Jervey Gantt Park

Jervey Gantt Park is a 0.8-mile walk near Ocala, Florida, in the United States and is an accessible route. It has an elevation gain of roughly 0 feet and has a large, 63-acre active community park on the city’s southeast side.

 

It is situated inside a residential neighborhood, near-commercial use zones, and surrounded by unoccupied land. The park has leisure facilities for various team sports, some of which are illuminated by big field lights. Guests may also enjoy swimming, jogging paths, a two-mile fitness exercise course, and parking and picnicking options.

 

There are open fields and pavilions.

 

Consequently, there are also 120 parking spots lit by pedestrian-scale lighting.

 

This 2.90-kilometer circular route is located in Ocala, Florida. It takes approximately 45 minutes to accomplish this course. Although this is a famous track for trail walking and running, you may still find some quiet during the calmer hours of the day. You are to leave your dogs at home as you will have to leave them outside the park.

 

At the trail’s southern terminus, there are four identified accessible parking in a paved parking area off Southeast 24th Street. They are all pickup trucks and have striped access aisles. The route is paved and has a pleasant surface, and it is usually between 4 and 6 feet broad.

 

The path is considered to have a relatively easy gradient of 5 percent or less. Most mobility equipment, wheelchairs, and stroller users will be able to navigate this course. Along the walk, there are seats and picnic tables for relaxing.

 

The park’s proponent, Gantt, was born in Charleston, South Carolina. He graduated from the University of Florida with a business degree and relocated in 1951. Until 1980, he was the director of the Ocala Recreation Department. Currently, the current Ocala Recreation & Parks.

 

He was an accomplished tennis player who sat on the Florida Tennis Association’s executive board. He was a part of the organization’s hall of fame. He was also a director for the Babe Ruth Baseball League.

 

Gantt was a driving force behind the establishment of baseball and tennis programs in Marion County, plus a bunch of other sports programs that are still active today. In 1984, the city recognized Gantt’s contributions to local athletics by naming the 36th Avenue Sports Complex in his honor.

 

Jervey Gantt died at the age of 77 in August 1989. A plaque that bears Gantt’s name is on a 4-foot-square concrete block monument nestled in a horseshoe of greenery by the 24th Street parking lot.

 

Today, Jervey Gantt Park sits on about 60 acres of county land that the city controls. Over the years, the property sprouted tennis and racquetball courts, a volleyball court, a meandering two-mile trail with exercise stations, pavilions, a playground, and a dog park.

 

The complex became home to a memorial garden for deceased children more recently. It also features a vast football field for the Marion County Youth Football League, complete with bleachers and a parking area that spills onto the roadway and down the street during games.