Folkston

Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge

Location:

2700 North, Suwannee Canal Road
Folkston, GA 31537

Description:

Sparkling blackwater the color of dark, southern sweet tea flows beneath your vessel, as you embark on an adventure like no other. Water lilies and carnivorous plants seem to defy physics as they perform a swaying waltz for you on top of the rainwater. Overhead a Sandhill Crane uninterested gazes at you as it glides high and low on the wind searching for its next swamp meal. The camouflaged heads of alligators rise out of the water in your path like scaly, prehistoric stones leading you deeper into the majestic waterways. The female safeguarding her nearby nest of hatchlings gazes at you warily with small glittering eyes, ready to redirect your path with an incredibly swift movement should the occasion arise.

No, you have not traveled deep into an Amazonian forest, where Tarzan may appear swinging in on a vine, but instead, you are deeply immersed in the Spanish Moss-draped primeval world of the Okefenokee Swamp National Wildlife Refuge near Folkston, Georgia. A place like no other place on earth...where wild prevails!

It has been given many names over the past generations, but the most prevailing is “Land of the Trembling Earth.” Indigenous Native Americans knew this place to be special for many reasons. This wide, shallow swampland in Southern Georgia that held a wealth of wildlife and unique plants that formed soggy islands that bobbed and sank with the footfall of an explorer, indeed seemed to tremble with life itself and still does today. The Okefenokee Swamp National Wildlife Refuge encompasses 430,000 acres of freshwater wetland that stretches for miles across the Georgia-Florida state line. Designated a national landmark in 1974, Okefenokee Swamp National Wildlife Refuge preserves the land and its unique ecosystem. State and regional parks allow access by boat where fishing, kayaking, and even platform camping are enjoyed by thousands of visitors each year. Take a day and go wild. A visit to Okefenokee Swamp National Wildlife Refuge is an unforgettable experience.

Learn More

Bird Watching

Boating

Fishing

Wildlife

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#exploresoutherngeorgia