Enjoy The Kathy Cantwell Trail In Gainesville, Florida's Prairie Creek Preserve

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As you may (or may not) know by now, I was on a mission to do as many hikes as I could in Gainesville. One of those was today’s topic: the Kathy Cantwell Trail!

This is an easy and fairly short trail in Prairie Creek Preserve just southwest of Gainesville.

There are a few other trails here but this was the only one we did. It’s pretty typical Florida but I loved it.

Prairie Creek Preserve Kathy Cantwell Trail: The Trip Report

The day we did this hike was cloudy but the temperature was perfect. And even better, we didn’t even see other people there!

There was parking right at the trailhead, which was well marked, although the turnoff to get there was a little hard to spot and we had to turn around for that.

The trail is straightforward and easy to follow. It’s a nice woodsy trail and wasn’t muddy or anything when we went.

The trail is kind of broken into three parts, from the trailhead to the cemetery road, then to a private road, and a small section after that where you’d have to turn back.

The first part was fairly uneventful but still nice. I don’t have much to say about this part.

On the second part of the trail (my favorite part) there was a little pond off to the right. We went to check it out and found Conrad, a little cottonmouth!

He was just hanging out in the leaves and let us watch him and take his picture. And even better, he was still there on the way out!

There were quite a few mushrooms along the trail, which I always love, and one really soft mossy section which I also love.

On the further sections of the trail there are a few little bridges, which, again, I love.

And I’ve never actually seen a Luna Moth but we found a dead one along the trail here! It was a bummer to see it dead but cool to see it up close.

Like I said, this trail is pretty straightforward (almost literally) and there’s not a whole lot to say about it other than I really enjoyed it and would definitely recommend it.

It might even be one of my favorite trails in Gainesville! It’s a fun little trail with nice scenery and fun bridges which always make a trail a little more exciting.

This feels like a very underwhelming post as I write this but I promise the trail is better than this though!

While this trail would be great any time, I think it was particularly enjoyable on a cloudy and gloomy day.

Travel Services I Recommend:
AllTrails – This is my favorite hike tracking app.
America the Beautiful – The national park pass is essential.
Booking.com – This is great for finding and booking hotels.
Get Your Guide – I recommend Get Your Guide for booking tours.
National Park Obsessed – This is the best national park planner.
Skyscanner – Skyscanner is great for finding and booking flights.
Enterprise – This is my rental car recommendation.
See all my resources here.

Prairie Creek Preserve Kathy Cantwell Trail: The Logistics

This is where you’ll find the boring details about the Kathy Cantwell Trail like distance, difficulty, and location.

Where is Prairie Creek Preserve?

Prairie Creek Preserve is just southwest of Gainesville, Florida, south of Newnans Lake. It’s about 15 minutes from Gainesville and 40 from Ocala.

Where is the Kathy Cantwell Trail?

The Kathy Caantwell Trailhead is through the cemetery gate (not by the lodge) off of Country Road 234. It’s super easy to find and there is a sign at the trailhead.

How long is the Kathy Cantwell Trail?

The Kathy Cantwell Trail is about two miles round-trip, 0.9 miles one way. It is an out and back trail, not a loop.

Is the Kathy Cantwell Trail hard?

Nope! Like pretty much every Florida trail, this is flat as can be. There was no mud or other unsavory trail conditions either.

Is the Kathy Cantwell Trail worth it?

I think so! This trail looks like a lot of others in the area but it’s still really pretty. It’s not busy at all so it’s nice and quiet, which is always a plus.