Sport & Outdoor
Outdoor AdventureCumberland Island National Seashore
Under $25Ride a passenger ferry to a car-free barrier island of empty beach, maritime forest and Carnegie mansion ruins.
Photo: Ryan Hagerty, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons. Cropped and resized.
Sport & OutdoorOutdoor AdventureIconic
Okefenokee Swamp
2700 Suwannee Canal Rd · Folkston, GA
Why you should go…
The Okefenokee is a 438,000-acre blackwater swamp on the Georgia-Florida line, most of it protected as Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge. From the main entrance near Folkston you can paddle or take a motorboat onto the water, hike, fish, and watch for alligators, sandhill cranes and wood storks. The refuge is home to about 15,000 American alligators and holds the headwaters of the Suwannee and St. Marys rivers. The Chesser Island Homestead, built in 1927, is also on the refuge.
- #swamp
- #wildlife refuge
- #alligators
- #canoeing
- #birdwatching
Good to know
General sport & outdoor guidance
Habits that pay off across this whole category, not rules for this one venue. Always check the official site for the specifics.
Weather calls the shots
Check the forecast the morning of and keep an indoor backup in your pocket for the day it turns.
Shoes, water, sun cover
The three things that decide whether you last the whole outing or cut it short after an hour.
Parking and launches fill early
On a nice weekend, lots and trailheads are often full by mid-morning.
Daylight shrinks in shoulder season
Spring and fall visits need an earlier start than the same trip in July.
What's around here?
The closest stops to Okefenokee Swamp, ordered by straight-line distance.
