Visited 07 Mar - 11 Mar to the Paynes Prairie Preserve campground. I only knew about this place because we drive through it on I75 on our way to Oleno State Park in February. After returning from that trip I looked up info on Paynes Prairie and somehow was able to book 4 nights at the campground (lucky I did). The park is absolutely gorgeous, with really large Oak's spread out through the campground. There is a lake with a concrete sidewalk leading to it from the campground. The lake has a picnic area and boat ramp, with a "amphitheater" seating area so you can watch the sunsets. However, if you walk to the lake trail just at the end of the parking lot there is a pier where you can get a wide open view of the lake. The lake trail will take you on a one mile hike to other trails, some of which leads to the visitor center. There, you can see a wide expanse of the prairie or walk the short distance to the viewing tower (3 story) where you can get an elevated view. From here, with binoculars (which unfortunately I did not have) you can view the wild hogs, wild horses, and wild bison. If you take the trail from the visitor center out to the prairie, you get a first-hand up close look at the alligators and above mentioned wildlife. We walked about 2.5 miles out but unfortunately did not see any. HOWEVER, we also drove across the prairie to the Gainesville side on SR441 and biked the Gainesville-hawthorne bike trail, a 15 mile wooded, paved bike path that is isolated from the roads. Gorgeous woods with a few small hills that will give you a nice workout. If you start from Boulware Springs Park like we did, almost immediately you will come to Lachua trail. A short walk down to the water and you will see tons of gators basking on the banks of the trail (beware: There is no fencing separating you from the gators, and for this reason pets are strictly prohibited). I counted over 50 gators there, and you could walk right up to them (if you were stupid brave). We also visited Micanopy, a historic town right outside the park. It is "the town that time forgot" and is where River and Joaquin Phoenix grew up. Doc Hollywood, The Yearling and Crooked River(?) were all filmed right in that little town. It is like visiting Mayberry from back in the 1950's. They have lots of antique shops and nice little places to eat. We chose to eat at Pearls Country Store and Barbecue and was not disappointed. Impression of the campground: There are around 50 RV sites in shaded areas with privacy between sites. No sewer connection, but there is a dump station on the way out. (Electric and water are at each site). There are also tent sites and they are very nice with plenty of separation from each other from what I could see. The bath house (two of them) were extremely clean and showers were nice and hot! I really enjoyed the trip there, and would recommend 3 nights minimum to see just the sites at the prairie. Looking forward to returning next year!