Devil’s Millhopper State Geological Site

Beautiful gem in Gainesville. Only $ 4 per vehicle (bring cash!). Dogs are allowed. It’s peaceful and an easy walk. There are a few scattered gentle falls throughout the sinkhole. Makes for a cute date spot or a good place to take an easy hike. A must-​do in Gainesville. Bring your camera of course.

Like walking back in time. We’ll worth the steps. Take your time to take in the details as this is a short hike.

I’m not a huge fan of Devil’s Millhopper. The circular trail is pretty short and the park can be crowded. The stairs down to the swamp area are pretty good though. I have friends that visit a couple of times a week to go up and down the stairs for exercise. I’ve seen people with big packs or weighted vests to turn their cardio session up a notch or to train for a long multi-​day hike. $ 4 per car on the honor system. You insert $ 4 into a slot and put the tag on your dashboard.

This is a great state park and a must visit if you’re in Gainesville. It’s basically a giant sink hole and there are over 200 steps to get down and back. The ½ mile nature walk is also very pleasant.
There are a lot of locals whole exercise here. If you see twigs lined up on the fence post, those are actually markers of how many times they’ve gone up and down the steps.
Ranger lead walks are every Saturday and well worth it. It’s interesting to learn about the history of the sink hole and hear the stories.
Cost is $ 2 per person or $ 4 per vehicle. They also had oversized parking for small to mid sized RVs.

Very cool stop for a bit of nature. This is a beautiful sink hole over 10,000 years old. You walk down the stairs to the bottom, where there were at least 10 small waterfalls. It was pretty inexpensive at only a couple bucks per car. Makes for a great family day.

This is one of my favorite nature spots in the Gainesville area and I’ve been coming here to hike and enjoy since my college days 30 years ago. It is one the largest sinkhole in the area if not Florida and a must see if you’re ever in the area. Donation of a few dollars is appreciated.
There’s a massive staircase that takes you to the bottom of the hole and I recommend wearing comfortable shoes to climb down. Just wait until you have to climb back up as this can even be challenging for the more inclined. Bring some bottled water with you and breathe!
Great place to exercise among nature and away from city noise and traffic. The natural waterfalls (during season) and landscape is definitely something to appreciate and visit often.

Decent time. Trails are nice. Site is very well maintained. Actually sinkhole is basi

We are all going to be killed by giant holes opening in the limestone under our feet. This is the will of the 17 foot tall lizard kings who rule this world. They demand that we be swallowed feet first into a slimy, gaping maw, giving our lives perfect symmetry. All hail the lizard kings! So then, it is only sensible that you should see one of these holes in person first.
The park built around the sinkhole is beautiful and well maintained. It only costs $ 4 per car to get in, which works out to essentially free if you have a couple few people. The price is $ 2 for a bike or pedestrian.
There is an easy 0.6 mile hiking trail with labels on common trees as well as a small visitors center and the Main Event, a boardwalk into the sinkhole itself. Dogs are welcome.
It all adds up to a fine, cheap half-​day outing. If you are at all interested in seeing what a sinkhole looks like (that is, if you don’t want to wait until the inevitable sinkhole apocalypse) I recommend it highly.

It’s been several years since my wife, I, and some friends went to Devil’s Millhopper. Along with our son and theirs, we spent an afternoon enjoying the hiking trail and the adventure down into the sinkhole.
They drove their class A motorhome from the Palatka area and we went in style in our 1955 Chevy station wagon. Parked near picnic tables and had a nice picnic using the motorhome as our kitchen and supply room.
We suggest making it a nice picnic and bring food and drink of your own. We only live 50 miles west but my wife has learned over the years to never leave home for a ride without food and drink. I might end up in another state.
Being mature adults we spent a good deal of time decending and walking back up the stairs. Still it was not that bad. Perhaps we were in better shape back then. We also noticed several younger people actually running up and down and commented how that must be a real workout.
Being campers and nature lovers we all enjoyed the afternoon and the relaxing feeling of just standing down below thinking of why this hole in the ground was formed and all of the critters it has sucked up over centuries. We were happy to be able to just walk back out.
Too many people expect too much when going to places like this. This ain’t DisneyWorld and we are happy that there are public places where we can still enjoy Florida as it was. It still amazes us that this hole in the ground is so close to homes and downtown Gainesville.
Being from the midwest hurricanes and sink holes always worry us. But after 21 years we realize we worry too much. Get out and enjoy nature while you still can and before someone fills this hole in for a strip mall.

The idea of a sinkhole opening up and consuming your home is one of the biggest fears of Floridians aside from hurricanes. Being a native Floridian, I never thought I would get so close to this geologic phenomena in a safe setting. A friend of mine suggested it as something to do on a day trip to Gainesville. What a neat surprise!
Upon arriving at the site, you’re expected to pay a $ 4 entry fee (honor system) per car. There are also some picnic tables towards the front of the park for those who decide to bring some food to enjoy before or after the site. The path leading up to the sinkhole contains a welcome center (a small hut) with a park ranger and excellent visitor information. There are also restrooms there as well. We didn’t see water fountains, but we weren’t really looking hard and if you were really desperate there was running water in the bathroom faucets.
After departing the welcome center, visitors take a short jaunt to the actual sinkhole site. The boardwalk that extends all the way to the bottom of the site not only lends itself to ease of access to visitors, but apparently it helps with erosion on the site as well. The hike down and back up was pretty easy, but it depends on your level of fitness and the weather. There are informational signs at various points along the boardwalk about the history, plants, and even how the «Devil’s Millhopper» got its name. There is a quiet serenity to the sinkhole once reaching the bottom as your ears are filled with sounds of running water. One of the other reviews says that the site has «waterfalls» but it depends on what your definition of waterfall is. If you mean a small stream of water running down some rocks, then you’ve come to the right place.
After the hike back up, we took the nature trail. It was not even a mile around and a peaceful trail. The whole experience (visitor center, sinkhole, and nature trail) took about an hour and it was well worth the price. I would definitely recommend this site to visitors of Gainesville!

We went with our 3 year old and 5 other members of our family. We all enjoyed the trip. It was very interesting and definitely a sight to see. I wish there would have been some sort of water/​food for purchase, did not see that while there, but perhaps I missed it.

There isn’t anything like this in
Florida, so what a pleasant shock to find such a nice sinkhole right here in Gainesville.
It even has waterfalls!
As far as Florida, inland state parks are concerned, this is at the top of the list.

If you’re more into the natural awe of nature it’s worth a look.
The site itself is relatively small consisting of a display narrating the sink hole’s creation. It’s rather repetitive, but there’s only so much you can relay visually besides touring the cenote yourself.
There are two paths where one leads to the nature hike/​trail and one to the sink hole.
The trail itself isn’t necessarily worthwhile unless you’re using it for jogging or exercise. It’s flat land that wraps around into a circle eventually leading to the crown hole in the ground that we curiously wish to see.
Descend a couple hundred steps into almost a new landscape of trickling water, moss, stone and debri. The hole seemingly getting bigger as they re-​route trails to accommodate.
At the foot of the last staircase waits a small bridge hovering just above the water. There you sit in the maw of the cenote. A blue foggy soup of water and sunshine may be mistaken as mist below the trees.
Come here for the atmosphere, the meditation, and awe. Other than that it’s a terribly small site with lots of steps, give or take. If you’d prefer more interactive entertainment this might be a pass.
It’s $ 4 for parking on honor system with a small picnic area.
Come early to have it all to yourself or just to enjoy the colors.

This place was awesome! I didn’t know what to expect at first, Brandon didn’t really do too much explaining so i thought he was taking me to a hole. which technically he did but it’s so much more awesome than that!
It cost $ 4 to park but well worth it for the views and experience. We walked down to the bottom and spent some time down there taking pictures of the breathtaking wildlife. There were people running the stairs trying to get in shape… let me tell you. you couldn’t pay me to run all those stairs. so kudos to those exercising there!
The walk down the stairs doesn’t seem to bad but on the way back up you realize how far down you really were. The stair case fits in with the scenery too it doesn’t just cut down the hill and stick out like a sore thumb, it winds through so that you almost don’t even notice it when you are looking around.
I’m a big fan of Devil’s Millhopper i’d love to go back the next time we’re up there.