The flagship preserve for the nonprofit Alachua Conservation Trust, Prairie Creek Preserve encompasses both natural lands and a conservation cemetery.
A mosaic of uplands, swamps, and marshes filter their waters into Prairie Creek, which in turn flows towards Paynes Prairie.
Prairie CreekThree separate trailheads enable access to its trail network, including two along the Gainesville-Hawthorne State Trail.
Our hike starts at the Witness Tree trailhead, as it provides the quickest route to a pivot point junction for the trails on both the east and west side of the preserve.
Once you’ve hiked one side of the preserve, you can decide on your return trip if you want to add more miles.
Witness Tree trailheadResources
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Overview
Location: Rochelle
Length: Up to 7.5 miles
Trailhead: 29.596171, -82.228229
Address: 8416 CR 2082, Gainesville
Fees: Free
Restroom: None
Land Manager: Alachua Conservation Trust
Phone: 352-373-1078
Open sunrise to sunset. Trails shared with cyclists and equestrians. Leashed dogs welcome.
A picnic table in the shade adjoins the trailhead kiosk. The nearest restroom is a quarter mile east along the bike path.
Directions
From Interstate 75 exit 374 at Micanopy, follow CR 234 east to US 441. Turn right. Within a mile, make a left at the blinker to stay on CR 234. After nearly 7 miles cross the Gainesville-Hawthorne State Trail and make a left into the trailhead.
Hike
Cross the paved trail to the trail kiosk and sign for Prairie Creek Preserve and pick up a trail guide.
Access to the full trail system is via the white-blazed Susan Wright Trail, signposted just past the kiosk.
Start of the Susan Wright TrailFollow a comfortable footpath of pine duff and leaves through a pine flatwoods beautifully restored by the conservancy. Chalky bluestem grass waves beneath the pines.
Reach a low boardwalk curving out of sight. Spanning a seasonal drainage area, it wraps its way through the forest, ending at 0.2 miles.
Winding boardwalkSaw palmetto, gallberry, and staggerbush hem in the trail corridor. In another tenth of a mile, cross an elevated boardwalk over a stream between cypress strands.
On the far side the trail system splits. The Susan Wright Trail continues west as a narrow footpath blazed white.
Elevated boardwalkTurn left at the blue marker to follow the broader Kathy Cantwell Trail alongside the cypress strand. Patches of open water are interspersed with floating clusters of duckweed.
Ascend into the pine flatwoods that drain towards the cypresses, walking along the ecotone. At a T intersection with a forest road, make a sharp left.
Edging a cypress strandCross a limestone road at 0.6 mile and a bridge over its accompanying ditch into a segment of former pine plantation not far along in its restoration to xeric flatwoods.
It has furrowed humps to traverse. Exit this maze-like traverse of the dense understory to descend towards the cypress strand.
Restoration areaMake a right to follow its edge under the pines and oaks. Approaching a dark ditch, the trail curves along it to cross a bridge over the waterway at 0.8 miles.
Circle a large marshy pond, staying within sight of it while walking in the woods
Bridge over ditchPast a massive Southern magnolia with a split trunk, a long boardwalk traverses a drainage between the first pond and a similar one on the right.
An interpretive sign at the end of the boardwalk informs you of entering Prairie Creek Conservation Cemetery.
There are no traditional memorial markers or mowed lawns here; those laid to rest here become one with the forest.
Long boardwalkContinue on a gently winding route through the hardwood hammock, past a towering oak with a natural opening in its base like a small door.
The understory greens up on the approach to the Wayne Clements Trail at a mile. Turn left for a loop through the hammock.
Wayne Clements TrailCurving between oaks and saw palmetto, it reaches a clearing with a kiosk and two picnic benches, a nice spot for a hydration break.
Follow the edge of an open grassy area within view of a cypress strand into the hammock. Circle back to a second junction with the Kathy Cantwell Trail at 1.3 miles.
Southern junctionTo the left, the Kathy Cantwell Trail extends less than a half mile to a trailhead off the entrance to Prairie Creek Lodge along CR 234.
Add an extra mile to this 6.5 mile circuit to visit the lodge and restrooms. Otherwise, make a right to start back towards the Witness Tree trailhead.
Northbound on the Kathy Cantwell TrailWalking north through the hammock, we noticed subtle elements of the burial ground in the forest on the left.
Color-tipped posts like trail markers denote rows and the occasional slab of natural stone or spray of native plants as markers.
Conservation cemeteryPassing the Wayne Clements Trail sign at 1.5 miles, seal the small loop on the east side of the trail system. Retrace your route along the cypress strands.
Return to the junction with the Susan Wright Trail by 2.2 miles, your next decision point.
Pond before the bridgeCrossing the elevated boardwalk returns you to the Witness Trail trailhead to complete a 2.5 mile hike on the east side of Prairie Creek Preserve.
To extend your hike, make a left at this junction onto the Susan Wright Trail, following white blazes through the restored pine plantation.
Susan Wright Trail junctionCurving past a sinkhole and the open water of the cypress swamp, meet the Julia Reiskind Trail at 2.4 miles. Turn right.
Yellow blazes mark a straightaway edged with blackberries and dogfennel. Beyond a four-way junction, make a slight jog before continuing straight through the pines.
Trail junctionThis old logging tramway adds elevation as it enters a hardwood hammock. Traffic noise from SR 20 buzzes by at Kelly Crossing.
This walk-or-ride-in junction with the Gainesville-Hawthorne Trail at 3.1 miles has a map kiosk and a picnic bench.
Florida fringe tree at Kelly CrossingTurn left to start the return trip on the Jane Walker Trail. It descends into a majestic hardwood hammock, taking a 90-degree turn to stay above the floodplain.
Beyond the power lines, a straightaway on a tramway slices through the floodplain forest.
TramwayAfter it ends, keep alert for the junction with the the white-blazed Susan Wright Trail at 3.5 miles.
Staying on the orange blazes adds an optional round-trip of 1.8 miles to a small bluff along Prairie Creek itself, an often-wet traverse in its cypress-lined floodplain.
Pathway into floodplainMaking a left on the Susan Wright Trail, ascend into the uplands. Pine-palm flatwoods yield to an upland hammock.
Sparkleberry thrives beneath oaks and sweetgum. A picnic table sits in a mowed clearing under the oaks.
Picnic table in uplandsCrossing a drainage area on a boardwalk, walk between the pines to finish this loop by returning to the Julia Reiskind Trail junction at 4.1 miles.
Stay with the white blazes, retracing your route back to the junction with the Kathy Cantwell Trail.
Nearing the Cantwell Trail junctionCross the elevated boardwalk to return to the Witness Tree trailhead, completing a minimum 4.7 mile hike.
It’s 5.7 miles if you made the easy round-trip to Prairie Creek Lodge, or 7.5 miles if you also tackled the challenging round-trip to Prairie Creek.
Pine flatwoodsTrail Map
Explore More!
Video
Hiking Prairie Creek Preserve East
Slideshow
See our slides of Prairie Creek Preserve
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