Alfred A. Ring Park

Along the trail at Alfred A. Ring Park

I came here in search of a garden, and found a park. Having read that a small wildflower garden was tucked within this 22 acre park in northern Gainesville, I figured it was worth visiting for the sake of my botanical research. And the park I found surprised me. For such a small swath of land, it gives the perfect illusion that you’re wrapped in the embrace of a deep, dark upland forest, the kind that once blanketed these hillsides north of Paynes Prairie.

You enter the park on a broad bridge that’s built with heavy steel girders—my guess is to withstand flash floods that might roar down the ravine. At the trail junction, turn left. The footpath quickly comes to a small clearing with a restroom, picnic shelter, and playground. Continue along the trail, and you’ll notice you’re headed downhill. Fast. In spring, you’ll see smooth Solomon’s seal (Polygonatum biflorum) in bloom. I’m familiar with these from the Appalachian Mountains, and have never seen them further south of this point.

The trail forks; keep to the left to parallel the creek, and soon a side trail leads off to a boardwalk and overlook above where the tributary meets Hogtown Creek. Continue along the main trail to a spot where you can relax on a bench overlooking the creek and a perched marsh in the floodplain forest. Loblolly pines rise tall overhead, and needle palms bask in the cool shadows. A boardwalk follows the winding path of the creek to a view of a lazy horseshoe bend in the waterway, and keeps on going.