If you’ve lived in Gainesville for a while now, you often get the question from family and friends, “what is there to do in Gainesville?” Many think of Gainesville as a town in the middle of nowhere in Florida, and most of the time they’re probably right. The nearest city in any direction is a good hour and half away.
However, you could live in Gainesville your entire life and not know some of the cool things that are going on around here.
Find out what’s happening in your own backyard.
1. See an actual Monet at the Samuel P. Harn Museum of Art.
Address: 3259 Hull Rd, Gainesville, FL 32607
Hours: Tuesday – Friday (11AM-5PM), Saturday (10AM-5PM), Sunday (1PM-5PM)
Our museums really don’t get enough credit. Did you know that the Harn is considered one of the largest university-affiliated art museums in the United States? Because I sure didn’t. In fact, the Harn has over 9,000 works of art that include African, Asian, modern and contemporary art, and many collections of photography. Of those works include an original Claude Monet, called “Champ d’avoine (Oat Field), which was donated to the museum by best-selling author and local resident Michael A. Singer.
Tip: it’s free (thanks UF!) and the perfect place to spend the day when it’s raining outside. Because Rainesville.
2. Observe wild animals, like bison and native horses, in their natural habitat.
Paynes Prairie Address: 100 Savannah Blvd, Micanopy, FL 32667
Sweetwater Wetlands Park Address: 325 SW Williston Rd, Gainesville, FL 32601
You know you’re from Florida when an alligator sighting doesn’t faze you. Alligator crossing the road using a crosswalk like a law-abiding citizen? Cool story, bro. Alligator climbing a fence? Even cooler story, bro. Tell it again. Fortunately in Gainesville, that’s not the only wild animal you can see here.
Payne’s Prairie is home to an abundance of wildlife, but for some it may be surprising to see a herd of wild bison grazing along the prairie. There are supposedly a herd of 50 to 70 bison, which came from a group of ten that were introduced to the park in 1975. You’re probably thinking, is it really their natural habitat if they had to be introduced to the park? Yes, because they were found to have inhabited this area dating back as far the 19th century. We can thank the European settlers for their short departure.
Tip: you’re more likely to find them from the observation deck.
Sweetwater Wetlands Park recently just opened last year as part of a restoration project designed to benefit the both the Gainesville community and environment. By restoring the wetlands (which acts as a water filter), it also improved the Alachua sink. You can also find an abundance of wildlife in the park, including wild horses. These Florida cracker horses (I swear that’s what they’re called) can be found around the park, but you may have to go a couple of times before you actually get to see them.
Tip: bring a hat. It’s a wetland, so you don’t get as much tree coverage as you would with other parks, like Payne’s Prairie.
3. Go tree-climbing with Canopy Climbers.
If there’s one thing that Gainesville has an abundance of, it’s trees. There is no shortage of foliage in The Swamp. Canopy Climbers was started by Daniel (Danny) Lyons out of his love for adventures and climbing trees. If you’re going to safely climb any tree in Gainesville, Daniel is the guy to do it with. Danny is a TCI-trained tree-climbing Instructor and an expert in advanced climbing techniques. He teaches the two-day Beginning Tree Climbing Course (BTCC) in Gainesville and occasionally in Atlanta, working with Tree Climbers International (TCI). His other classes also include a one-day Hitchclimber Course and he even does a tree-climbing retreat in Micanopy.
Tip: 10 percent of Canopy Climber’s income is donated to help maintain, beautify and protect the parks in which they climb.
4. Hop on a Florida Fun Bike.
Nothing sounds more fun (or ironic) than exercising on a bike while chugging pints of beer with your friends. Dubbed as “The Best Bar Crawl in Gainesville,” Florida Fun Bikes is a 16-passenger human-powered bike that takes you to different bars in Midtown and Downtown to enjoy exclusive drink and food specials. You can reserve it for two hours if you have a group of 8-16 ready to go or you can do a Mix N’ Mingle tour if you are looking to make some new friends.
Although you can’t drink alcohol on the bike thanks to the City of Gainesville open container laws, you are encouraged to bring your own snacks, drinks, props, costumes, party hats and anything else to add to the fun. Don’t worry about having to be sober for this one. Florida Fun Bikes employs someone sober, safe and fun to guide your tour, so you can just pedal and enjoy the ride.
5. Take a tour of the night sky at the Kika Silva Pla Planetarium.
Address: 3000 NW 83 St, Gainesville, FL 32606
The Kika Silva Pla Planetarium is located on the northwest campus of Santa Fe College and can really take your Netflix and chill to the next level. What could be more fun than laying in the dark and reclining in a chair while looking at the night sky without having to worry about mosquitoes?
Disclaimer: I do not recommend when you’re tired. You will fall asleep.
Some of their popular shows include the Florida Skies, which is guided by James Albury, co-host of the PBS TV Show “Star Gazers”. Florida Skies takes you on an hour-long tour of the night sky in Florida with some of the popular constellations visible from sunset to sunrise, as well as the stories behind them.
Find tickets and other shows here.
6. Be in an enclosure surrounded by 1,000 to 2,000 live butterflies at the Butterfly Rainforest.
Address: 3215 Hull Rd, Gainesville, FL 32611
Hours: Monday – Saturday (10AM-5PM), Sunday (12PM-5PM)
The Butterfly Rainforest is one of the most popular attractions at another university-affiliated museum on campus, The Florida Museum of Natural History. For some, this could either be a dream come true or a never-ending nightmare to be surrounded by so many butterflies. If it’s the former, then I highly recommend making a trip to the Butterfly Rainforest. While the Museum of Natural History is free to the public, there is an admission fee for entering the Butterfly Rainforest (unless you’re a currently-enrolled UF student).
Tip: it’s an outdoor enclosure, so don’t go when it’s raining or when it’s too cold. (The butterflies aren’t as active in cooler temperatures.)
7. Go to the Mill Creek horse sanctuary and feed retired horses carrots.
Address: 20307 Northwest County Road 235A, Alachua, FL 32615
Hours: Saturday (11AM-3PM)
Florida isn’t just a retirement place for those enticed by the Florida beaches and weather after a lifetime of working. It’s also a retirement home for horses as well. The Mill Creek Farm is a non-profit equine sanctuary that provides a home for “old, neglected, or unwanted” horses. These horses mostly come from rescue organizations, but retired government and police horses also reside on the farm as well. Every Saturday, the farm is open to visitors who can come and feed the horses their favorite snacks of carrots, bananas and apples. The price of admission to the farm is just two carrots, which is the same price it has been since the day the farm opened.
8. Catch a free outdoor movie at the Tioga Town Center.
Address: 105 SW 128th St Newberry, FL 32669
The Tioga Town Center is an excellent place to live. It has everything you could possibly need within a walking distance, from a Starbucks to a farmer’s market every Monday, to an abundance of diverse restaurants (i.e. Sabore) and shops. You probably wouldn’t even need to make trip into the city that often, if you really thought about it. If you check their events calendar, they often put on free outdoor movies at The Square for the community. Blankets and chairs are highly welcomed and they even provide food and drinks that can be purchased.
Check their events calendar here.
9. Pick fresh, in-season fruit at a U-Pick farm.
“U-pick” farms are farms that let the general public pick their own delicious fruits and/or vegetables at a low cost. This could potentially be dangerous for opportunistic eaters, like myself, who could be found picking and eating at the same time. One of our GainesvilleGrub writers made this guide to all the U-pick farms in Gainesville, so I won’t have to reiterate any of her points. However, I will say that this is the perfect activity to do during the summer and fall when these fruits and vegetables are in season, so grab some friends and head over to a local U-pick farm.
10. Catch the bats fly at dusk at the Bat houses/check out UF’s secret garden.
The University of Florida is also home to the UF Bat Colony and has the world’s largest occupied bat houses. Around 300,000 bats who live in these houses come out during a 15- to 20-minute period after sunset, before total darkness on calm, warm evenings when the temperatures are above 65 F.
A caution to those observing, but the bats may swoop in to eat the insects attracted to the carbon dioxide in human breath, but they won’t attack or harm people when left alone. Nothing to be worried about, of course. And before you tune-in for the nightly bat show, I would suggest visiting UF’s Secret Garden right behind the bat houses. It’s a prime bat-watching spot.
Tip: keep your mouth closed when they come out, and maybe bring an umbrella. I don’t think I need to explain that one.
~
Visit some of these places the next time you finding yourself thinking, “what is there to do in Gainesville?” You won’t be disappointed.
