Morningside Nature Center in Gainesville

Travel back in time to the Morningside Nature Center in Gainesville. Morningside is one of the last remaining examples of fire-dependent longleaf pine woodlands in the area.

Most folks think that fires destroy the land. Morningside Nature Center is an example of how prescribed burning can benefit long-leaf pine forests. Fires keep the vegetation down to a minimum so that raging forest fires do not have the fuel to survive. Fire creates openings between the trees that allow wildflowers and animals to thrive. Morningside features spectacular wildflowers and wildlife including wild turkeys, box turtles, gopher tortoises, skunks, and numerous birds. Our morning hike brought us face-to-face with this white-tailed deer.

Nature Trails

This preserve has an extensive network of hiking trails and hikes. Enjoy walks of anywhere from a half mile to six miles.

The Living History Farm

The Living History Farm is focused on experiences carrying visitors back in time, to live on a simple homestead. It even has a barnyard full of chickens for eggs, sheep for shearing, and curious Jersey cows for milk.

Barnyard Buddies

Every Wednesday at 3 pm Morningside invites youngsters to meet and greet farm animals by helping with afternoon feeding. This program is free but the animals love donations of carrots, squash, apples, sweet potatoes, and melons.

The farm is comprised of a cabin from the 1840s, a barn, and a one-room schoolhouse surrounded by fields of corn, cotton, and sugarcane. This is North Florida the way it used to be before all the developers moved in. Oh, and just so you know. The farm is not open on Sunday, so I had to go back to visit the homestead. Good thing admission is FREE.

The Living History Farm takes us to the life of a Florida family living in the mid to late 1800s. On the first Saturday of the month, September through May) visitors can observe daily life in 1870. You can watch live demonstrations as they make biscuits, fresh butter, taste samples, and more!

One Room Schoolhouse

Also on display at the farm is an original one-room schoolhouse. If you lived in rural North Florida in the late 1800s, this building is where you may have attended school.

If you want to get away from the city, take a walk back in time at Morningside Nature Center.

Morningside Nature Center: 3540 E University Ave, Gainesville

For suggestions on other places to visit, check out my post on my 10 Day Trip to Gainesville.