Paynes Prairie Preserve State Park Trail

Paynes Prairie Preserve State Park protects Florida’s largest prairie basin, a 21,000-acre landscape where wild bison and cracker horses roam freely as they have for centuries. The trail system explores this unique ecosystem, with the La Chua Trail providing the most dramatic wildlife encounters—alligators line the path in impressive numbers, while bison and horses graze in the distance. The Gainesville-Hawthorne State Trail crosses the prairie on an elevated rail-trail, offering panoramic views across the vast grassland. Observation platforms provide excellent vantage points for spotting the diverse wildlife, which includes sandhill cranes, white-tailed deer, and over 270 bird species. This is Florida’s Serengeti, a landscape that echoes with the wildness of an earlier era.