Day Trip - Okenfenokee National Wildlife Refuge

We are staying at the King's Bay Naval (Submarine) Base near St. Mary's Georgia.  The campground here is great (Eagle Hammock RV Park).  Since we are going to be here a few days, we started exploring the area and took a day trip to Okenfenokee NWR.

Okefenokee ("Land of the Trembling Earth") NWR was established in 1937 and spans 402,000 acres of swamp, lakes, rivers is one of the largest and best preserved fresh water systems in America.

Over the years, the area has been intended for a number of different uses.  Back in 1891, the Suwannee Canal Company bought the land from Georgia and intended to drain the swamp, harvest the Cypress trees and turn the area into farm land.  That company went bankrupt, sold it to another who built a railroad nearby and logged over 431 million feet of lumber before the Depression hit and operations ceased.

A few years later it became a National Wildlife Refuge.

As we drove on to the property, it seemed as if it is well maintained and well funded which is nice to see.  The NWR is a great place to do a lot of different things including, hiking, fishing, hunting, nature photography and wilderness canoeing.

The Visitor's Center is situated near a training building, gift shop and canoe/pontoon boat guide area.  Near one of the buildings, there was some new construction and additions to the facility.  Large and small groups come to the NWR and take advantage of the educational and nature opportunities.

 The Visitor's Center has a number of interactive displays and informational stations along with a short video and a story telling kiosk.  It is very well done.

Out behind the facility is a canal and boat launch.  

Some hardy souls were off on a guided boat tour of the grounds.  We opted for a picnic lunch and walked around the grounds.

A fellow RVer and blogger Judy of "Travels with Emma" fame, got in touch with us and said to come on over for a tour.  We didn't know she was here until after we returned, but we hope to connect with her in a few days and do just that.

Thanks for joining us on the Roadrunner Chronicles!  Until next time...