San Felasco Hammock Preserve State Park
Nature preserve
2,887 acres16.9 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: Dswisener · CC BY-SA 4.0AOutdoors
Outdoors in Alachua
Alachua has 3,387 acres of parks, 315 for every 1,000 residents
15% of Alachua’s land is conserved, about 3,510 acres. The biggest trail networks: San Felasco Hammock Preserve State Park (16.9 mi), Turkey Creek Hammock Preserve (0.9 mi). 21 miles of mapped trail cross Alachua, 0.6 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 88% of U.S. towns · #56 of 638 in Florida. What drives it
Conserved land
15%
3,510 acres · of 36.2 sq mi of land
Trails
21 mi
0.6 per sq mi of land
Park land
3,387 ac
315 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
66%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
31 mi
5.7 mi lanes · 25 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
1
What kind of outdoors town is Alachua?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Alachua have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Alachua is ahead of 88% of U.S. towns, #56 of 638 in Florida. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; park acres per resident rank highest, the share of residents near a park lowest.
A
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Alachua’s overall grade.
Conserved land15% of the land · typical FL town 3% · U.S. 4%A−Trails0.6 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (21 mi) · FL 0.4 · U.S. 0.4B+Park land315 acres of park per 1,000 residents (3,387 acres) · FL 6 · U.S. 13AParks close to home66% of residents within a half mile of a park · FL 70% · U.S. 72%B−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 88%
LessMore
Florida towns of 2,500+ (638)Ahead of 91%
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from A− to A. Trails and many small parks come from OpenStreetMap, mapped by volunteers, so coverage varies from town to town; the half mile is a straight line from each census block, so a river or highway in the way isn’t counted against it.
PAD-US, OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors), Census 2025 Gazetteer and 2020 blocks; details in Sources below. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →
The map
Conserved land, trails & bike routes
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it.
Easements protect land from building but are usually private.© OpenStreetMap contributors · USGS PAD-US
Places to walk
Pick a walk
The longest trail network is San Felasco Hammock Preserve State Park, with 16.9 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Turkey Creek Hammock Preserve
Managed by Alachua County
378 acres0.9 mi of trail
Turkey Creek Loop
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Alachua Sports Complex
Park
27 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Turkey Creek Park
Park
3 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 5 parks & preserves
San Felasco Hammock Preserve State Park2,887 acres · 16.9 mi of trail
DirectionsTurkey Creek Hammock Preserve378 acres · 0.9 mi of trail · Alachua County
DirectionsAlachua Sports Complex27 acres
Turkey Creek Park3 acres
Reverend Gerald Criswell Park1 acres
Who protects it
3,510 conserved acres
15% of Alachua’s land. Who manages Alachua’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State parks2,879 ac
County486 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits104 ac
Town or city36 ac
Private owners4 ac
State Conservation Area · 2,879 acLocal Conservation Area · 379 acConservation Easement · 107 acUnknown Easement · 104 acLocal Recreation Area · 25 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 211 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 2 of 10 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Felasco Hammock Preserve State Park State Conservation Area | State parks | 2,879 | Open |
| Turkey Creek Hammock Preserve Local Conservation Area | County | 379 | Open |
| Hal Brady Alachua Recreation Complex Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 25 | Open |
| Jn Copeland Park / Progress Corporate Park Local Park | Town or city | 9 | Open |
| Downtown City Park Local Park | Private owners | 4 | Open |
| Criswell Park Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
| Feirmon E Welch Park Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
Things to do
2 places to go in Alachua
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Public pools in Alachua
Turkey Creek Pool
DirectionsPlaygrounds in Alachua
1 playground without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Trails & water
2 named trails and 1 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Horses · 6.4 miUnpaved · 2.1 mi
Turkey Creek Loop0.4 mi
Northwest 104th Terrace0.1 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
31 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
5.7 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
25 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
8Baseball
5Tennis
4Basketball
2Pickleball
2Football
1Skate park
1Soccer
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →2 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
When to get out
April is the best month for walking in Alachua
NOAA’s 1991–2020 normals for the town and the daylight at its latitude. Outlined months have long days, highs of 59 to 86 °F and little rain for the place.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daylight (h) | 10.4 | 11.1 | 11.9 | 12.9 | 13.6 | 14.0 | 13.9 | 13.2 | 12.3 | 11.4 | 10.6 | 10.2 |
| High (°F) | 67 | 71 | 76 | 82 | 88 | 91 | 92 | 91 | 89 | 83 | 75 | 69 |
| Rain (in) | 3.6 | 3.0 | 3.6 | 3.0 | 3.5 | 7.5 | 7.3 | 7.5 | 5.7 | 2.9 | 2.0 | 3.1 |
November is the driest month (2.0 in) and July the warmest (highs of 92 °F). 7.5 inches fall in August, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 92 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Alachua →
Next door
Alachua and its neighbors
Alachua has the second most mapped trails of the 3 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alachua | 15% | 0.6 | 315 | 66% | A |
| High Springs | 4% | 0.7 | 7 | 51% | B− |
| Gainesville | 12% | 1.0 | 29 | 90% | A |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Alachua
Where can I hike in Alachua?
The longest trail networks: San Felasco Hammock Preserve State Park, 16.9 miles; Turkey Creek Hammock Preserve, 0.9 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Alachua is conserved land?
15% of its land, against a typical 3% for a Florida town and 4% nationally (PAD-US). Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors: easements are usually private land.
Are dogs allowed on Alachua’s trails?
San Felasco Hammock Preserve State Park and Turkey Creek Hammock Preserve don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Alachua?
31 miles of bike routes are on the map: 5.7 of painted or protected lanes and 25 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Alachua?
26,021 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Alachua or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 3,387 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Alachua have?
Ahead of 88% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #56 of 638 in Florida. The grade combines the share of land that is conserved, miles of mapped trail per square mile of land, park acres per 1,000 residents and the share of residents within a half mile of a park. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
Trail talk
Conditions, parking and favorite walks from Alachua neighbors.
Share a tip
Sources
Where this page comes from
Conserved and public land: USGS Protected Areas Database of the United States (PAD-US), service updated July 2026. Parks, trails, playgrounds, beaches and other places: OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL), map data as of 2026-10-28. Land and water area: Census 2025 Gazetteer. Residents near a park: 2020 Census blocks. National Register: National Park Service. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →