All rights reserved. Gainesville's newest nature center is now open. Friends of Nature Parks is a 501(c)3 non-profit corporation registered with the both the Federal Government and the State of Florida. Sanibel Island. Jones Edmunds designed drainage improvements for the Hogtown and Possum Creek crossings of NW 8th Avenue. "There's some of our pollution loading right there," said Chris Bird, the county's Environmental Protection Department director, eyeing a dog hunched near Sweetwater Branch while its owner looked away. Hogtown Creek is an urban creek in Gainesville and has delicate banks and creek beds that are easily damaged by fossil and teeth hunter hobbyists. Silver Springs. Palm Bay. To those who have hiked in them, swam in them, hunted sharks' teeth in them, they're a defining part of Gainesville's character, as much as the University of Florida or Payne's Prairie. Cape San Blas. Contact Property. Miami. 1502 NW 29th Road, Gainesville 32605 Situated in the upper Hogtown Creek basin, 29th Road Park features 5 acres with nature trails through upland mixed forest, slope forest, and bottomland forest along the shady banks of Hogtown Creek, Gainesville's largest stream. You need to be on the opposite side of the street, turn in to the closest dirt path to NW 34th St. Well, sort of. $24.95 + tax & shipping. Entertainment. |, Home - City of Gainesville, Florida. Located in the heart of Gainesville, Ring Park is a scenic 1.5-mile loop trail that winds alongside Hogtown Creek. Your email address will not be published. Hogtown Creek has been assigned WBID 2698 (Figure 1). Gainesville. Without efforts to restore a more natural balance in Gainesville's watersheds, more sections of more creeks will end up like the latter, he said. Plenty! . Tree City's urban woods hide not only an extensive network of once-thriving creeks, but a growing list of problems. [5][6], The 1832 Treaty of Payne's Landing required the Seminoles in Florida to move to west of the Mississippi River after three years. One day in 1967, Tom Levy and his cousins went splashing in Springstead Creek, the Hogtown tributary most gunked up by the dumping disaster. Under state law, Gainesville's creeks must be fit for fishing and swimming, as measured by standards for a battery of different pollutants. Nestled between the beauty of Kanapaha Botanical Gardens and the sweeping vistas of Lake Kanapaha, Broken Arrow Bluff provides a glimpse into the mystery of Florida. And there are mysterious, fist-sized chunks of charcoal that wash up after every storm. Is there a conspiracy to kill Gainesville environmentalists? Albert "Ray" Massey Park is a hub of activity in NW Gainesville. They called it "The Great Hogtown Creek Massacre." It was 1967 and a Gainesville shopping-center developer ordered a man on a bulldozer to breach a retention pond at the former Cabot Corp.. During big storms, Gainesville creeks can become swollen rivers within a half-hour, surly enough to send tree trunks surfing downstream. Sopchoppy. The creeks don't call attention to themselves, except during rare big storms. Wetlands that buffered creeks were trampled by progress, too. "That illustrates what's going to happen," he said, "if we don't start changing our approach and our value of them. Visit the scenic overlook to see where the clear water of Glen Springs mixes with the tannic water of Hogtown Creek. There are ongoing water quality issues. Thirty-five years later, tougher environmental rules prohibit that kind of industrial dumping. The same story has repeated itself on most of Gainesville's creeks. One of Gainesville's most notable geological attractions, Devil's Millhopper State Park extends out of one of Florida's largest sinkholes. The Hogtown Creek Greenway encompasses 13 individual conservation areas, totaling over 700 acres of forests and wetlands surrounding Hogtown and Possum Creeks.The Greenway protects water quality and a diverse array of upland and wetland wildlife habitat while providing a variety of passive recreational opportunities in the heart of Gainesville. Even if neighbors like the idea, there's no easy way to make people fix their leaky cars, or pick up after their pets. Ecology of Hogtown Creek. Florida Keys. Plagued by erosion and trash farther upstream, the creek takes a turn for the better west of Interstate 75, as it approaches its terminus at Haile Sink. The main trail is easy with a ton of side trails that go off and circle back into the main. So the creeks were re-channeled, lined with concrete and forced into miles of pipes. Nobody knows how much or how long. Four of the creeks are on a state list of most-polluted waters, along with two lakes and a sinkhole into which they drain. Largo. Last year the weather condition was Sunny . Baldwin. It's you and me and a legacy of bad development. During this hunt they killed a cow and made camp near Hogtown. Brooksville. St. Petersburg. Ocala. Few wetlands. GAINESVILLE, Fla. (WCJB) - Gainesville residents who live near Hogtown Creek are facing a problem they're all too familiar with. "We have these little, special creeks. Attend, Share & Influence! Sanford. (352) 334-5067. Full hike descriptions and maps, full color. Amelia Island. Gainesville, FL current weather. Green Cove Springs. Moore Haven. One square mile of roads and parking lots can produce 20,000 gallons of residual oil every year, according to a study cited by the Natural Resources Defense Council, a national environmental group that works on stormwater issues. 'The little creeks don't matter' - that was the mentality," said Tom Crisman, director of the University of Florida Center for Wetlands. It was straightened 40 years ago near University Avenue and 34th Street so water would be less likely to flood homes that were built where swamp used to be. Descending into the sinkhole, you can find many different forms of vegetation as well as trickling streams of water winding through the rocks and plant . It's all garnish for a ribbon of water just beginning a long journey to the sea. See all available rentals at 223 NW 34th St in Gainesville, FL. Its tricky., Eddleton stressed that the best way for people to participate in the hobby was to leave no trace.. A militia unit called the Spring Grove Guards (Spring Grove was about 4 miles (6km) west of Hogtown) was organized in Spring 1835, with many of its 60 or so members living in Hogtown. By the time the creeks reach the sinks, many pollutants have been filtered by wetlands, trapped in sediment or broken down into less harmful substances, experts say. In the ensuing fight, three of the whites were wounded, one Seminole was killed, and another Seminole was reported to have been mortally wounded. Amenities: basketball courts w/o light, picnic tables, pavilion, grill, playground, dogs allowed w/ leash. I find it easier to park at the Loblolly environmental facility just north of University on 34th St. Just like that, one of Gainesville's half-hidden creeks, perfect for hikes and picnics and the adventures of neighborhood kids, became a stinking, toxic mess. The surges following storms became gushers. Ormond Beach. Trenton. Kelly power plant was built over Sweetwater Branch. 2 Beds; 1 Bath; save favorite. It is: Fossil hunters damaging creek health. Suwannee Springs. Panama City Beach. How did you hear about us? Boynton Beach. This multi-use trail can be used both directions and has a easy overall physical rating with a 3 ft green climb. I saw a flyer View on Map, Monday-Friday8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Florida Trail Amelia Island. JOHN MORAN/The Gainesville Sun. Now that college football is over for the season, what else is there to do in Gainesville without the Gators football games, you may ask. Trails are typical natural footpaths or singletrack. Kissimmee. The citys old sewer system runs underneath these waterways and can leak. Some of 2172 NW 50th PL's amenities include in unit laundry, . At this park-one of ten that make up the City of Gainesville's Hogtown Creek Greenway-spring wildflowers carpet the forest floor and the namesake loblolly pines are some of the largest in . Ample parking. Get a guide, get permission, and leave the creeks like you found them, he said. Back then, poor Hogtown Creek, named for an 1824 Seminole village four miles to the west of what is now downtown, wasnt in the best of shape. A scenic overlook provides visitors a view of the confluence of Glen Springs Run and Hogtown Creek where the clear water from Glen Springs sharply contrasts with the tannic water of Hogtown Creek. Hogtown Creek See on Instagram Address: 1500 NW 45th Ave, Gainesville, FL Why You Need To Go: A stunning nature park full of picturesque nature trails and sandy creek runs perfect for finding shark teeth. Address: 643 SW 40th St, Gainesville Trailhead: 29.64559, -82.38494. Over the next two days, more than 1 million gallons of turpentine-like sludge poured into a branch of Hogtown Creek. One of the easier preserves to find, Hogtown Creek Headwaters has twisty little footpaths through its hardwood forest. City staff and volunteers are actively restoring the degraded sandhill and upland pine forest north of the parking lot. Orange Park. MTB Podcast | All rights reserved. Come out to Hogtown Creek Headwaters Nature Park to learn more about the largest watershed in Gainesville! Our definitive guidebook to planning backpacking trips on the Florida National Scenic Trail, now in its fourth edition. "My parents were horrified," said Levy, now a Gainesville Realtor. When she was in fourth grade, a car wreck in another state forced her mother to leave town to care for her father. Thousands of people live next to them. The GRU does a really good job of keeping the system safe, but mishaps happen.. The clear water in Hogtown Creek makes it easier to find shark's teeth. When visitors walk through the front door, they are greeted by Hogtown Creek who introduces herself. Back on the Greenway, wind swooshes through basket oaks and red maples. There is a 2019 news article about the concerns regrading. Fixing it "may take many, many years.". They were built on, dumped in, dammed. Two routinely test high for disease-causing bacteria; at least four in two years have had signs posted warning people not to touch the water. The creeks are also not often safe to enter. Featuring a diving board, climbing wall, locker rooms and showers.25 yard short course lap lanes. This index is built using observations from everyday people like you noting species in the Natural Atlas app when out on hikes. Amenities:basketball courts w/o light, picnic tables, grills, pavilion, playground, City of Gainesville Gainesville stormwater engineers like to use Humpty Dumpty as an analogy for creeks. Hogtown Creek is covered by the Gainesville West, FL US Topo Map quadrant. . Every time we drive, bits of metal flake off tires and brake pads. Nobody thought that without wetlands, the creeks might die, too. The trails include uplands wanders and a levee along the wetlands. But it needs to be done in a way thats sustainable., Tags Alachua Alachua County City of Gainesville Gainesville GRU health Hogtown Creek hunting hurricane Visit Gainesville water wuft news, Perhaps one would not expect musicians playing, artists creating and kids running through the grass . Downtown. Carrabelle. 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