---
id: "2464"
name: Old Florida Heritage Highway
distance: "47"
duration: Two hours
description: As one of the best preserved remnants of 'Old Florida,' rich in natural beauty and steeped in tradition, the Old Florida Heritage Highway offers a unique opportunity for byway travelers wanting to return to Florida's roots.
path:
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websites:
  - url: https://floridascenichighways.com/our-byways/northern-region/old-florida-heritage-highway/
    name: Florida Byways
attractions:
  - url: https://www.alachuacounty.us/Depts/Parks/pages/parkslist.aspx
    name: Alachua County
  - url: https://www.edibleorlando.com/meandering-along-the-old-florida-heritage-highway/
    name: Edible Orlando
  - url: https://www.prairiefriends.org/
    name: Friends of Paynes Prairie
  - url: https://www.visitgainesville.com/
    name: Gainsville
  - url: https://www.floridastateparks.org/parks-and-trails/marjorie-kinnan-rawlings-historic-state-park
    name: Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings State Historic Site
designations:
  - Florida State Scenic Byway
states:
  - FL
ll:
  - -82.30281100012752
  - 29.52216900029913
bounds:
  - - -82.39090000013488
    - 29.469539999671213
  - - -82.16517599957268
    - 29.61481099982774

---

The Old Florida Heritage Highway leads the traveler along forested and pastoral countryside. Lakes, wetlands, prairies, and rural homesteads also enhance the landscape. The highway stands as a good example of one of the more well-preserved sections of Florida Highway as it was before the interstates came along.

The Old Florida Heritage Highway has a unique and authentic landscape that has inspired naturalists, writers, and painters for centuries. William Bartram, America’s first naturalist, visited the area and described its colorful vistas and natural beauty in 1774. Travelers can head to the historic Cross Creek community, which is home to one of the most important sites in Florida’s literary history, the Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings State Park. Rawlings wrote about colorful local characters in her novels, including the Pulitzer Prize-winning _The Yearling_. You can learn even more about the region’s history by visiting Micanopy, the oldest inland town in the State of Florida. Micanopy, in the heart of Florida, is a former Seminole Indian town settled in 1821 as Wanton’s town. Today, Micanopy is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, which is why it seems frozen in time. For this reason the movies _Cross Creek_ and _Doc Hollywood_ were both filmed here.