but the entrance fee is only nominal. Tip: The wildlife here is pretty much the same as what you'll find in all the other free parks in Florida When we went here, we climbed up the tower to take a look around, and saw what must may have been horses off in the distance; it was impossible to make out any details without a telescope or binoculars.

    Nancy W.

    Beautiful camping site near Gainesville. Water and Electric sites. Bathrooms with showers. Lots of hiking trails, visitor center and Animal life. The only bad thing was we were on campsite 20 and you can hear I-75 all day and night. No silence.. But we did meet a man that does Moth Photography! Very Interesting... They do offer senior discount.

    Watch out for bears!
    Christina B.

    This park is great for camping! The sites are large and every effort is made to keep them private! The sites are deep into the park and heavily wooded. There are natural screens of greenery between each site and the sites are well laid out. Each site has a picnic table, fire ring and lantern hook. The sites are clean and level. We camped here for two nights in a 30' Class A on site #10. There was ample room for our slide out and all of the chairs, rug and other campsite goodies. Very close to Gainesville and the University of Florida. Tons of shopping and restaurants nearb There is not a dog park here but there are plenty of places to get away from everyone and play with your furry buddies! This place would have gotten 5 stars from me if it had had full hookups. We really enjoyed the quiet and stargazing during our stay!

    Larry H.

    WoW. If you want to prairie walk and don't wish to be out in the direct sun, try the Jackson's Gap & Chacala trails. Great to enjoy the nature sights and still have some shade. This state park is a winner!!

    Joy X.

    $6/vehicle or $2/person - my hubs and I were visiting his 93 yr. old grandfather for his Bday weekend & looking for a Socially Distant activity - his grandpa suggested this park because it has a watch tower - the views are beautiful & we brought binoculars to be able to see wild horses close up including a pregnant one! The observatory was a hit - a must see and gives you wide views of the prairie! Also, we saw a Bald Eagle tending its nest - not too far from the Visitor Center - an educational hub w/an older volunteer was available to answer any questions we had. Overall, we spent a couple hr. w/our pup on the trails she was allowed and loved every min. One of the trails was closed due to flooding from the rain. We would've spent more time if we had an earlier start to the day despite it being overcast and raining a little. There were a few people and also a camping ground as well as a boardwalk - a very pleasant and wonderful surprise to discover!

    Lisa W.

    Paynes Prairie Preserve State Park is about an hour and 45 minutes (maybe 2ish) well worth it drive from Orlando. The park is open from 8 AM till sundown and costs only six dollars per vehicle. This $6 can be paid by an app or at the post and is done by the honor system. Please make the payment as our parks, and I, appreciate what it takes to keep them preserved and going for us. This park is HUGE! There are many hiking trails, bike trails, camping and recreation areas. Chances are you will see various wildlife. On our journey we saw deer a handful of times, turtles, birds, gators and more. I was hoping to see wild horses and bison as others have written about. Maybe next time. The trails are well kept and marked. This time Of year the sun was HOT (bring plenty of water and SPF) and the ticks were plentiful - make sure you use bug spray! spray spray and spray some more. The are areas to picnic and well kept restrooms should you need them. There is also an on duty ranger and maps should you questions or need guidance. Plan out your day with many nature activities...or night. Just make sure to check their website before you make the drive just in case there are any closures.

    Megan K.

    So cool. Only $6 and this place is huge. They also go by the honor system, make sure you have exact change. Not a lot of people, so it was a great place to social distance and get almost 6 miles in. We saw armadillos, wild ponies and a cool lookin turtle. I also almost stepped on a little gator because he blended in on the path. Was sad we didn't see bison, but it was still awesome. I read Bolen Bluff Trail is supposed to be great for seeing bison. Maybe next time!

    Looking down the road
    Kristen W.

    This is a great state park to camp at located just south of Gainesville. The property has a lake, picnic areas and plenty of hiking/biking trails. Try to catch a glimpse of the buffalo that roam the acreage. The camping facilities have bathroom and showers. The lots each have a fire pit and picnic table. Most lots are gravel. They have both 30 amp and 50 amp hook ups. The camping spots for RV's don't have full hook up (water and electric only) but there is a dump station on site. The scenery is lush and beautiful. Much nicer than some commercial camping facilities. It can be tight for larger rids to get in as there are a lot of trees to maneuver but that's the cost of a natural setting. Just take your time and you should be fine.

    We have arrived!! Where are all the wild horses??

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    A beautiful place you can see Buffalo and cracker cows and horses it's just so peaceful

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    Page 1 of 2

    Ask the Community - Paynes Prairie Preserve State Park

    Is there good places to fish from banks?

    Payne's Prairie State Park is a National Natural Park and they encourage you to leave no footprints. However you may fish along Lake Wauberg as long as you have your license and stay within the laws of quantity & size.

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    Review Highlights - Paynes Prairie Preserve State Park

    You'll likely see some interesting wildlife, including birds, alligators, turtles, armadillos, and even bison.

    Mentioned in 18 reviews

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    Ichetucknee Springs State Park - General Store

    Ichetucknee Springs State Park

    4.2(134 reviews)
    38.8 mi

    There are so many springs in Florida I've been wanting to visit. I finally made the time to check…read moreout Ichetucknee in Fort White, FL. This spring was one hour 45 minutes from Jacksonville. My friend and I traveled to Alachua Friday after work and stayed in a new Hampton Inn. I didn't want to get up early Saturday to drive nearly two hours and Alachua was roughly 20 minutes from the park. Lake City, the same distance as Alachua, had higher priced hotels. No thanks! I reserved our tubes and paid for the tram ride online a few days prior. We arrived at the park about 8:45 AM, with a 9 AM reservation for the tubes. There was a bit of a wait to enter the park. I suggest having $6 cash (park entry fee) ready as this will shorten your wait time. They do accept credit cards too. Parking was open so we found a shaded spot. We checked in at the wooden canapy and were given wrist bands and a key tag and advised to get in line to drop off my car key (they will hold for $3). You don't want to lose your key in the river;) We were also given a paper to pick up our tubes. Be sure to pick up a water proof pouch for your phone prior to arrival. I found one at Walmart for $5. And bring a metal cup if you want water while floating down the river or checking out any of the springs as they DO NOT allow plastic water bottles. Lastly we picked up our tubes which was pretty quick. Then we followed the path to the river entry. There was a park employee there checking bags including our water proof phone pouch (we had to show both sides). Check the website for items you are not permitted to take on the river. The tube ride was roughly 45 minutes to an hour. We saw birds, turtles and fish. Thankfully we saw no snakes or alligators, but they are around as it's a 2,000 acre park. The ride was relaxing as well as nature's sounds! Highly recommend! Once at the end, we hopped off our tubes and walked to the tram pickup spot. If you don't want to pay for the tram there is a walking trail leading back to the parking lot. No thanks lol! You can ride as many times as you want. We only did it once as we wanted to check out the Blue Hole. We had to leave the south entrance of the park and drive 10 minutes to the north entrance. One park entry fee allows you to access both park entrances. We walked a 10 minute shaded trail back to the Blue Hole. I slowly entered the 72 degree water via metal stairs. I swam for a short period as it was cold lol. But gorgeous blue water with a strong current due to the underwater caves. I suggest bringing snorkeling gear so you can see the caves below. There was also a bigger area of springs you could relax and swim a short walk from the parking lot. It was a fabulous day at the springs. I look forward to going back again!

    Beautiful, special place!! Just wish we had the time to see MORE!!…read more Not that there's anything wrong with all the beautiful (but at times EXTREMELY overcrowded/commercialized...) beaches of Florida, and if theme parks are your thing, FL is your place, but this park, in this wonderful, semi-undiscovered (by most travelers from up north, and even other Floridians, it seems...) part of the state is where I hope to return again and again!! Yes, I hear it gets MUCH more crowded on weekends/summer season, but if you plan well and/or get lucky on an "off" day, you'll have as WONDERFUL an experience as my friend and I did during a recent visit, and get busy planning your NEXT visit before you've even left the exit!! We arrived early to tube. The park's website was not quite as user-friendly as it could have been, but we figured it out, and reserved for an early tubing trip down the river. After a quick-ish hike with our tubes on a path through the woods (I think you can also take the tram...) we launched off the dock and took a BEAUTIFUL, peaceful ride down the river. Since we were there on a weekday, crowds were not bad at all, and we had a wonderful, leisurely float down the river, passing kayaks, other tubers, and paddle boards, along with MANY turtles, beautiful birds, and even a stealthy manatee!!

    Photos
    Ichetucknee Springs State Park - Check in

    Check in

    Ichetucknee Springs State Park
    Ichetucknee Springs State Park

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    Cedar Lakes Woods and Gardens - While you walk the gardens be sure to say "Hi" to Fuzz Ball, and look for soft paws.

    Cedar Lakes Woods and Gardens

    4.6(90 reviews)
    15.7 mi

    What a gorgeous park for people to visit!…read more A former quarry, this is now a tierd garden of beautiful flora and fauna. The fountain at the bottom is truly the centerpiece. At Christmas they did a gorgeous job of lighting up in holiday lights. And if you're like me, You go looking for painted rocks ala the Kindness rocks project.

    This was a fun walk around a garden that must have seen better days - or today was a dry day. We…read morehad fun, it was an old quarry where the owner envisioned and created a cool upper and lower path around and filled with some water, waterfalls, koi fish, swans, ducks, turtles, and oodles of plants: some unique some local- and even a Japanese stile garden with Tori gate et all. Today we didn't see the center fountain many admired, and sadly the water levels must have been low as the cascades were thin (at best). Nonetheless- we had a good time walking about and spotting an old bonsai tree, some Japanese-style bridges, and even a slithering water snake! How exciting!! In all it was a fun stop that broke our long drive from Tallahassee to Fort Lauderdale, so we had a good time. Entrance fee was a bit steep at $ 12 (for what was offered imho) and there is a veteran/military discounted admission ($6)but make sure you have your DD214 or Retired ID to show or else you will Not qualify. Enjoy!

    Photos
    Cedar Lakes Woods and Gardens
    Cedar Lakes Woods and Gardens - Picturesque scenery

    Picturesque scenery

    Cedar Lakes Woods and Gardens - Fuzz ball is one of many cats that consider our garden home.

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    Fuzz ball is one of many cats that consider our garden home.

    Blue Springs Park - The platform for jumping off (not gonna say diving because not a proper dive platform) on a nice spring day.

    Blue Springs Park

    4.4(11 reviews)
    25.3 mi

    County-owned and run park with a beautiful natural spring. There is a "dive platform", which I put…read morein quotes because as a platform diver myself, it's not high enough to be a proper dive platform but still you can do basic stuff or just jump off. Most of our state parks sadly have removed their dive platforms (Fanning, Madison Blue, Gilchrist Blue) so it's nice to find one. There are picnic tables and a I think a playground for little kids plus a sand volleyball court which gets very popular on weekends. Actually, the entire place gets very popular on weekends and I'd advise going on a weekday if possible. Otherwise, it's super-crowded and mostly rowdy teens. There are a lot of fish in the springs but if you want to freedive or snorkel and see them, come on a weekday, ideally in the morning. Once kids come around after school, the dive platform is the highlight and there's enough kids jumping off it to make the water very murky so you won't see anything then underwater. Tips: --It's cash-only, $2 admission for adults, not sure what for little ones. --No footballs: volleyballs are allowed, but no footballs! I asked why and was told by the girl at the concession stand "two boys playing football trampled a Karen who complained". So yeah, that. --The focus is very much on family fun: again, if coming to see nature come on a weekday, ideally early. --If you dive/jump off the platform, swim clear off it immediately. There's likely a middle schooler jumping right after you. Some run, jump, and don't look down and I've been hit before by flying tweens. --The road leading to the park is pretty long and paved. People drive like proverbial bats out of hell on it, 60 MPH or more. Be careful.

    The good is it is a nice family swimming hole. With extras like volleyball ball, play ground and a…read moredock the kids jump off of. So many here is supposed to be another her so here goes. Police were there a lot so they have security law enforcement to keep the peace there.

    Photos
    Blue Springs Park
    Blue Springs Park - You can dive off the dock

    You can dive off the dock

    Blue Springs Park - Always beautiful!

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    Always beautiful!

    Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings Historic State Park - Spiderwort wild flower!

    Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings Historic State Park

    4.6(23 reviews)
    10.5 mi

    As an English teacher, a lover of nature, and someone who loves to travel, I can say that our long…read moreanticipated journey to visit Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings Historic State Park did not disappoint. I first stumbled upon "The Yearling" earlier this year after having a conversation with a wonderful woman on the Cumberland Island boat ferry tour over the summer. She mentioned how much she enjoyed her visit to cross Creek. As a California resident, I borrowed the book from a family member who had it, and thus my love for Marjorie, her life, and work was born! We first arrived at her house, and walked around the citrus orange groves. We played with the pet chickens, and made numerous observations of the property. Shortly after, the tour began. The house tour was led by Emma, a young, extremely warm, and knowledgeable tour guide. Emma made everybody feel extra comfortable, inviting questions and comments openly. The tour takes you through her living quarters, her bathroom, master bedroom, and guest rooms. The artifacts, decor, and design have been preserved to fit the exact historical era of Marjorie's life, and the artifacts are original belongings. The tour offers visitors a chance to learn colorful stories about Marjorie's life, a close look at her literary accomplishments, and a bonus is to get to see her kitchen to truly appreciate her love of cooking. After the tour, it's highly recommended that you make a stop at the yearling restaurant, just around the bend in the country road. It is there were you can enjoy delicious southern cuisine inspired by her, and buy from the incredible selection of books and gifts they offered in their gift shop. The tour guide also had mentioned that the park offers great cooking demonstrations from her cookbook "Cross Creek Cookery" in the spring months. I certainly look forward to visiting again to participate!

    This place was surreal. It's was a flash in the past, made you feel like you were in the early…read more1900's. The trails are beautiful, have inspirational quotes along the way, and safe/short. I was totally impressed with the tangerine trees full of fruit. The park rangers were super helpful and friendly. We also enjoyed the park area. Bathrooms were okay, kinda outdated but adequate. It's not a big place but you can feel the history in this park.

    Photos
    Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings Historic State Park - The living room fireplace

    The living room fireplace

    Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings Historic State Park - The outdoor sitting area where Marjorie would work on her books on her typewriter!

    The outdoor sitting area where Marjorie would work on her books on her typewriter!

    Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings Historic State Park

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    Rum Island Park

    Rum Island Park

    4.0(4 reviews)
    29.0 mi

    Park was easy to find, didn't cost much to get in just few dollars and has nice swim area and…read morelaunch to put in kayaks..

    Rum Island is a park maintained by Columbia County. It offers access to the Santa Fe River for…read morelaunching boats (canoes and kayaks are especially popular) and access to a small spring for swimming. This spring is right on the river and will "brown-out" (become overflowed by dark river water and made less-appealing for swimming) when the river rises or when the natural flow of the spring decreases. Much of the time it is clear though and because the admission to Rum Island is free, it's a popular spot in the summer. I've free-dived the spring and it's often a bit dark but you sometimes can see a lot of fish. Though the county has provided a walkway and boardwalks leading into the spring, they only furnish Port-a-Potties for restrooms and there is nowhere (aside from your car) to change clothes and no showers. That said, let's be grateful to Columbia County for providing it at all. The name comes from the fact that the actual island which is in the river (and can be reached via canoe or swimming) was used apparently during Prohibition as a bootlegger's hideaway. Because it's now a county park, you cannot drink rum or any liquor here now, alas. Several families living on the long, twisting, road to the park have dogs and cats that may be in the road, so please go slow and be careful so you don't hit someone's pet.

    Photos
    Rum Island Park
    Rum Island Park
    Rum Island Park

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    Paynes Prairie Preserve State Park - parks - Updated May 2026

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