Levy Levee Loop at Barr Hammock Preserve

From the air, it looks like an arm of Paynes Prairie, detached by human activity.

West of Micanopy, Levy Prairie is an important link in a chain of natural prairies in an arc from the edge of Gainesville southwest towards Williston.

Owned and managed by Alachua County as part of their natural lands program, Barr Hammock Preserve has more than doubled in size to 12,000 acres since its inception.

Wildlife can now move unimpeded by roads from Levy Prairie to Ledwith Prairie, the next massive prairie to the south.

Red maples along the prairie’s edge

This hike description covers the original Levy Loop Trail around Levy Prairie, the first of the trails to open at Barr Hammock Preserve.

In 2017, Barr Hammock South opened along the edge of Ledwith Prairie, with more than 13 miles of marked trails for hikers, cyclists, and equestrians.

We have not hiked the Barr Hammock South part of the preserve yet, but the parking area for it is shown at the bottom of our map. These two segments of the preserve do not yet connect.

A sign marks the North and South Levees near the trailhead

Resources

Resources for exploring the area

North Florida Panhandle Explorers Guide book cover

Five Star Trails Gainesville Ocala book cover

Disclosure: As authors and affiliates, we receive earnings when you buy these through our links. This helps us provide public information on this website.

Overview

Location: Micanopy
Length: 6.8 mile loop
Trailhead: 29.516451,-82.306449
Address: 14920 SE 11th Dr, Micanopy FL
Fees: None
Restroom: None
Land Manager: Alachua County
Phone: 352-264-6868

Open 8-6 Nov-Apr, 8-8 May-Oct. Bicyclists and equestrians welcome.

For your safety and theirs, dogs are not permitted because of the alligator population in Levy Prairie. Avoid getting within 20 feet of an alligator.

This hike is a 6.8 mile loop around the prairie with absolutely no shortcuts. You either hike out and back a bit, or commit to the whole thing.

Most of this loop is in full sun. Use sunscreen and a hat. Stay on the levee, as the prairie itself is dangerously muddy and the outer side of the loop has homes along it for the first mile.

Directions

From Interstate 75 exit 374, Micanopy, follow CR 234 east to US 441. Turn north on US 441 and continue 1 mile to Wacahoota Road. Turn left and drive 0.6 mile, crossing over I-75 on an overpass.

Immediately after the overpass, take the first left – a sharp, doubling-back left – onto SE 11 Drive. Continue down this sometimes-bumpy dirt road for 0.6 mile. It ends at the trailhead.

Hike

Walk through the pass-through stile and stay to the right at the trail junction to walk counterclockwise around the loop. The north levee has no shade, so it’s best to tackle that early.

To your right, a floodplain forest with a natural marsh. To the left, a wet prairie encircled by this levee. The sounds of frogs and birds are everywhere.

Marsh near the beginning of the walk

In this broad open space, the wind rushes across the water, generating a nice swamp cooler effect off the marsh.

You can look across and see mostly open wet prairie with scattered cypresses and young floodplain trees.

Open water in the prairie basin

When you see the first warning sign, it will make you laugh. The preserve managers don’t want you to step off this levee, and with comical drawings, they tell you why.

The threat of alligators and deep mud should be enough to say “stay on the dike!”

Warning sign with cartoon drawings of mud, alligators, police

Warning sign along the hike

Atop the broad levee, the trail turns a corner to the right. It’s here the big reveal happens. Levy Prairie is vast. Wildlife scurries, plops, and chatters through the wetlands.

A giant rock on the right turns out to be a gigantic sculpture in front of an even bigger home. A handful of homesteads are hidden behind the trees on the prairie rim.

An alligator floats in the open water

Passing a pasture on the right, the trail makes a sharp left, heading away from the prairie rim and towards open water.

A line runs across the prairie, perhaps a canal cut for the cattle ranch. Beyond is a little bit of open water.

Looking across Levy Prairie at Barr Hammock

After a mile, prairies flank both sides of the levee. Passing Marker 2, it tells you it’s 1.5 mile back to the trailhead. Dog fennel obscures the views across the marsh. You can smell the deep, thick mud.

Sand cordgrass grows in clumps in the shallower wetlands. Watch out for the occasional divot in the levee as well as fire ant mounds.

Palms and oaks on the prairie rim

As the rim of the prairie is a nice mix of live oaks and cabbage palms, it’s a reminder of what William Bartram described in 1774 as he visited the village of Cuscowilla along Paynes Prairie.

Paynes Prairie is not far from here by horseback. It’s highly likely Bartram rode along the edge of this prairie as well.

A curve in the levee around Levy Prairie

After 2.7 miles, the trail comes to a junction. You leave the North Levee here.

Turn left to stay along the edge of Levy Prairie. The levee becomes a straightaway cutting through the heart of the prairie.

Bladderwort thrives near the culverts

The trail crosses culverts with manual valves enabling the movement of water from the prairie into a lower elevation wetland on the right.

The trail curves right, flanked by canals on both sides, it begins to enter the forest. Up to this point there’s been what seemed like old pavement underfoot since North Levee.

The South Levee has better views and better birding

The trail makes a sharp left onto the South Levee. A shady corridor stretches ahead as you walk along the remains of an old fenceline with weathered wooden posts.

The sides of this levee are flanked by a canal covered in water spangles and a tannic stream flowing away from the prairie into a gum swamp.

Black gum trees and pines below the levee

Passing occasional big breaks through the trees on the left, you can look out across the sweep of the prairie. On the right, the blooms of American lotus may catch your eye.

By 3.5 miles, the trail makes a slight jog to head down a long shady straightway. A towering loblolly pine on the left has three trunks, each topped with its own distinct crown.

The pitchfork-like trunk of a large loblolly pine

The South Levee continues its odd little jogs for the remainder of the hike, keeping you in the shade of large trees.

Many of the loblolly pines along this part of the trail are of significant size, along with a mammoth-sized sugar hackberry and some poison ivy vines in proportion to these big trees.

Royal ferns against the black water

At the base of the levee on the right, the habitat becomes a blackwater swamp, where royal ferns cast reflections against the dark, sluggish water.

Passing through the location of an old gate, the trail continues along excellent panoramas across the prairie.

The best panoramas are from the South Levee

At 4.5 miles, the trail makes another curve, turning away from the sweeping views. The forest closes in.

American lotus drift across patches of open water. Wading birds congregate in shallow pools along the prairie’s edge.

Shallow pools with the prairie beyond

The trail passes through another old gate and fence at 5.4 miles, where an adjoining oak tree has absorbed a section of an old barbed wire fence.

Past the gate, the trail starts to lose elevation. It’s here that you’re most likely to see alligators sunning on the banks. They should plop into the water as you approach.