Gainesville-Hawthorne State Trail
The Gainesville-Hawthorne State Trail is a 16-mile paved multi-use trail in Alachua County, Florida. It runs from Boulware Springs Park in Gainesville, through Paynes Prairie Preserve State Park and the Lochloosa Wildlife Management Area, to the town of Hawthorne. The trail follows the route of the former Atlantic Coast Line Railroad.
The trail offers diverse landscapes from shaded hardwood to open prairie vistas to swampy areas and lakes. The western section is more wooded and provides a welcomed shaded canopy during hot days. Also, the western section of the trail near Gainesville has some mild hills and curves, while the eastern part towards Hawthorne is generally flat and straight.
The Gainesville-Hawthorne State Trail is designated as a National Recreation Trail which preserves an historic transportation corridor while providing valuable recreational opportunities and access to the natural beauty of the region.
About the Ride
We enjoyed our ride even though it was on a rather monotonous trail, but keep in mind I ride regularly on the W&OD Trail so I’m okay with riding for miles along a rail trail. We stopped often for pictures to capture the change in landscape as we made our way east and then back.
The scouting part of our ride took us on a packed sand and gravel road that had rolling bumps much like an elongated washboard. From the packed sand road we turned onto a busy paved road with speeding vehicles; with the exception of one truck that didn’t move over, all of the other vehicles gave us a full lane. Never have I been so happy to get back on a trail!
Ride Overview
- • Location: Gainesville – Hawthorne State Trail
- • Course Type: out and back plus a short parallel side excursion
- • Course Surface: paved with a short section of packed sand/gravel
- • Bike: Salsa Warbird
- • Distance: 40.13 miles
- • Time: 3:08:18
- • Average Speed: 12.8 MPH
- • Maximum Speed: 22.5 MPH
- • Elevation Gain: 666 feet
- • Elevation Range: 93 to 210 feet
- • Weather: 69° and mostly cloudy, climbing to 76° and partly cloudy
- • Date of ride: February 3, 2025
Apoxee Preserve in West Palm Beach to Riverbend Park in Jupiter, Roundtrip
Fog and cool weather kept us inside until just after noon when we ventured onto the Gainesville-Hawthorne State Trail. After parking at Boulware Springs Park, we rode into Gainesville before turning to ride the remainder of the trail to Hawthorne with a side trip to check out a segment of a possible gravel route for the following day.
We found this water fountain just beyond the trail as we made our way into Gainesville to explore.
Fortunately, graffiti was limited to this single location.
I just couldn’t get enough of the wide variety of ferns and palms growing along the Gainesville end of the trail.
This bridge safety fence was rusted and covered with lichens…
The fence had also been yarn bombed which I learned is a type of street art that uses colorful displays of knitted or crocheted yarn to decorate public spaces and objects, adding a touch of whimsy, color, and unexpected texture to the environment. Yarn as a decorating medium lasts longer than chalk, but isn’t permanent like paint.
More ferns and palms along the trail…
Just west of where we parked we passed the Sweet Water Preserve, but didn’t ride our bikes along any of the unpaved trails
About an hour into our ride, and after starting by heading west to the end of the trail and on into Gainesville, we rode back past the trail entrance where we’d parked. We stopped at the porta potties in the parking lot before continuing east to explore the rest of the trail.
As we continued east we took a short side trail to the Sweet Water overlook…
It’s always good to see controlled burns being used as a part of responsible forest management.
The trees along the trail became thicker as we continued toward Hawthorne…
Cute little Brown Anole…
Prairie Creek Preserve…
Shortly after passing the Prairie Creek Preserve we turned off the trail and onto a packed sand and gravel road. Other than when I’ve had to ride on soft sugary sand or sucking mud, this was one of the worst roads I’ve ridden on. It wasn’t bumpy per se, but had long rolling lumps that made it incredibly uncomfortable to ride on if I went faster than a snail’s pace. My husband, on the other hand, took off like a rabbit unscathed by the rough surface (see him in the distance?).
From the packed sand road we turned onto a busy paved road with speeding vehicles; with the exception of one truck that didn’t move over, all of the other vehicles gave us a full lane. Never have I been so happy to get back on a trail!
Once we were back on the trail we made our way to the eastern end in Hawthorne, looped around the parking lot, and started making our way back west toward our car in Gainesville.
The trail was well marked with signs, had ample places to stop and rest at benches and picnic tables, and this particular location had a bike repair station.
On our return trip we took the side trail to Alachua Lake Overlook.
Ending on a humorous note, if we had signs in Virginia warning of all hills blocking the view, our entire ride would have these signs…
Garmin Stats
Post-ride Garmin…
Garmin map and elevation graph…
Final Thoughts on the Rides
My husband and I thoroughly enjoyed this ride even though it was probably one of the least exciting of our rides during our Florida roadtrip. Don’t get me wrong, it was a fun ride, just not as interesting as our other rides. From a workout standard, at 40 miles it was a good workout, from a scenic standard, it had a wide variety of landscapes, but as a mostly flat and straight-away trail, it lacked the challenge we prefer when cycling.
Questions
- • Have you been to Gainesville or Hawthorne in Florida? ~ This was my first visit to both towns.
- • Does running or riding on long relatively straight trails bore you? ~ I actually love the familiarity of running/riding on the W&OD Trail near me.
- • Do you stop and relax occasionally to fuel or take pictures, or barrel on through when on a long run or ride? ~ pictures, always pictures, unless I’m racing
I’m linking up with Zenaida of The Running Teacher and Jenn from Runs with Pugs for Tuesday topics Link-Up. Be sure to check out not only the hosts’ posts, but those of the other great bloggers joining in on the fun!
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