Things to do in Gainesville, Florida

1. The Florida Museum of Natural History

Me and the Titanoboa fossil prep crew. 

Florida Fossil Hall

The temporary exhibit is always interesting, but I come for the Florida Fossil Hall: a spectacular walk through the geologic history of Florida as told by some truly amazing fossils. "Aren't all Florida fossils fairly recent invertebrates?", you may ask. NOPE. We actually have some pretty awesome Oligocene, Miocene, and Pleistocene vertebrates! At the FLMNH you can see giant sloths, megalodon jaws, armadillos, bear-dogs, terror birds, and even mammoths!

Butterfly Rainforest

One friend once described this place to me as " Jurassic Park before the dinosaurs got loose." Pretty accurate. Every inch is covered in beautiful, exotic, tropical plants and little waterfalls. Not to mention, there are giant butterflies everywhere that fly right up to your face.
Every person I take here gets something different out of it: my mom talked to the quail about how cute and fat they were for about an hour, my dad identified ALL the butterflies, my lab supervisor educated me on the different types of turtles present in the pond, and one of my orthithology friends attempted conversation with a tucanette.

2. Paines Prairie Observation Deck

Best place in Gainesville to see the stars. Just drive south of Archer Rd.on SW 13th Ave until you see one of those helpful little brown signs the state of Florida puts up to let you know you are near something awesome. It's just a little dock in the middle of the prairie, but what else do you need to stargaze? I like to go out there at night with a group of friends, some tasty beverages, and some blankets and pillows. If it is summer, make sure you bring some bug spray.

3. Solar System Walk

NW 8th Avenue and 34th St.

     Start at the sun and walk all the way to Pluto (I still believe in you, Pluto)! It is a really fun jogging experience, or a place to learn about the scope of the solar system. Plus, it puts you north of the Hogtown Creek where you can see some rare Florida rocks!

4. Sifting for Fossils in Hogtown Creek

     With a pasta strainer and a sharp eye, you can be the proud owner of a Miocene-age shark tooth that eroded from the Hawthorn group! My favorite place to do this is Alfred Ring Park because I have had the best hauls there. Just follow the main trail in the park until you come to the bathrooms and play park. Go left toward the creek and jump in it with your strainer. Find channel deposits by analyzing the creek floor and saying " it looks like there are some pebbles clustered right there". Pick up a scoop of dirt, sand, and channel deposit with your strainer and look through the pebbles carefully: some of them are actually shark teeth, sea biscuits, ray teeth, or even fragments of vertebrate fossils.

5. Roger's Farm

Fall Festival

The ultimate in po-dunk fall activities. Buy a pumpkin, ride a tractor, solve the haunted corn maze, feed goats, and jump around on hay bales! The corn maze is seriously difficult and incredibly frightening, I rate it a 10/10. 'Murica!

U-Pick

Call ahead to get up-to-date information about in-season crops you can go to the farm and pick yourself! I got some delicious strawberries from there in May of 2013.

6.Ichetucknee Springs

Get a tube, get some drinks, get some friends, and cruise down the river.

7. Gainesville Rock Gym

A lot of emphasis on bouldering. "The cave" is my favorite climbing spot, but there are also a bunch of belaying walls.

8. San Felasco State Park

Sinkhole (Alex for scale).

     Pretty gorgeous. Huge cypress trees and many sink holes. I had a fun time getting my photography on in this park. The trails are not very extensive, but it can take about an hour and a half of your time if you stop to walk a fallen tree bridge or observe some wildlife. It's also right next to Devil's Milhopper.

9. Devil's Millhopper

I don't want to get your hopes up: its pretty much a giant sinkhole. I liked it. If you like geology you will think its pretty cool; if you could care less about karst topography, you can at least take some bad-ass nature selfies and get a pretty intense workout on the stairs. You should hit it up on the way to or from San Felasco.

10. Mill Creek Farm

Basically, you get a bunch of carrots, apples, and peppermint candies and go spoil retired horses.