Thursday

The Harn Art Museum was partially closed for renovations during our visit, but several galleries were still open. The museum is free to visit and made for a pleasant hour. We especially liked the little pocket gardens and the etching station in the Japanese prints section was also fun.

UF Bat Houses – A very cool experience. Just after sunset, thousands of bats (mostly Brazilian free-tailed) leave the bat house to feed, where they can eat their weight in insects in just one night! The estimated population of the two houses is over 400,000 animals. Best view of bats was east side by the garden and away from the parking lot – this let you look toward sunset and made the bats more visible in the open sky.

Lake Alice – across from the bat houses was a nice spot to watch birds roosting in a giant tree near dusk.

Friday

UF Campus – We spent a little time exploring the main part of the campus on foot. Unexpectedly, it wasn’t entirely flat! The campus features lots of brick, but also quite a few outdoor spaces, with with numerous benches and tables amid pockets of landscaping and loads of Spanish moss. Free parking was available after 3:30 or 4pm in several spots.

Saturday

Sweetwater Wetlands Park – Our first stop on the trip back south was this large park on the edge of Gainesville. There is a $5 parking fee, paid via the Passport Parking app, but it was worth it! It features a series of marshes with boardwalks, and we saw tons of alligators and birds here. Highlights included a pair of Sandhill Cranes that walked right past us.

Marsh Bend Outlet Park – Also a stop on our back back south, located about 10 minutes from 1-75 on Lake Panasoffkee. This park was listed on the FL birding trail website but it’s really just a boat launch with a picnic area and a small bridge, with not much to see if you don’t have a boat. The surrounding area was fairly rundown too. Definitely skip.