As the site of a significant Spanish mission, weird karst geology, and an array of Appalachian plants and trees that simply don’t creep much farther south, San Felasco Hammock Preserve State Park is a passive preserve that most visitors only get to know a corner of.
Resources
Overview
Location: Gainesville / Alachua
Lat-Lon: 29.714571,-82.460853
Fees: $4 per vehicle
Open: 8 AM until sunset daily
Leashed pets welcome on hiking trails only.
Location
About the Park
Zoned for different recreation uses, the most popular portions of the park are the hiking trails, found off Millhopper Road in Gainesville, and the off-road bicycle trails, accessed from Alachua.
A rambling network of equestrian trails in a series of connected loops criss-crosses the bike trails and is accessed from the same trailhead.
Hidden in these leafy glades in the southernmost deciduous forest are hundreds of sinkholes and whispers of many layers of Florida history, including that of the San Francisco de Potano mission, one of the earliest in the New World.
For those who just want to dip a toe in, the hiking-only Moonshine Creek Trails provide a good cross-section of what the remainder of this preserve has to offer: karst features, beautiful wildflowers, and enormous trees.
Explore the park
At San Felasco Hammock - At San Felasco Hammock Preserve State Park, two hiking trail systems offer two different perspectives on karst landscapes and dense deciduous forests.
Moonshine Creek Trails - The Moonshine Creek Trails immerse you in the botanical beauty and karst weirdness that are important facets of San Felasco Hammock Preserve State Park.