Coastal Companion

Your ultimate guide to the coast

Experience the Okefenokee Swamp by Kayak

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Okefenokee Swamp near Waycross, Georgia, is just fascinating. The landscape itself is fascinating with the black water and the reflections of the trees in the surface. You can see  birds everywhere; herons, egrets, ibis, and more depending on the time of year.

You can  paddled through the canals, and there are trails meandering through prairies filled with aquatic plants and bordered by islands of grasses, shrubs and trees. The swamp is basically a large basin filled almost entirely by rainwater. The still water retards

Okeefenokee Swamp
Tom Monahan, Up The Creek Trips

organic decay and creates a peat layer on the bottom supposedly several feet thick. This peat layer has accumulated over thousands of years. When the peat dislodges, rises to the surface and forms floating islands. Grasses come  first , then shrubs and then eventually trees such as the Cypress. “Okefenokee” is an indian word that means “Land of the Trembling Earth”.

Suwanee canal
Long canals in the swamp

Periodic fires rage the landscape and return areas to prairies, but the swamp always bounces back. It’s the never-ending circle of life for the swamp.
It’s very still, and very quiet, except for the occasional splash in the water from a fish, turtle or maybe alligator, or the birds. This landscape has looked the same for a very long time. You can’t hear traffic, it’s just peaceful and quiet. But then of course, a plane will fly by and remind you that you’re actually living in the 21th century after all.

Our favorite outfitter is Up the Creek Xpeditions from St Marys. They run a guided kayak tour through the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge, and sometimes they even go out at night. For more information visit www.upthecreektrips.com or call 912.882.0911

Alligator babies are hatching in August, and fall migration starts in September. So make your plans to visit this beautiful area!









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Click here to view the brochure for the Okefenokee Wildlife Refuge, it has some beautiful photos in it!

Photo: Georgia Department of Economic Development
Photo: Georgia Department of Economic Development

Adventure in the Okeefenokee Swamp Georgia

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Okeefenokee SwampEarlier this month, the Coastal Companion staff joined Up the Creek Xpeditions on a kayak tour through the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge. Up The Creek drove us from St. Marys to the swamp entrance, where they gave an orientation to this first-time kayakers. Sure enough, their advice quickly had me gracefully moving my kayak about and feeling comfortable on the water. “But what about the alligators?” I asked. Nothing to worry about, I was assured. Those worries were quickly tested, however, as we had only paddled a short distance up the canal when an alligator swam right in front of us. Half expecting the gator to turn and torpedo my kayak, I nevertheless tentatively followed our guides instructions and paddled forward. Just as he predicted, the gator turned and swam away, ducking underwater as we approached. So maybe the guide was right, the alligator might not be the fiendish leviathan of countless B movie escapades. Slowly I pried my hands off the paddle and moved on.

Having survived my gator test, I relaxed and soon started discovering an astounding, watery world teeming with wildlife and an exotic, alien landscape. We saw birds everywhere; herons, egrets, ibis, anhingas and the fascinating Sandhill Cranes. The cranes, recently arrived from their winter migration, fill the air with piercing, pterodactyl like call.

Suwanee canalWe paddled through canals, man’s attempt to tame the swamp, as well as trails meandering through prairies filled with aquatic plants and bordered by islands of grasses, shrubs and trees. The swamp, we were told, is a large basin filled almost entirely by rainwater. The still, oxygen deprived water retards organic decay, creating peat that covers the bottom with layers several feet thick, accumulation of thousands of years. The peat dislodges, rises to the surface and forms floating islands. Grasses establish first on the ‘batteries’ of peat, then shrubs then eventually trees such as the Cypress. The growth continues until periodic fires rage the landscape and return areas to prairies. But the swamp bounces back. Even the famous fire in the swamp last summer has little evidence left just half a year later.

The day was an awesome experience. I will never forget the exhilaration of my first kayak trip, nor the exciting experiences I had in the swamp, and I look forward to returning back to this wonderful place