Preserve State Park

Paynes Prairie Preserve State Park

Alachua County, FloridaAbout 21,659 acresEstablished 1971

Status: Open (per official listing)
Entrance fee: Statewide rule — see below
Day-use reservations: None mentioned
Dogs: Not stated — check with park
Camping: 55 campsites
Official site: floridastateparks.org(352) 466-3397

Official page last checked Oct 29, 2026. How we keep this current

Overview

The beginning of Wacahoota Trail — Paynes Prairie Preserve State Park. Photo: Operator 16. CC0 1.0 (public domain dedication)

In Alachua County, about 11 miles south of Gainesville, Paynes Prairie Preserve State Park covers about 21,659 acres.

Popular activities here are horseback riding, canoeing and kayaking, boating, biking, and fishing. On the water side, there is a boat ramp. Camping is available: 55 campsites across 3 camping areas, including RV sites with full hookups, tent sites, and primitive or hike-in sites.

Fees and passes

Varies by park (mostly per vehicle; some per person/pedestrian/cyclist; some free).

Statewide fee rule from Florida's park system; this park’s page doesn’t list its own fees.

Reservations

Day use: No day-use reservation requirement mentioned
Booking system: Florida State Parks Reservation System (UseDirect / Tyler 'RDR' platform)

Check availability and book

We link to the official booking system rather than showing live availability, which changes minute to minute.

Camping

Campground or site type	Sites	Hookups / features	Price
Primitive	3		—
Volunteer Restricted use: Volunteer	2	2 with water, 2 with sewer	—
PPCG	50	50 with water, 1 with sewer	—

Camping details from the park

Primitive: 3 site(s) — Primitive

Volunteer: 2 site(s) (2 with water, 2 with sewer) — Volunteer

PPCG: 50 site(s) (50 with water, 1 with sewer) — RV/Tent, Tent, Back-In, Tent, Trailer, Bus, Caravan/Camper Van, Fifth Wheel, Large Tent (9x12), Pop up, RV/Motorhome, Tent-Trailer, Truck/SUV/Van, Tent

From the official park page, checked Oct 29, 2026. Site counts and prices can change; confirm when booking.

Things to do

HikingBikingBoatingHorseback ridingCampingCanoeing and kayakingFishingWildlife viewing and birdingPicnicking

Trails

Trail	Length	Difficulty	Notes
La Chua Trail	0.95 mi	—	HikingStabilized surface
Lake Trail	0.65 mi	—	HikingBikingNatural surface
Bolen Bluff Trail	2.07 mi	—	HikingBikingNatural surface
Hawthorne Trail	2.54 mi	—	EquestrianNatural surface
Chaclaca Pond Connector	0.41 mi	—	HikingBikingEquestrianNatural surface
Chaclaca Trail (White Blaze)	1.28 mi	—	HikingBikingEquestrianNatural surface
Cone'S Dike Trail	3.81 mi	—	HikingBikingStabilized surface
Jackson'S Gap (Red Blaze)	1.14 mi	—	HikingBikingEquestrianNatural surface
Chaclaca Trail (Yellow Blaze)	2 mi	—	HikingBikingEquestrianNatural surface
Chaclaca Trail	0.08 mi	—	HikingBikingEquestrianNatural surface
Wachoota Trail	0.42 mi	—	NatureNatural surface
Chaclaca Trail (Blue Blaze)	2.66 mi	—	HikingBikingEquestrianNatural surface

Trail descriptions from the park

La Chua Trail (Hiking) — 0.95 mi, Stabilized

Lake Trail (Hiking, Biking) — 0.65 mi, Natural

Bolen Bluff Trail (Hiking, Biking) — 2.07 mi, Natural

Hawthorne Trail (Equestrian) — 2.54 mi, Natural

Chaclaca Pond Connector (Hiking, Biking, Equestrian) — 0.41 mi, Natural

Chaclaca Trail (White Blaze) (Hiking, Biking, Equestrian) — 1.28 mi, Natural

Cone'S Dike Trail (Hiking, Biking) — 3.81 mi, Stabilized

Jackson'S Gap (Red Blaze) (Hiking, Biking, Equestrian) — 1.14 mi, Natural

Chaclaca Trail (Yellow Blaze) (Hiking, Biking, Equestrian) — 2 mi, Natural

Chaclaca Trail (Hiking, Biking, Equestrian) — 0.08 mi, Natural

Wachoota Trail (Nature) — 0.42 mi, Natural

Chaclaca Trail (Blue Blaze) (Hiking, Biking, Equestrian) — 2.66 mi, Natural

Boating and paddling

Boat Ramp; Canoe/Kayak Launch; Canoeing/Kayaking; Boating

Fishing

Fishing Area; Fishing

A state fishing license is usually required.

Amenities

Facilities

Restrooms
Vault or pit toilets
Picnic areas
Picnic shelters
Visitor center
Nature center or museum
Parking

Water

Boat ramp

Camping

Tent camping
Sewer hookups
Primitive or backcountry camping

Recreation

Horse trails

✓ listed by the park · ✕ the park says it is not available. Anything not shown here isn’t mentioned by the official source — that means unknown, not unavailable.

Getting there

Address: 100 Savannah Boulevard
Micanopy, FL 32667
Nearest town: Gainesville — about 11 mi south (straight line)
Coordinates: 29.5195, -82.2977
Phone: (352) 466-3397

Entrances

Secondary Entrance
Main Entrance

Google Maps directions Apple Maps

Nearby state parks

Price's Scrub State Park

4.6 mi south (straight line)

Gainesville-to-Hawthorne State Trail

7.1 mi north (straight line)

Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings Historic State Park

8.7 mi east (straight line)

Devil's Millhopper Geological State Park

14 mi northwest (straight line)

Dudley Farm Historic State Park

17.5 mi northwest (straight line)

San Felasco Hammock Preserve State Park

20.7 mi northwest (straight line)

Silver Springs State Park

25.4 mi southeast (straight line)

Mike Roess Gold Head Branch State Park

30.4 mi northeast (straight line)

Sources and freshness

Florida State Parks (Florida Park Service) — park page — last checked Oct 29, 2026
FDEP Open Data ArcGIS: Florida State Park Boundaries (PARKS_BOUNDARIES layer 0), dataset modified 2026-09-10 per the DEP open-data hub
Wikidata
USGS PAD-US 4.1 (boundary and acreage)
Photo: Paynes Prairie Preserve State Park 01.jpg — CC0 1.0 (public domain dedication), Operator 16

“Last checked” is when our system last read the official source. No change has been detected since this page was first published. Hours, fees and rules can change without notice — confirm with the park before you go. Methodology

Report a correction for this park