Florida’s green paradise

By Tod Caviness

Orlando Sentinel (TNS)

From the highway or the window seat of an airplane, it can be easy to dismiss Gainesville, Fla., as a small but sprawling town with a very big college. On your way through the Alachua County seat, you’re likely to see more green than gray and not much skyline to speak of in the downtown area near the massive University of Florida.

So much the better. If you think a community is best enjoyed from a comfortable balcony, look elsewhere. With its breathtaking parks and a vibrant metropolitan scene, this North Florida jewel begs to be explored at ground level.

Situated just over 100 miles and less than two hours north of Orlando, the wider Alachua County area enjoys a prolonged, balmy springtime that fosters a wide array of deciduous trees. It’s easy to see why early American settlers touted the region as a health resort in the mid-1800s. Panoramic proof can be found just outside the city limits at Kanapaha Botanical Gardens (kanapaha.org), a 62-acre Eden on the shores of Lake Kanapaha. Admission ($8 adult or $4 age 5-13) opens the gates to two distinct paths filled with Zen-inducing sights that include a butterfly garden and a scintillating yet serene walk through several towering species of bamboo – the largest such garden in Florida.

Sinkholes are a common Florida nuisance, but rarely do you find one as impressive as the main attraction at Devil’s Millhopper Geological State Park (devilsmillhopper.com) in northwest Gainesville. A wooden boardwalk winds its way to the bottom of a limestone sinkhole 120 feet deep, 500 feet wide and thousands of years old. Through the years, conditions in this national landmark have made it a picturesque home for a diverse network of plant life. Admission is $4 per vehicle or $2 for pedestrians, and the park is open Wednesday through Sunday.

Those who like to commune with nature more actively are also in luck. Hikers or bikers can take their pick from one of many woodland trails, including three short but scenic lakeside paths at Newnan’s Lake Conservation Area or the Gainesville-Hawthorne State Trail, which starts a short drive east of the University of Florida campus and winds 16 miles through hills and around lakes to nearby Hawthorne.

When you’ve had your fill of sweat, Gainesville’s already hip downtown district has become even cooler in recent years. It’s impossible to overstate how large the University of Florida looms over the social scene here, both literally and figuratively. In the shadow of Ben Hill Griffin Stadium (“The Swamp,” to loyal Gators football fans), a row of fraternity houses sets the tone along West University Avenue on the north end of the UF campus.

Give the sports bars a pass and keep walking east to Main Street to find a downtown filled with eclectic surprises, starting with The Top at 30 N. Main St. With ceramic oddities and old-school wrestling trading cards packed into every nook, the decor at this eatery is pushing the saturation point for maximum kitsch. Luckily, the menu of jazzed-up American favorites and craft cocktails is much more carefully calibrated.

For somewhat more traditional fare in the downtown area, loosen your belt for a wood-grilled, 20-ounce rib-eye at Ember’s (embersofflorida.com). And the house-made, organic pastries make Vine Bread & Pasta (vinegainesville.com) a scrumptious spot to linger for breakfast or lunch.

Art mavens won’t even need to leave their car to sample one of the city’s most well-known guerrilla galleries: the 34th Street Wall. This stretch of concrete just south of Southwest Second Avenue serves as a colorful public diary, chronicling tributes to fallen students, marriage proposals and art from the political to the whimsical in a patchwork of constantly changing graffiti.

For a double dose of more official (and air-conditioned) culture, spend an afternoon at UF’s Cultural Plaza. There you’ll find works by painter Claude Monet and photographer Jerry Uelsmann in the permanent collection at the Harn Museum of Art, or massive megalodon shark fossils and a walk-through limestone cave at the Florida Museum of Natural History. Admission is free at both, though special exhibits are extra at the Florida Museum of Natural History.