Morningside Nature Center
Gainesville 4.6 milesSince 1970, Morningside Nature Center has been Gainesville's flagship nature park, protecting the largest stand of longleaf pine savanna remaining within city limits.


Since 1970, Morningside Nature Center has been Gainesville's flagship nature park, protecting the largest stand of longleaf pine savanna remaining within city limits.

While the gentle loop boardwalk at Morris Bridge Park is a major reason to stop and savor the Hillsborough River, the park also provides cyclists a trailhead to off-road adventure

Surrounded by a rim of old growth cypress, Morrison Springs is a beautiful second magnitude spring with swimming and diver access down an interpretive boardwalk.

On the site of a former phosphate mine, worn footpaths top a windswept hilltop above the cypress swamps of the Peace River where a once-fabulous boardwalk to the river is in disrepair.

Follow a system of wide trails across pine forests, hammocks, scrub, and sandhill habitats to a scenic overlook and campsite along tidally-influenced Moses Creek.


Launch your kayak from either Koreshan Historic State Park or Lovers Key State Park for a paddle into Estero Bay to see Mound Key, a significant Calusa archaeological site.

The short, easily accessed Mount Carrie Wayside in Osceola National Forest showcases an old growth longleaf pine forest with a population of red-cockaded woodpeckers.

Named for the hill that it spills down to the edge of Lake Dora, Mount Dora has a walkable historic district and many nearby parks and trails.

One of Florida's largest mounds, Mount Royal was first documented by William Bartram in 1765, when it was an important central feature of a large village along the St. Johns River.

It's Florida Biking Month! Which makes it a good time to talk about bikes and the Florida Trail, and how to ride your bike to, but not on, our statewide National Scenic Trail when it's in the woods.

Dense woodlands, open plains, and lakes: it's all recreated here just outside the fence of the West Palm Beach International Airport at Mounts Botanical Garden.
