MORE ABOUT GAINESVILLE
S ports 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.
F
lorida Gators Quarterback Tim Tebow, a 20 yr
old, 6’ 3”, 235 pound sophomore, made history on Dec 8, 2007, by becoming
the first sophomore ever to win the Heisman Trophy, college football’s most
coveted award.
Shands HealthCare,
affiliated with the University of Florida Health Science Center, is one of
the Southeast’s premier health systems. Shands includes eight hospitals: two
academic medical centers; four community hospitals; and two specialty
hospitals. With multi-specialty group practices based in Gainesville and
Jacksonville, approximately 1,000 University of Florida faculty physicians
provide are in Shands facilities and more than 80 outpatient practices
throughout the region.
In
Gainesville, the Health Science Center encompasses the Colleges of
Dentistry, Health Professions, Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy and Veterinary
Medicine, the Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital and the flagship referral
hospital, Shands at UF and the VA Hospital.
G
ainesville 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 are springs have overnight camping
facilities as well. Tubing down the beautiful, spring-fed
Ichetucknee River and Santa Fe River are also area favorites.
Explore
Florida wildlife at O’Leno State Park, where the river runs underground for
three miles. Cyclists can pedal almost anywhere in the county with 60 miles
of roadways containing on-street bike lanes. Gainesville has been ranked
among the to 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.
Payne’s 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.
