Lucy Tobias

Chapter 5 in “10 Florida Great Walks Around Gainesville & Ocala” Hogtown Creek Greenway

Quick Question: In the middle of what city can you find a dreamy forest pathway that follows creek beds?

Answer: Gainesville, Florida. Honest! There is more in this city than the Gator football team. Let’s go find the Hogtown Creek Greenway.

Traffic on Northeast 34th Street whizzes along at such a relentless clip it is easy to zoom right by the small green sign at Northwest 5th Avenue that says “Loblolly Environmental Center and Hogtown Creek Greenway” with an arrow pointing the way.

If necessary, turn around and try again. Trust me, it is worth the effort to get there. The short street ends in a small parking lot. The Loblolly Woods South section of the Hogtown Creek Greenway starts on the right side of the parking lot.

A bike rack at the entrance is a clue bicyclists like this path. So is the sign that says: “Bicycles pass on the left”. But don’t assume all the tire tracks in the dirt belong to bikes. This stretch is of the Hogtown Creek Greenway is popular with moms pushing strollers. And look closely to see paw tracks. Leashed, well-behaved dogs are welcome. Plus walkers and joggers like the path. And what a lovely romp it is for both dogs and people.

Step into a forest glen where tall trees provide a shade canopy over the path and creeks lend a gurgling coolness to the air. Hard to believe this getaway is in the middle of a busy urban area.

Take time to check out the map and information at the kiosk just beyond the entrance. It starts to make sense why this greenway exists for passive recreation and managing natural resources.

This greenway is an animal connector – they follow the creeks and use culverts to get under the busy roads. The sign calls this use of creeks “movement corridors” and that is a pretty cool concept. Both Hogtown Creek and Possum Creek meet at this greenway.

For the managing natural resources part – think watershed protection. These creeks flow through back yards, apartment complexes, undeveloped areas, parks, you name it. Making the greenway makes sense.

The environments they list are a bit daunting. Along the way you will encounter seepage streams, mesic hammock, floodplain forest, floodplain marsh, sinkhole lake and bottomland forest. Will there be a test at the end of the walk?

Not to worry, just enjoy the path, a lovely half-mile walk through shaded woods and alongside a creek bed. There are several side trails, but stay to the right on the big path to get to Northwest 8th Street.

A sign talks about forest layers. The upper layer is the tall tree canopy and under that are the smaller trees then grasses and ferns on the ground. Animals have the same layering, some live on the ground, some in the trees.

Birds, who can do both ground and the trees, love this greenway. Birding is popular here, especially in the fall.

Loblolly South Woods ends at busy Northwest 8th Avenue. It is a bit of a shock to emerge from the woods and face an urban traffic environment. Choices: Turn around and take the half-mile trail back to the parking lot or think about doing another section on the other side of the street.

There is a crosswalk to the other side – Westside Park is on the left but to get to Loblolly North Woods, turn right after crossing the street carefully (traffic is heavy) then walk four-tenths of a mile on the sidewalk to the Loblolly North Woods entrance. This section of the greenway is almost all boardwalk, very broad with metal handrails for easy handicapped access.

Note: There is NO parking on Northwest 8th Avenue for either entrance of the greenway. Your choices for parking are the Loblolly Environmental Center, this is Plan A, and Westside Park.

Westside Park makes a good Plan B. Plenty of parking here and it is in the middle between Loblolly South Woods and Loblolly North Woods – just a thought for those wanting to do both sections.

And now a bit of TMI (too much information) – the Gainesville parks brochure (free at all parks) explains that the Hogtown Creek Greenway Properties include more than the two areas talked about in this chapter.

Greenway parks include:  29th Road Nature Park, Forest Park, Alfred Ring Park (Chapter 5 in this book), Loblolly Woods (North and South), Green Acres, Clear Lake, Split Rock Conservation Area. Whew! Just FYI, visitor access is restricted to some areas.

Go Guidelines

What: Hogtown Creek Greenway, Loblolly Woods South

Where: Access from Loblolly Environmental Facility, 3315 NW 5th Avenue, off Northeast 34th Street between West University Avenue and Northwest 8th Avenue

Hours: Sunrise to sunset

Phone: (352) 334-2231

Cost: None

Website: http://www.natureoperations.org/Pages/Parks/loblolly.html

GPS: Latitude: 29.6551980

Longitude: -82.3717700

Surfaces: Dirt trails, many exposed tree roots, and boardwalk

Distance: One-half mile for Loblolly Woods South and one-half mile for Loblolly Woods North

Handicapped Accessible: No to Loblolly Woods South (tree roots on trail) but yes to Loblolly Woods North (lots of boardwalk)

Dogs: Yes, leashed, poop station with bags at start of path

Restrooms: At Loblolly Environmental Center at the start of the Loblolly South Woods, also Westside Park

Advice: Bring water

Good to know: Westside Park at Northwest 8th Avenue and Northeast 34th Street has lots of parking and it is located between Loblolly Woods North and Loblolly Woods South

Possibilities

Walk the two half-mile walks, work up an appetite, then head for 4150 Northwest 16^th Blvd. Your destination is The Flying Biscuit, open for breakfast, brunch and lunch (breakfast served all day). Hours are Monday through Thursday 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. and Friday through Sunday from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Southern creamy white grits to die for, hot biscuits become heavenly when partnered with apple butter, and . . .the list goes on. Well-behaved dogs and their well-behaved owners can sit outside in the shade of a covered walkway.

Nearby

Alfred A. Ring Park (See Chapter 4 in “10 Florida Great Walks Around Gainesville and Ocala”)

This chapter came from “10 Florida Great Walks Around Gainesville and Ocala”, a delightful collection of diverse walks, available as an e book in the Kindle store on Amazon for $2.99. Good summer reading!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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