Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge
National Wildlife Refuge — Ramsar Wetland Of International Importance · Folkston, Georgia
Roughly four hundred thousand acres of blackwater swamp on the Georgia-Florida line, and one of the largest intact freshwater wetlands left in North America. The water is the colour of strong tea from tannins leaching out of the peat, the peat itself floats in places — the Muscogee name is usually rendered as land of trembling earth — and the whole thing drains south into the Suwannee River. It is a Ramsar Wetland of International Importance and sits on the United States' tentative list for UNESCO World Heritage inscription. You see it from a boat or you do not really see it.
2700 Suwannee Canal Road, Folkston, Georgia, 31537, United States
Refuge open daily, generally sunrise to sunset, with an entrance fee at the Suwannee Canal entrance near Folkston; federal passes accepted. Visitor centre and concession hours are shorter and seasonal. The western entrance at Stephen C. Foster State Park and the northern entrance at Okefenokee Swamp Park are separately operated with their own gates, hours and fees. Overnight wilderness canoe trips require a permit and book out well ahead.
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