Gainesville, FL Discount Hotels

University of Florida Sports – The Gators

Gainesville, FL 32604

800-344-2867

Call for game schedule and additional information

The University offers a host of spectator sports throughout the year, including: Baseball, Basketball (men and women), Cross Country, Football, Golf, Gymnastics, Soccer, Softball, Swimming and Diving (men and women), Tennis (men and women), Track, and Volleyball.

Florida Museum of History

S.W. 34th St. and Hull Rd
Gainesville, FL  32611
352-846-2000

Mon - Sat 10 am - 5 pm; Sun & state holidays 1 - 5 pm.  Closed Thanksgiving and Christmas

Admission Charged

In the Hall of Florida Fossils: Evolution of Life and Land, guests learn about Florida’s fossils and geologic and environmental changes over 65 million years. South Florida People & Environments explain the story of native people in South Florida and their environments. Northwest Florida: Waterways and Wildlife displays a full-sized replica of a North Florida limestone cave. The Butterfly Rainforest houses hundreds of living butterflies, waterfalls and tropical plants.

NHRA/Gainesville Raceway

11211 N. C.R. 225
Gainesville, FL  32609
352-377-0046

Open year round, closed most major holidays.  Call for additional information

Admission Charged

Gainesville Raceway home of the Mac Tools NHRA Gatornationals. The quarter-mile drag strip is 167 feet above sea level, runs west to east, VIP tower suites for catered meals, press briefings, or classroom instruction, numerous well-maintained permanent restroom facilities, significant lighted areas, outdoor seating for 32,000, complete perimeter security fencing, corporate hospitality village. In addition to the drag strip a road course/test track and off-road course are available for rental.

Old Florida Heritage Highway

Along U.S. 441 from Williston Rd. to the Marion County Line
Gainesville, FL  32667
850-410-5894

Open year round

Admission Free

48 miles of U.S.441 just south of Gainesville provide a vista of rural landscape, cattle, state parks and historic towns.

Samuel P. Harn Museum of Art

S.W. 34th St. and Hull Rd
Gainesville, FL  32611
352-392-9826

Tues. - Fri. 11 am - 5 pm; Sat. 10 am - 5 pm; Sun. 1 - 5 pm. Closed state holidays and Mondays

Admission Charged

Located on the University of Florida campus in Gainesville, the Harn Museum of Art is one of the largest university art museums in the southeastern United States. Along with important loans from other sources, the museum's permanent collections feature American, African, pre-Columbian, Asian, and contemporary works of art. The museum offers a broad range of programs from film and lecture series to workshops and performances.

Matheson Museum
513 E. University Avenue
Gainesville, FL 32601
352-378-2280

Open Sunday 1pm – 5pm

Admission Free

The Alachua County Historic Trust: Matheson Museum, Inc. is dedicated to preserving and interpreting the history of Alachua County, Florida. The Museum complex includes 4 sites: the Matheson Museum, housing the exhibit hall and research library, the Matheson House, the Tison Tool Museum, and Sweetwater Park.

The Matheson House

513 E. University Avenue
Gainesville, FL 32601
352-378-2280

The Matheson House is open the first Sunday of each month from 1pm – 4pm for tours.

Admission Charged

The house belonged to Douglas Matheson, an emigrant from South Carolina and a prominent merchant, who bequeathed it to his son Chris, the city’s mayor from 1910 to 1917, a state legislator, and later, a minister. Chris’ wife Sarah deeded the house to the Trust upon her death in 1996. A blend of South Carolina plantation and Classic Revival raised cottage architecture, the Matheson House incorporates Gothic decorative elements in roof finials and an interior stairway. The gambrel roof and ceiling to ground porch columns are uncommon in Florida. Inside, period furniture and personal possessions are a testament to a family’s history, and that of Gainesville itself.

The Tison Tool Museum

513 E. University Avenue
Gainesville, FL 32601
352-378-2280

The Tison Tool Museum is open by appointment only

Admission Charged

The Tison Tool Museum houses the unique tool collection of Gainesville native John Mason Tison, Jr. Built by Tison in 1993 and reconstructed on the Matheson site in 1998, the structure—and the tools it preserves—honor the skill and artistry that created Alachua County’s built environment.

Sweetwater Park

513 E. University Avenue
Gainesville, FL 32601
352-378-2280

Open daily, call for additional information

Admission Free

Located directly behind the Museum, the park is a joint effort of the Matheson Museum and the City of Gainesville. The Park is an outdoor museum in the heart of the city. A Walk Through History, a 12-panel local history exhibition, lines the walkways that meander through the park; the area’s natural history is interpreted in native plant clusters and a formal Southern garden. As a neighborhood and community space, the park offers quiet benches along Sweetwater Branch Creek, the city’s original eastern boundary, and a children’s playground.

Nearby:

European Rally & Performance Driving School

7266 Airport Rd
Starke, FL  32091
352-473-2999

Open year round, Mon - Fri 8:30am - 5:30pm

Admission Charged

The ultimate motor sport experience. Drive real rally cars, on real roads, real fast, just like the professionals. Slide and drift, take jumps, use the E brake for hairpin turns, left foot brake and more. Use our two-wheel drive or powerful all wheel drive cars. One to five day courses available. One and two day Karting courses, also one and three day ATV courses.

Day Trips:

Canoe down the Santa Fe or Ichetucknee Rivers near High Springs.

386-454-2050

Hike the trails at O'Leno State Park in High Springs.

386-454-1857

Explore the sink holes at Peacock Springs near Branford.

386-776-2194

Just two hours south of Gainesville, the Walt Disney World Resort is the most popular vacation destination in the world.

407-WDisney

Visit the Olustee Battlefield State Historic Site near Lake City in the town of Olustee.

386-752-3866

Visit the Florida Sports Hall of Fame in Lake City which showcases world-class sports celebrities whose roots are in Florida.

386-758-1310

Visit the Columbia County Historical Museum in Lake City, located in a historical home styled in the unique Southern Rural Italianate architecture.

386-755-1517

Visit the Stephen Foster State Folk Culture Center in White Springs located on the banks of the Suwannee River. The center features a crafters' center, the Stephen Foster Museum, a gift shop, and the remains of a sulfur spring house.

904-397-2733

Canoe down the Suwannee River made famous by composer Stephen Foster.

904-428-4171

Take a houseboat cruise along the Suwannee River near the west coast of Florida.

800-458-BOAT