Sweetwater Preserve

Dogs Leashed

Features Birding · River/Creek · Wildlife

The Sweetwater Preserve is home to a popular pedestrian and mountain biking trail in Gainesville. The trail winds through many different ecosystems, and can be connected to the Gainesville-Hawthorne Trail.

Keep an eye out for other trails users, especially cyclists. The majority of these trails are singletrack.

Enjoy making your way through several ecosystems while touring this park, ranging from hammocks to pine land. There are several smaller interconnecting loops in this park, and this route takes advantage of each trail and viewpoint. This is a very popular place for cyclists as well, so keep an eye out for other trail users on your hike.

Especially if you hike in the mornings, stay alert to catch a glimpse of the local bird life, which is abundant in this area.

Southern Pine, palmetto, live oaks, cypress, saw palmetto