Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge – Stephen C. Foster State Park
1/29/2010 - 1/31/2010
Home to between 12,000 and 15,000 alligators, the 400,000 plus acres that comprise the Okefenokee Swamp are largely submerged under several inches to several feet of fresh water laden with tannic acid. The dark clear waters of the swamp are dotted with several upland islands and few access points. The Stephen C. Foster (Georgia) State Park provides access to the western side of the swamp and was our point of entry. The campground facilities here are exceptional- wooded and private with heated bathrooms and fantastic showers! However, the recent heavy rains have brought the swamp even closer to the campsites and, ironically, the Suwannee Visitor Center is closed due to flooding!
Suwannee Visitor Center Flooding
Stephen C. Foster State Park Campground
The swamp has a storied past. Fascinating tales of “swampers” who inhabitied this seemingly uninhabitable land – leaving only to trade animal skins for ammunition and coffee- abound. After logging the swamp’s centuries old cypress trees in the early twentieth century, the timber company sold the land to the federal government. After failed attempts to drain the swamp and the thwarting of a proposed canal route connecting the Gulf of Mexico to the Atlantic, FDR earmarked the swamp for preservation and thus its inclusion in the national wildlife refuge system of today. They hydrology of the swamp is, however, its defining feature. No rivers flow into Okefenokee. Rainfall supplies almost all the water to the system, which is drained by two rivers (the Suwannee to the Gulf and the St. Mary’s to the Atlantic). The most intimate way to tour the swamp is along the extensive network of canoe trails. Boat tours and boardwalk trails are also available. We enjoyed the “Land of the Trembling Earth Trail” which allows a small glimpse into this vast system.
Swamp Cypress
Land of the Trembling Earth Boardwalk Trail
Basking Turtles
Okefenokee Swamp
Home to between 12,000 and 15,000 alligators, the 400,000 plus acres that comprise the Okefenokee Swamp are largely submerged under several inches to several feet of fresh water laden with tannic acid. The dark clear waters of the swamp are dotted with several upland islands and few access points. The Stephen C. Foster (Georgia) State Park provides access to the western side of the swamp and was our point of entry. The campground facilities here are exceptional- wooded and private with heated bathrooms and fantastic showers! However, the recent heavy rains have brought the swamp even closer to the campsites and, ironically, the Suwannee Visitor Center is closed due to flooding!
Suwannee Visitor Center Flooding
Stephen C. Foster State Park Campground
The swamp has a storied past. Fascinating tales of “swampers” who inhabitied this seemingly uninhabitable land – leaving only to trade animal skins for ammunition and coffee- abound. After logging the swamp’s centuries old cypress trees in the early twentieth century, the timber company sold the land to the federal government. After failed attempts to drain the swamp and the thwarting of a proposed canal route connecting the Gulf of Mexico to the Atlantic, FDR earmarked the swamp for preservation and thus its inclusion in the national wildlife refuge system of today. They hydrology of the swamp is, however, its defining feature. No rivers flow into Okefenokee. Rainfall supplies almost all the water to the system, which is drained by two rivers (the Suwannee to the Gulf and the St. Mary’s to the Atlantic). The most intimate way to tour the swamp is along the extensive network of canoe trails. Boat tours and boardwalk trails are also available. We enjoyed the “Land of the Trembling Earth Trail” which allows a small glimpse into this vast system.
Swamp Cypress
Land of the Trembling Earth Boardwalk Trail
Basking Turtles
Okefenokee Swamp
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