Gainesville-Hawthorne Trail State Park, Rail trail in Gainesville, Florida, United States
The Gainesville-Hawthorne Trail is a rail trail in Florida that extends 16 miles through the region, featuring a 10-foot-wide paved surface with a parallel equestrian track. The route passes through Paynes Prairie Preserve State Park and is accessible from four distinct trailheads with parking.
The route follows a former railroad corridor that once connected small towns, with its past evident through concrete mileage markers and whistle posts still visible today. These remnants recall when railways linked these communities together.
The pathway connects urban Gainesville to rural Hawthorne, passing through diverse Florida landscapes including citrus groves, marshlands, and prairie ecosystems that reveal how the region transitions between settlement and wilderness.
The trail has four access points with parking: Boulware Springs City Park, Prairie Creek Preserve, west of Hawthorne, and southeast of Hawthorne. Plan your starting point based on which landscape sections you want to explore, as each offers different terrain and distances.
The western section near Gainesville includes elevation changes and curved sections, which is unusual for Florida where most routes are flat. These rises offer visitors a different experience than typically expected.
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