The Gainesville / Alachua County Visitor & Convention Bureau is the county's official source for vacation and meeting planning information. For in-depth information on Gainesville's attractions, events, dining, lodging, and conference facilities please contact: Gainesville / Alachua County Visitors & Convention Bureau Toll free: (866) 778-5002; Local: (352) 374-5260 (Monday - Friday 8:30am - 5pm ET) Website: www.VisitGainesville.com Email: tbeard@visitgainesville.com Address: Alachua County VCB, 30 East University Ave., Gainesville FL 32601
Gainesville was named Florida Tree City of the Year in 1997, one of the many reasons why outdoor enthusiasts regularly head for any of the 40 nature parks within 50 miles of Gainesville to picnic, boat, swim, hike, camp, bike, hunt or fish. The City of Gainesville Department of Parks and Recreation maintains a year-round schedule of events, recreational activities and competitive sports for residents of all ages.The Gainesville area boasts many lakes and rivers fed by naturally cool, clear springs. Of the 965 square miles in Alachua County, more than one in 20 is submerged in water. Pastimes on these waterways include swimming, snorkeling, canoeing and scuba diving into underwater caves. Many area springs have overnight camping facilities as well. Tubing down the beautiful, spring-fed Ichetucknee River and Santa Fe River are area favorites.The Morningside Nature Center, a 280-acre wildlife sanctuary and farm within Gainesville, has activities ranging from seven miles of trails and boardwalks to craft workshops, folklore classes and special events.Also popular is the Gainesville-to-Hawthorne Rails-to-Trails project. Once a railroad track, this smoothly paved walkway stretches over 17 miles from Boulware Springs Park through beautiful woodlands, past deep lakes and prairie vistas, to the town of Hawthorne.At the Devil’s Millhopper State Geological Site, visitors can descend 232 steps to the bottom of a 120-foot-deep, 500-foot-wide sinkhole containing a dozen small waterfalls and plant species rare to Florida.Kanapaha Botanical Gardens features 62 acres of woodlands, meadows, vineries and specialized gardens, including the southeast’s largest herb garden, Florida’s largest bamboo collection, a palm hammock, water lily ponds, a fern grotto and a sunken garden.Paynes Prairie State Preserve, a 20,000-acre wildlife sanctuary, contains ponds, three lakes, an observation tower and a visitors' center with a museum. The park offers boating, camping, hiking, bird watching and fishing and is also home to Florida alligators and a wild herd of American bison.Canoe the Santa Fe River in nearby High Springs or explore Florida wildlife at O’Leno State Park, where the river runs underground for three miles.At the Alfred A. Ring Park, a 20-acre site off 16th Avenue in Gainesville, activities include bird watching, hiking along the trails and boardwalks, historical/archeological interpretation and nature studies and picnicking.The San Felasco Hammock State Preserve features nature trails that stretch through 6,500 acres of sunny pine forests and shady hardwood hammocks, past steep sinkholes and over bubbling brooks.Other Gainesville attractions include the Santa Fe Community College Zoo and the UF Teaching Observatory. At the zoo, community college students serve as tour guides through the only community college teaching zoo in the nation. The 14-acre zoo contains 225 different mammals, including monkeys, wildcats, deer, birds and reptiles. On Friday evenings, the UF Teaching Observatory provides stargazers a front-row view of the cosmos through various telescopes.
Gainesville has a constant theatrical presence in the area, with a variety of productions scheduled year-round at area theaters.The Curtis M. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts – Since opening in January 1992, great artists and attractions such as Tony Bennett, STOMP, Kiri te Kanawa, the Martha Graham Dance Company, Rent, Bill Cosby, Yo-Yo Ma, and Ray Charles have entertained area audiences at the Performing Arts Center. It is located on the University of Florida campus next to the Harn Museum of Art.Hippodrome State Theatre – One of the four state-supported theatres in Florida, the Hippodrome has entertained local audiences while gaining national acclaim. The theatre is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and once was the home of the United States Post Office in the downtown area. The building is a fine example of Palladium Classical Revival Architecture. The Hippodrome produces eight contemporary theatrical productions a year, including numerous first productions by acclaimed playwrights. The building also houses an art gallery and a cinema theater.Gainesville Community Playhouse – As the state’s oldest community theatre, this group has been in continuous production since 1927 and performs six works each year in a refurbished 160-seat theatre.H. P. Constans Theatre – Located on the University of Florida campus, Constans Theatre is home to the Florida Players and the University Box Office. The student-run theatrical group has provided the area with quality productions since 1932.Dance Theatre of Santa Fe – Students produce several plays each year at Santa Fe Community College.Acrosstown Repertory Theatre – Performing at the historic Baird Center, the 80-seat community theatre has a diverse repertoire of productions, including the classics, experimental and avant-garde performances.Newcomers will enjoy the musical diversity of Gainesville. The Gainesville Chamber Orchestra, the Gainesville Civic Chorus, the Gainesville Community Band, the University Marching and Concert Bands and the University Symphony Orchestra frequently perform concerts. Jazz concerts are sponsored by the Gainesville Friends of Jazz and Blues. Professional performers of all musical styles are regular visitors to the University of Florida campus throughout the year.Dance Alive! – This professional ballet company performs at various theaters in Gainesville, statewide and across the country. Performances have included Swan Lake, The Nutcracker and Don Quixote.Gainesville Ballet Theatre – This group performs classical ballet, children’s ballet, jazz and modern dance and was founded in 1973. The Gainesville Ballet Theatre performs two ballets each season at the Center for Performing Arts, including The Little Match Girl.
Florida Museum of Natural History – Florida’s official natural history museum is home to more than 25 million specimens and artifacts. Located on the University of Florida campus, the museum is one of the 10 most comprehensive natural history museums in the nation.The Samuel P. Harn Museum of Art – Located on the UF campus, the Harn is one of the largest university art museums in the Southeast U.S. Its permanent collections feature American, African pre-Columbian, Asian and contemporary works of art. The Harn is also home to Champ d’avoine (Oat Field), an important 1890 work by French Impressionist painter Claude Monet.Thomas Center and Galleries – Considered Gainesville's cultural center, the Thomas Center is housed in a beautifully restored Mediterranean Revival-style hotel. It’s listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and features art galleries, 1920's period rooms, local history exhibits, performance space and meeting rooms. Owned by the City of Gainesville, the center is the site of a variety of art exhibits and musical programs.
Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings State Historic Site – Visitors to this site can tour the original small cracker farm in rural Cross Creek in which author Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings found inspiration.Matheson Historical Center – This museum and botanical garden showcases the history of Gainesville, Alachua County and North Florida through historic photographs and books.
The area enjoys a kaleidoscope of festivals spread throughout the year. Zucchini and watermelon festivals, renaissance fairs and craft shows are just a sampling. The City of Gainesville’s Downtown Festival and Art Show will celebrate its 27th year in 2008. This highly acclaimed event has been rated in the top 200 best shows in the country by Sunshine Artist Magazine. The Santa Fe Community College Spring Arts Festival, which attracts more than 100,000 art lovers annually, is the largest of its kind in North Central Florida.
The cities in Alachua County cherish the storefronts of bygone days. Providing a personal connection to the small town way of life, these shopping areas are in the heart of each community and offer everything from antiques to fine restaurants.Gainesville also boasts a number of retail areas offering “shop in the park” environments where shoppers enjoy the scenery or an easy stroll through developments such as Thornebrook Village, Creekside Mall, Haile Village and the downtown Sun Center and Union Street Station.There are more than 50 shopping centers that offer buyers a variety of purchasing opportunities. The area’s largest enclosed center, the one-million-square-foot Oaks Mall and adjoining Oaks Mall Plaza, offer more than 160 unique shops, boutiques and eateries and is anchored by Macy's, Dillard’s and Belk. There is no shortage of shopping opportunities at centers such as Butler Plaza, Gainesville Shopping Center, Newberry Crossing, Newberry Square, Tower Center Shopping Center and Tioga Town Center, all of which occupy more than 150,000 square feet.
Gainesville plays center stage to a full spectrum of nightlife available. Dozens of nightclubs, bars and restaurants feature live entertainment nightly and cater to residents of all ages and lifestyles, like Emeralds Lounge in Thornebrook Village. Fans of alternative rock, country, disco, reggae, jazz, blues and many other music styles can each find a great place to dance and socialize. The area regularly features both local bands and internationally known touring groups.
Sports fans flock to the athletic events at the University of Florida’s Stephen C. O’Connell Center and Ben Hill Griffin Stadium at Florida Field, the University’s football arena, which seats more than 90,000 fans. Gator fans from around the country converge on the city for Florida football every fall.Each March, drag racing fans numbering more than 135,000 are drawn to the NHRA Gatornationals, during the four-day event. In addition to this stop on the NHRA circuit, the Gainesville Raceway hosts amateur car, motorcycle and Jr. Dragster drag races.Through the efforts of the Gainesville Sports Commission, the area’s full time sports commission, Alachua County has attracted many exciting events in recent years. Since 1988, the GSC has hosted and helped other organizations host events that have created more than $100 million in local economic activity. The GSC is a member of the National Association of Sports Commissions and the Florida Sports Foundation.A sampling of events hosted by the GSC includes USA Track & Field Junior Nationals, SE Regional Junior Olympic Wrestling for USA Wrestling, Baquacil Age Group Championships (the world’s largest synchronized swimming event), US Cycling Junior Road Nationals, Speedo Junior Nationals for USA Swimming, Florida Sunshine State Games, Florida Law Enforcement Games, National Women’s Wheelchair Basketball Tournament, US Tennis $10K Women’s Tournament, Florida Special Olympics Basketball and Golf Championships, Gainesville Senior Games and more.The Gainesville area has nine golf courses and practice facilities to challenge the most avid golfer. Each October, the Chamber hosts its annual ProEd Golf Classic, with proceeds benefiting the Chamber Teacher Mini-Grant Program and other Chamber education programs.Cyclists can pedal almost anywhere in the county with 60 miles of roadways containing on-street bike lanes. Gainesville has been ranked among the top 10 bicycling communities in the U.S. by Bicycling Magazine. Cyclists can also enjoy the Hawthorne Trail, a 17-mile paved trail that stretches from Gainesville to Hawthorne.