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Alligator Lake Park
4.6 ★★★★★ 921 Google reviews · Running trail in Lake City, Florida · Posted hours
Runner's snapshot
- Surface
- Not reported
- Distance
- Not reported
- Shape
- Not reported
- Shade
- Not reported
- Access
- Posted hours
Confirmed from Alligator Lake Park's own listing, the park or land manager's website, and runner reviews. Blank cells mean we could not verify that fact — we would rather say "not reported" than invent one. There is no Easy / Moderate / Hard rating on this page on purpose: a one-word difficulty score tells you nothing about whether a trail suits your run. Surface, distance, shade and hours do.
1,000-acre recreation area with a playground, canoe launch & trails, plus picnic shelters & fishing.
What runners say about Alligator Lake Park
“There's a really nice playground for the kids and everything is well groomed and clean.”
“It is such a beautiful place to come walk trails with the family, see flora and fauna such as wild blackberries, pond lily, gators, and a wide variety of birds.”
Lovely park, a lot of space with a couple of different trails. They do a very good job with keeping it clean. There's a playground area and about two places where you can have an event as well.
This is more of a little kid playground, it was not challenging for my 11 yr, my 2 year could solve all of the activities. There were a lot of kids at the playground so the kids found good social time. Playground was clean and in good repair. Woodchips on the ground except for the small sand digging area.
We were in Lake City for business. Had a big lunch and decided we wanted to go walk a little bit. Found this park on Google maps. It was very hot the day we were there so we only hiked for about a mile. Lots more to explore! We will definitely go back when the weather is a bit cooler and do some more hiking.
We went on the bird trail, it’s a nice 20min walk, very amusing to see the trees flying around. They promised us birds and we saw many, they promised us alligators and we saw one. So I’d recommend if you are like me and prefer to see these cuties in their natural habitat instead of incarcerated.
Trail conditions & character
“It is such a beautiful place to come walk trails with the family, see flora and fauna such as wild blackberries, pond lily, gators, and a wide variety of birds.”
“They do have public bathrooms and a water fountain and benches and picnic tables.”
“They do have public bathrooms and a water fountain and benches and picnic tables.”
“Everything is very clean and accessible for the kiddos.”
Plan your run at Alligator Lake Park
The practical stuff
- AccessPosted hours — posted hours below; park gates sometimes close earlier than the listing says
- DistanceNot reported. Trail systems often quote total path mileage rather than a single loop, so measure the route you actually want before you drive out.
- ShadeNot reported. Assume some of it is exposed and carry water in summer.
- At the trailheadrestrooms, water — reported by runners
- Stroller / wheelchairReported as smooth and step-free enough for a running stroller or a chair.
- Websitecolumbiacountyfla.com
- Phone(386) 719-7545
- Social Facebook
Hours
| Monday | Closed |
| Tuesday | 8 AM–7 PM |
| Wednesday | 8 AM–7 PM |
| Thursday | 8 AM–7 PM |
| Friday | 8 AM–7 PM |
| Saturday | 8 AM–7 PM |
| Sunday | 8 AM–7 PM |
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