Wednesday, May 7, 2025

East Side Okefenokee Swamp

We’ve camped in our RV several times at the state park (1, 2, 3). It’s a good place to camp but not many hiking trails. It’s also a 1.25 hour drive from our home. Closer to our home is an entrance on the east side of the swamp but we’ve never visited this part of the park.



There isn’t any camping within the park, but there’s more to do. There’s a museum at the visitors center. On a short trail nearby, we found people fishing. The funny part was that when one of the guys caught a fish, he had to pull it up quickly before a waiting alligator could grab it!


A turkey crossed the road on our drive. One hike is along a canal used for logging in the early 1900’s. At one stop, you hike back to a farm and home from a family who lived here 1880’s to 1970’s. There’s corn cribs, syrup shed, chickens, hog pen, and all sorts of things near the home. Some of it reminded me of the farm I grew up in. However, our tub wasn’t on the back porch with a view of the outside.




The longest and more exciting hike is 1.5 mile round trip on a boardwalk. Along the boardwalk we saw a couple of snakes. This one was a Florida banded water snake.


There were also a couple of alligators staring at us. I was hoping they didn’t stay here to eat tourists passing by!



The end of the trail is a tower with a view of a lake, the swamp, and the upper levels of the trees.




This is probably the last local trip we will take for the summer. It’s been hitting 90 degrees and the humidity is high. Looking forward to the fall and winter!