La Chua Trail

Dogs No Dogs

Features Birding · Wildlife

Wildlife viewing on this trail is great. Visitors can see alligators, a variety of birds, including great blue herons, the endangered snail kite, and bald eagles. Bison and wild horses may also be spotted.

La Chua Trail is part of Paynes Prairie Preserve State Park. Fees are $4 per vehicle or $2 for cyclists and hikers walking in. Dogs are not permitted on the prairie. Families with young children should be cautious of alligators.

This is not a very challenging trail. Once you leave the parking lot, you hike along a paved walkway. You'll pass beneath an old railroad and through an old barn until you reach the boardwalk. The boardwalk runs alongside the Alachua Sink. Once you leave the boardwalk, the trail is flat. Visitors should be aware that wildlife roams freely along the trails with alligators often perched on the trail itself.

Alligators, bison, wild horses, bobcat, great blue herons, snail kites, bald eagles, woodstork, American coot, ibis, limpkin, and more.