Mill Creek Preserve is a joint venture between the County of Alachua and the non-profit Alachua County Forever/Alachua Conservation Trust program. I think the Suwannee River Water Management DIstrict may also have a hand in it, because it has the simple, basic, look of a WMD property. You’ll find just a dirt parking lot off of CR236 and a sign with information regarding the trails and the animal and plant life you may encounter on them and then the trailhead. Unlike state parks, Mill Creek is free and about the only thing to do there is hike. The trails are not in most places wide enough for horses and I don’t think they, nor mountain bikes, are allowed. The Mill Creek Preserve is a pretty recent addition to Alachua County’s public lands and is therefore rather rustic. If you attempt hiking here, it’s not that difficult but it’s a 1,200 acre parcel and some of the trails wind you way back into the woods, so bring plenty of water. Also bring bug spray. You will go along a small creek on one trail and there is a bench there with a sign claiming that cottonmouth snakes(Agkistrodon piscivorus) are commonplace here, so I guess this is a nice place to sit down and wait for a venomous snake to slither by, if you wish. I didn’t see any snakes though when I visited Mill Creek. By the look of things, I suspect this was former commercial timberlands given to or purchased by the county. It’s a very peaceful place to hike, but doesn’t have a lot of features uncommon to other public lands in the region. I give it four stars because I am always glad to see more public lands open to hikers, but just understand that this is the typical pine flatwoods and scrub environment you find in this area of Florida without any really major geographical features or anything else to make it distinct. The official webpage for the preserve claims it has«magnificent mature forests of oak, hickory, basswood, maple, beech and Southern magnolia in excellent condition» which is certainly true, but lots and lots of pine here, too. The beech as I understand is unique and not found further south of this location in Florida. For first-time hikers in this part of the state, I suggest San Felasco State Park or Paynes Prairie over Mill Creek as there’s just more to see at those parks.
