Gainesville, Florida: Queen Snake Lookout

This is more than just an overlook. It is built to resemble the whole snake. The tongue comes out the front of the head and forks. The body is brick inlayed in the concrete and slithers back to a point at the tail at the beginning of the sidewalk. A fun place to stretch your legs and accessible to all.

The walkway was chained and locked when we arrived on a Wednesday morning at 10AM. We thought maybe they were working on it so we were leaving and ran into an attendant who was on her way to open it up. Just in case it's chained, ask before you leave!

Actually saw a snake curled up in a bush at the bottom of one of the walls also. Not sure what kind it was since it was partially covered and we were standing about 12 above it on the walkway.

The southbound rest area on Interstate 75 at milepost 378, just south of the highway 121 exit, features a snake-shaped elevated overlook allowing a natural view of Paine's Prairie -- which was once a large lake visited by early Florida explorers Hernando de Soto and William Bartram, but has been a patch of wetlands after a sinkhole in the southeast quadrant opened and drained the lake. Steamboats plied the lake up into the late 1800s carrying citrus from groves around Micanopy to railheads in Gainesville. As for the celebrated Queen Snake: it is most certainly not poisonous, but one of Florida's many non-poisonous reptiles. Stop and enjoy the view!

A giant snake-shaped walkway is at a southbound I-75 rest area. Some references say it is a Corn Snake, but the walkway guide says that it was built to resemble a Florida Queen Snake. Pleasant spot and diversion.