Things To Do in Okefenokee Swamp
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Okefenokee Swamp Attractions
Before heading in, you can visit the Okefenokee Heritage Center, 2 miles west of Waycross (birthplace of actor Burt Reynolds) on U.S. 82 (tel. 912/285-4260). Here you can see a restored 1912 steam locomotive and depot, an "operating" 1890 print shop, and the restored 1840 Gen. Thomas Hilliard House, plus exhibits on local history. The center is open Tuesday to Saturday 10am to 4:30pm. Admission is $3, free for children 4 and under.
At the same site, the Southern Forest World (tel. 912/285-4056) is a museum depicting the development and history of the South's forest industry. The collection includes a logging train, tools and other artifacts, and forestry-related relics, as well as a variety of audiovisuals. Hours are the same as those of the Heritage Center. Admission is $2.50 for adults, $1.50 for seniors 55 and over, and free for children 4 and under.
- Park/Garden
Okefenokee Swamp Park
The park -- at the swamp's northern perimeter, on Cowhouse Island -- can occupy a day of your time. It offers boat tours (included with admission), canoe rentals, interpretive programs, an outdoor museum, marked trails, and even a serpentarium with reptile shows. Take a cypress… - Park/Garden
Stephen C. Foster State Park
On the western edge of Okefenokee, 18 miles from Fargo, this is an 80-acre island park with a sprawling forest of black gum and cypress. As a refuge, it forms one of the thickest terrains of vegetation in the Southeast. In the mirrorlike black waters live some 55 species of reptiles,… - Park/Garden
Suwanee Canal Recreation Area
Run by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, this recreation area offers some of America's finest birding and freshwater fishing. The area provides entry to the prairies of Mizell, Chase, Grand, and Chesser, the last the site of a century-old farmstead. Small lakes and "gator holes"…