Paynes Prairie Preserve State Park

Went to Bolen Bluff today and it was a really sweet loop trail that was 2.6 miles round trip. There was not enough benches on the Trail and if needing accessibility to open the gate one has to call ahead of time. The marsh side and the view of the basin is beautiful.

This took me back to the days when I was a little kid watching the Discovery channel and the crazy shenanigans that Steve Erwin would do with just about any animal. If there was a venomous snake he would play with it maybe give it a kiss and crocodiles he would basically cuddle and watch Netflix with them. Anyway walking through the prairie took me back to my childhood and made me feel like Steve Erwin.
We were luckily enough to see a bunch of wild horses, some of them were quite big and didn’t want us anywhere near them that’s for sure. Then when we got near the water of course we wanted to see some alligators but there weren’t any and all of a sudden they were everywhere. Some of them were probably 10 feet long and just to see them with no fence or any kind of barrier in between you and them is a breath taking feeling.
This is an awesome experience and for any adventure seeker or anyone aspiring to be the next Steve Erwin.

IF you like and appreciate nature it is one of the best places in north central Florida and absolutely unique in this area. The only caveat I would add and URGE you to take seriously, is that this is a nature preserve — it is NOT DISNEY!!! I have personally witnessed visitors doing some really incredibly dangerous things here, as if they honestly believe the wildlife is tame and all the warning signs are meant for someone else. People have lost pet dogs to alligators here (which is especially odd considering pets are NOT ALLOWED). I personally witnessed one foreign visitor being threatened by a water moccasin, which are one of the more aggressive poisonous snakes in North America and which are plentiful here. The bison and wild horses will probably not attack you but should NOT be approached. This is NOT A ZOO!!!

I’ve only seen a small portion of the Preserve but seeing it repeatedly for many years in it’s ever changing seasons is simply magnificent!
At various times of the year you can walk out onto the boardwalk and see different types of animals, flowers, trees, and beautiful sunsets. Though it’s properly called a prairie, depending on the season it is also a swamp and wetlands.
Marjorie Harris Carr’s vision continues to live on hopefully for many more generations.

Such an amazing place with a lot of good trails and places to see. Plan to spend at least two to three days exploring if you are in the area. Best place to see gators is from the la chua access near bouleware springs park and Hawthorne trail. If you want to see horses and bison check out the main entrance and bolen bluff trail.

Payne’s Prairie is a sprawling preserve with a lot of different things going on: it’s the unique prairie which is the main draw, but a lot of scenic wooded habitats also to visit on the multiple trails. The larger visitors’ center also is quite worthwhile with its historical and natural exhibits explaining the prairie and how it is unique and special to Florida as well as how early settlers made use of it. The whole past of the prairie is pretty fascinating and this visitors’ center itself was awarded an architectural design award when it was built back in 1983 – something that seems very well-​deserved. There is also camping and the long network of trails: I’ve only explored a small fraction of the preserve really so I cannot comment on all of it, but from what I’ve seen it’s engaging and worth the time to explore.

A wonderful place to visit nature and possibly see some wild horse and buffalo. Plenty of short nature trails to hike on… we followed a armadillo for while it sniffed around — my daughter loved it. Definitely worth a trip if in the Gainesville area.
Along the main road once you enter the park, there are plentiful plants and flowers that attract native Florida butterflies — stop alongside and take pictures… just wonderful.

Heard that you can see live gators here so decided to check it out. Did the La Chua Trail. Unfortunately, I didn’t see a single gator. Sad, sad panda :((
Nevertheless, it was a lovely trail. Loved the prairie, sinkhole, and wildlife. Great bird watching and bird photo ops here. It was a different terrain as I was used to seeing on hikes in Cali.
Would like to eventually return and check out their other trails when back in the Sunshine State.

Beautiful park with so much wildlife and so many beautiful things to see. I was visiting Gainesville from out of town, and my friend brought me to this nature wonderland. We went to one of the visitor’s centers for some info on what animals might be out and about that morning, and climbed the observation deck for a nice bird’s eye view of the prairie. We decided to do the La Chua Trail and check out the sinkhole. It was a lovely experience and we saw so many alligators and birds cohabitating. It’s kind of amazing (and maybe a little crazy) to be able to walk right up to a bunch of gators just sunning it up alongside the water! The trail itself is flat and out in the open– wear a hat and sunscreen, and bring plenty of water and maybe some snacks if you head out there on a sunny day! It would be great to visit again and check out some of the other trails… I’ll maintain the hopes of catching a glimpse of a bison out there one of these days! The Spanish moss hanging from the trees at the beginning of the trail were lovely, one of my favorite things about this part of Florida. Absolutely gorgeous… highly recommend it!

Really affordable, peaceful and private for an RV stay. Super friendly park staff. It’s the nearest RV site I found to Shand’s hospital, which is why we were in town. Also quick drive to UF & all the restaurants there. DEFINITELY would stay in the RV here again.

Beautiful park with plenty of trails, meadows, forest, and a couple lakes. Lots of areas and types of ecosystems to explore. Wish I’d spent more time here when I lived in Gainesville!
Only criticism: we reserved the primitive camp site, but upon arrival (2mile hike), it was already occupied by a drunk group who said they’d reserved it too! We had to find another spot elsewhere. What a ripoff of $ 20 for camping but not even able to use reserved facilities (bathroom and firepit)! :(

I came here with friends to camp for the first time in March. The staff was very helpful when we arrived and were great at answering questions I had before we arrived too. The bathrooms were clean (as clean as national park bathrooms can be, I suppose) and the campsite felt secure, yet private. Unfortunately, we went camping during torrential rain and had to leave in the middle of the night, but other than that, the campgrounds and park were pretty and you can’t beat the price!
Bring your own firewood (we forgot to) because it’s a bit of a rip off at $ 5 a bushel (proceeds go to a wildlife preservation fund, though).

I have been a prairie-​goer for a few years now, and it makes living in a small city like Gainesville worth it…
The prairie is huge. Expansive. There are trails, sinkholes, wild horses, bison, marsh hares, alligators, camp sites and viewing towers…
To really get an idea of how interesting this prairie is, let me regale you with a few tales of my visits to the prairie, all different and all memorable.
1) The walkway down 13^th Ave. If you drive down 13^th, going south, you will eventually hit the highway of the prairie. Roll down the windows, go the speed limit, and crank up the radio. Just for those few minutes, you truly feel alive and that America has some hope for adventure. There is a wooden walkway in the middle, and you will always see cares pulled over. I first went here to see a meteor shower many moons ago with some friends. The air was chilled, the walkway was packed with college kids and their friends, bundled under the cold night sky with sleeping blankets and the warmth of their neighbor. We had hot cocoa and watched the sky fall. it was really magical.
2) The camp sites. Camping sites are few and far in between in Gainesville. Being a camping person, my boyfriend and I decided to rent a site (~$ 15) for a night. The sites are kind of really close to one another, and it sucks when you want a quiet night and a group of 10+ freshman are drinking and dancing next to you, but it is still very nice out.
3) The trails. Oh, the trails. The first trail we went down was the La Chula (sp?) trail, where we were completely alone. We walked past the sinkhole full on gators and walked a very narrow grassy path, with swamp and the sound of territorial gators on either side of the 3 – 4 foot wide passageway before you. Honest to God, one of the scariest moments of my life. Little did we know it was mating season. Warning, do NOT go into gator territory during those summer months. Don’t be a fool, like me. We finally reached the viewing platform and saw not much of anything. We did see a marsh hare, who almost let us get close enough to pet it. Then we had to brave the trail back. Thank God other people were headed down it, plenty of meat besides me for the gators to go after.
The second trail we went down, the next morning, was Bolen’s Bluff. It is right after the prairie highway on your right. You walk about one mile through a mid-​dense forest until you all of a sudden see the woods open before you. There is the prairie, all light up and free from the darkness of the forest! And when I went the first time, I was met with a herd of wild Spanish horses. How freaking awesome was that? I felt like Lily in Legend, and I couldn’t help but have a smile from ear to ear. The horses were at the crossover point from the forest to the prairie, like guardians of the wild. We walked up to them, they didn’t fear us at all, but we didn’t want to touch them. (C’mon, guys, please don’t touch the horses.) There were brown ones, white ones, and some foal. They neighed and walked about, it was beautiful. Beware the horse pies and the bison poops! You can tell the bison poops because they look like mud piles and have the split hooves all over them. We also saw some deer there. The view tower is not that great here though.
The third time, we went down a path at 8 am IN the midst of the park. Don’t remember what it was, but it was recommended by the employees of the park. I brought my binoculars with me and we got to see bison that day from the view tower. It’s like a bad game of Where’s Waldo.

Really gorgeous wildlife area. We only had time for a short day trip so we hiked the Wacahoota Trail. It was a really pretty, super easy hike along one of the waterways out there leading to an observation tower at the end of the trail. It took us a little less than an hour and a half to hike round trip, and we were being professional dawdlers, stopping to take pictures of everything. I would love to go back on my next visit to Florida and spend more time out here, because it’s truly lovely.

Although it was a crabby and crampy day in my world– this place is gorgeous and is a must hike if you’re a must hiker.

A must visit place.
Very unique to the Gainesville area