In March 1903, President Theodore Roosevelt created the first national wildlife refuge. National wildlife refuges are created specifically to protect wildlife and their habitats.
As of 2022, there are 568 national wildlife refuges in the United States, making up 95 million acres of land and 740 million acres of submerged lands and waters.
The Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge, located in southern Georgia, was established as a refuge in 1937. The refuge is the largest national wildlife refuge east of the Mississippi River and covers approximately 407,000 acres. It provides a habitat for threatened and endangered species, including wood storks and red-cockaded woodpeckers. Unsurprisingly, since it is a swamp located in southern Georgia, American alligators are prevelant in the refuge. It is estimated that approximately 15,000 alligators are living in the Okefenokee swamp.
Guests can explore the area from the Okefenokee Swamp Park located in Waycross, Georgia or Okefenokee Adventures located in Folkston, Georgia. Each location offers different adventures for visitors. For the Okefenokee Swamp Park, see here. For Okefenokee Adventures, see here.
Okefenokee Adventures was close to our campground in Glen Saint Mary, Florida, so we decided to explore that area.
We took a guided boat tour. The tours are 90 minutes long and are $35 per adult and $30 per child (ages 4-11) with discounts available for certain visitors.
The website says that the staff "includes well-known authorities on alligator biology, wetland ecology, and Okefenokee cultural history." There is no question that that was true of our guide, Dan! He was INCREDIBLY knowledgeable about the park and all of the animals. Throughout he tour, he would stop the boat, point out animals, and tell us all about them.
We saw a ton of alligators (Lauren was going to count them all, but gave up early on because there were so many), lots of turtles, and several birds, including a baby owl.
A large alligator sunning in the grass.
Darcy and Lauren enjoying the boat ride.
View of the swamp with lots of lily pads.
There is a lot of spanish moss throughout the swamp.
Another large alligator out sunning himself (or herself)!
Trees covered in Spanish moss.
Can you spot the hidden alligator!?
The weather called for heavy rains, but we lucked out and got a beautiful, warm, sunny day!
An alligator swimming toward us.
One of the most AMAZING moments of the tour was hearing some alligators bellow. Alligators bellow to communicate with one another, and bellowing is particularly common during mating season. Courtship begins in April and mating begins in May or June. Since it was mid-April, we were approaching mating season.
The guide explained that once one alligator bellowed, nearby alligators tend to bellow in response. We heard one small bellow and then suddenly started hearing more bellows. Lauren and I both jumped when a super loud bellow suddenly came from the grass RIGHT NEXT TO our side of the boat!!!!! It turns out there was a very large alligator hidden in the grass right next to us, and he wanted to join in the conversation.
The guide told us that one time he was with a group doing backcountry camping in the swamp. One of the men in the group was snoring very loudly at night... and suddenly a bunch of nearby alligators started bellowing in "response"!
As with most things, the video does not do it justice, but Brian was able to catch a couple of the bellows on video. Check it out below!!
The bellowing did not last for very long, but it was such an amazing experience!
The rest of the ride continued to be amazing and was filled with many, many more alligators!
Video of an alligator.
Panoramic view of the swamp. A couple of alligators can be seen lying in the grass sunning themselves.
After we finished the boat ride, we had a picnic lunch at a shaded picnic table nearby, then drove around the Swamp Island Drive, which is a short, scenic drive. We stopped to see the Chesser Homestead, which is a log cabin built in the 1920s. The homestead shows visitors what life was like for the people who tried to inhabit the swamp area in the 1800 and 1900s.
Because the forecast was calling for a lot of rain, we decided to skip the boardwalk and observation tower and head out. (Sadly, the rain held off, so we wish we had stayed to explore more!!)
All in all, the Okefenokee Swamp was an AMAZING experience and one that I can't recommend highly enough, if you're in southern Georgia or northern Florida! It is well worth the time and money!!
And remember, if you hear an alligator bellowing, stay far away!
Safe travels!
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