Gainesville, FL - Gainesville-Hawthorne State Trail (10/22 - 11/1/25)

Now that we are in FL, we will take advantage of the warm weather to ride some of our favorite trails in the state. In Gainesville, we stayed at the Santa Fe Palms RV Resort. The trail we ride when we are here is the Gainesville-Hawthorne State Trail. We also rode some other trails not too far from here.

This rail trail is 16 miles long and obviously from the name, you can tell where it begins and ends. The trail is mostly wooded with plenty of shade. We were able ride this trail twice for 35 miles each time.

We also rode the Palatka-Lake Butler State Trail. This fully-paved trail is in great condition and mostly very rural and runs about 37 miles each way. We rode this trail 3 times.

There were many friends on the trails to greet us as we passed by. This guy is particularly camouflaged against the trail surface. Be careful not to run over these creatures.

At the end of the trail in Gainesville, you can find several breweries. We like First Magnitude Brewing Co. If you go a little farther into the city, you can ride to the Boxcar or Cypress & Grove Brewing Company. which are also a great places to visit on a ride.

Good to see Monarchs out in the wild.

I don't know what this plant is, but it seems to be indigenous to the area. The leaves are huge.

This guy was crossing the trail as we biked on by.

If your ever in Gainesville, be sure to ride this trail while you are here.

From Gainesville, we will head further south to insulate us from the cold. Be sure to check out my future posts to see how the rest of our winter in FL went.