Discovering the Okefenokee Swamp and Cumberland Island

Trip Snapshot

Join us as we travel deep into the most remote areas of the Okefenokee Swamp. On this tour our group will encounter flooded cypress forests decorated with Spanish moss, kayak across open prairies covered in blooming pitcher plants, and view black bears, otters, sandhill cranes, ospreys, alligators, bald eagles, and yellow-fringed orchids. Though pure and clean, the refuge’s waters are dark due to the tannic acid in decaying vegetation. A number of freshwater springs feed the refuge, which in turn gives birth to the well-known Suwannee River and the St. Marys River which flows out to the Atlantic Ocean and terminates at our next destination, Cumberland Island, Georgia. During our stay at Crooked River State Park, we will spend a day exploring Cumberland Island, which is protected as a national seashore. Eighteen miles of beach, thirty miles of trails, pristine wilderness and diverse plants and wildlife await us. Sea turtles, manatees, wild horses, bobcats, armadillos, various sea life, and more than 300 species of birds call Cumberland Island and its surrounding waters home. Here, creatures of the forest and shore live by both tidal and seasonal rhythms. We will also encounter several historical mansions and ruins, originally home to the Carnegies and other prominent families.