Paynes Prairie State Preserve
Description: Day hiking through wild and historical Paynes Prairie. You're likely to see alligators and other wildlife. Bring your camera.
Starting Point: North Rim Interpretive Center. Take State Road 20 to SE 15th Street in Gainesville. Go south on SE 15th Street about 2.4 miles on the right. There's a big brown sign off to west side of the road, but it's hard to see from SE 15th Street. N 29.61487 deg, W 82.30600 deg UPDATE as of 07/16/2007: La Chua Trail here at the North Rim Interpetive Center remains temporarily closed. In dry times, alligators concentrate around the remaining water in this area. Too many gators and too many people all mixing in the same spot made the Park Service wary of the great potential for tragedy. I understand their position. Gators here are numerous. They lie in the tall grass next to the water, and it would be all too easy for a child, even an adult, to stumble over one. Check with Paynes Prairie State Park (352-466-3397) for the latest information. END OF UPDATE Alternate Starting Point 1: Boulware Springs. Take State Road 20 to SE 15th Street in Gainesville. Go south on SE 15th Street for about 2 miles. Boulware Springs is on the west side of the road. The La Chua Trail here is temporarily closed. See 07/16/2007 update above. N 29.62128 deg, W 82.30602 deg Alternate Starting Point 2: Paynes Prairie Preserve State Park. About 7 miles south of Gainesville and about 3 miles north of Micanopy, on U.S. Highway 441, on the east side of 441. N 29.61487 deg, W 82.30600 deg Finishing point: Same place you started.
HistorySpend the day exploring this historic 21,000-acre wilderness just south of Gainesville. Paynes Prairie was, during the late 1600s, the site of the La Chua Ranch, the largest cattle ranch in Spain's Florida. William Bartram passed through here in 1774, dubbing the place the "Great Alachua Savannah."Heavy rains beginning in 1871 slowly flooded the prairie, converting it, by 1873, into a body of water known as Alachua Lake. Steamboats ran on the lake for a while, but in 1891 the lake drained dry like a giant bathtub when the Alachua Sink somehow opened up, siphoning off the water. By 1903 cattle were once again grazing on the prairie's grasses.
Current StatusIn my lifetime, I've seen Paynes Prairie dry, and I've seen it flooded enough to have white caps on it on a windy day. The hurricanes of the 2004 season flooded a good bit of the prairie, so a lot of it is inaccessible at this time (Feb 2005), but it's still worth going to. I'm told, if history is any indication of the future, it may take the waters a year or more to recede to more usual levels.
Where to start
In my opinion, the best starting place right now (Feb 2005) is from the Paynes Prairie State Preserve, near Micanopy. There are a variety of trails you can walk. My favorite is the Cone's Dike Trail because I tend to see more wildlife there. During this time of high water, keep a watchful eye out for water moccasins and alligators on the trail. They're not really a problem, just be aware they might be there.
Alligators may appear lazy and slow-moving as they lie still sunning themselves, but they can rise up on all fours and run up to 30 miles per hour over a short distance. Think of how quickly a lizard can move, and imagine an alligator moving with the same speedy agility, because it can. Use that thought to tell you how much distance to maintain between you and an alligator.
Other Starting PlacesWhen the water level on the prairie is closer to normal, the North Rim Interpretive Center is a good place to start. From here it's just a short walk down the La Chua trail to Alachua Lake. SEE 07/16/2007 UPDATE ABOVE
Gators, Gators, and More Gators!
During times of normal water levels, Alachua Lake is the best place I've ever seen to photograph alligators. To say they are numerous might be conservative. As a matter of fact, when you're near the water, be careful where you step in the tall grass. I once walked to within about 10 feet of a large, sleeping alligator before I saw it. Luckily, the creature paid no attention to me. But that was too close for comfort.
The most delightful (and in some respects, spine chilling) photograph of alligators in this area was taken by my friend, fellow Floridian, and outstanding photographer, John Moran. When it comes to capturing the heart and soul of Florida in pictures, nobody, in my opinion, does it better than John. It's been said that if Florida had a photographer laureate, it would be John Moran. Check out this INCREDIBLE nighttime photo. You just will not believe it's possible for one small lake to have that many alligators. Aptly named, it's called The Night Has a Thousand Eyes Besides some choice opportunities to photgraph alligators, I've also gotten some good chances to take pictures of water birds--herons and egrets, for example. The interpretive center is only open during regular business hours Monday through Friday, excluding holidays. At other times, the office and gate are closed, making this starting point inaccessible.
Start at Boulware SpringsWhen the North Rim Interpretive Center is closed, you can get to Alachua Lake by starting at Boulware Springs off SE 15th Street in Gainesville and walking the mile or so down the Gainesville-to-Hawthorne Trail to the Interpretive Center, then on to Alachua Lake, and beyond.
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