Hike Location: Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge
Geographic Location: southwest of Folkston, GA (30.71202, -82.16204)
Length: 3.2 miles
Difficulty: 3/10 (Easy/Moderate)
Dates Hiked: December 2018, February 2023
Overview: A double out-and-back with short loop featuring a
bog observation tower and the historic Chesser Homestead.
Refuge Information: https://www.fws.gov/refuge/okefenokee/
Hike Route Map:
Photo Highlight:
Hike Video:
Directions to the trailhead: From Folkston, take SR
23 south 7 miles to the signed entrance for Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge
on the right. Turn right and drive the
refuge entrance road to the Visitor Center, where you will need to pay a small
entrance fee. Then drive the Swamp
Island Drive to the blacktop parking lot for Chesser Island Boardwalk (stop #12
on the scenic drive). Park here.
The hike: At first
glance the 438,000 acre Okefenokee Swamp of southeast Georgia looks a lot like
the Everglades
swamp of south Florida, but first glances can be deceiving. For one, the Okefenokee Swamp is technically
not a swamp but a peat bog, or a wetland formed by the accumulation of peat
over a long period of time, about 6500 years in this case. Second, while the Everglades is heavily
influenced by its waters mixing with the salt waters of the adjacent Gulf of
Mexico, Okefenokee is entirely fresh water.
Indeed, two significant rivers originate in the Okefenokee: the Suwanee
River flowing southwest through Florida into the Gulf of Mexico and the St.
Mary’s River flowing east through Georgia into the Atlantic Ocean. Third, Everglades National Park was
established in 1947, while Okefenokee did not come under federal protection
until Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge was established in 1974.
Technicalities
aside, a visit to Okefenokee takes you into the largest blackwater “swamp” in
North America. Okefenokee’s center is
protected as a wilderness area, and you will need to either rent a canoe or
sign up for one of the park’s concession boat tours to access it. Many people come to Okefenokee in the summer,
but if I had any other options I would not come here then due to heat and
bugs. I came down here on my Christmas
2018 hiking trip and had a great visit.
Okefenokee can be accessed through
three main portals, one on the east, one on the west, and one on the north. The swamp’s north portal lies in the private
non-profit Okefenokee Swamp Park, but that option’s high admission fee and lack
of hiking trails make it undesirable except for tourists. The swamp’s west portal lies in Stephen C.
Foster State Park, and it is featured in the next hike. The swamp’s east portal, which lies in the
Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge’s Suwanee Recreation Area, contains the
area’s best selection of hiking trails. The refuge offers several short nature trails
and the swamp’s longest hiking trail, the 4 mile one-way Longleaf Pine Trail
that zig-zags back and forth across the refuge entrance road. Yet the refuge’s best hiking options lie on
Chesser Island, and the route described here combines the swamp’s best
boardwalk with its best historic site, thus giving you the best hiking
Okefenokee Swamp has to offer.
 |
| Trailhead for Chesser Island Boardwalk |
From the boardwalk parking lot,
head down the concrete path signed as leading to the Chesser Island
Boardwalk. In only a couple hundred feet,
the mowed-grass trail leading to the Chesser Homestead exits right. We will go that way after walking the boardwalk,
but for now angle left and soon reach the boardwalk’s start.
At over 3000 feet in length, the
Chesser Island Boardwalk is the longest boardwalk at Okefenokee. This “boardwalk” is actually made of recycled
plastic, and several covered pavilions allow you to sit and rest if
needed. Unfortunately, wildlife viewing
is not the best until you get to the observation tower at the boardwalk’s end:
the swamp’s dense grasses, bushes, and Spanish moss-covered trees ensure you
hear more wildlife than you see. Some
pileated woodpeckers were the most noteworthy birds I saw until I got to the
observation tower. Large amounts of
yellow butterwort were in bloom beside the boardwalk.
 |
| Pavilion on boardwalk |
At 0.7
miles, you reach the observation tower at the boardwalk’s end. Climbing 48 steps will bring you to the
observation platform. The platform gives
360 degree views over the trees, but the open waters of Seagrove Lake to the
west may be the direction of most interest: I saw an egret and an alligator in
the pond. A couple of view finders help
magnify far-away birds and wildlife, so take some time to see what you can see.
|
| View north from observation tower |
 |
| Seagrove Lake, as seen from observation tower |
The
boardwalk ends at the observation tower, so next you need to retrace your steps
back to the beginning of the boardwalk.
Just before reaching the parking lot, turn left to begin the trail to
the Chesser Homestead. This trail is
called the Deerstand Trail though no signs indicate such. This area is only a foot or so higher in
elevation than the boardwalk area, but that foot makes a big difference in this
part of the world. Tall loblolly pines
now occupy the canopy, and the understory has a lot of saw palmetto and holly.
 |
| Hiking the Deerstand Trail |
At 1.7
miles, you cross a sandy dirt access road just before reaching a trail
intersection. Turning right would lead
to the Chesser Homestead parking lot on Swamp Island Drive, so you want to turn
left to quickly arrive at the homestead.
Built in 1927 by Tom and Iva Chesser, the homestead comes complete with
a house (built from yellow pine and cypress in 21 days), grindstone, corn crib,
chicken coop, and a few other buildings, but the first thing to grab your
attention may be the white sand yard.
This type of yard was common in this area because it was once the ocean
floor, but it also had a purpose: the open area would act as a firebreak in the
case of a wildfire (lightning-spawned wildfires are common in Okefenokee), and
all of the area’s venomous snakes are easily spotted on the white
backdrop. The Visitor Center offers a
nice brochure describing the Chesser Homestead, so pick one up on your way in
when you pay the entrance fee.
 |
| House at Chesser Homestead |
A 0.5 mile
nature trail loop called the Chesser Homestead Trail starts at the southeast
corner of the white sand yard. A wooden
sign that says “Homestead Loop” marks this point. The trail leaves the homestead area and
reenters the palmetto-filled forest.
Where the trail splits at an unsigned intersection, you need to turn
left; the trail going right leads back out to Swamp Island Drive.
The
somewhat narrow trail heads north to reach a signed intersection with the Ridleys
Boardwalk Trail, which exits right. Turn
right to hike the short boardwalk spur.
The real wood (as opposed to recycled plastic) boardwalk heads off the
east end of Chesser Island into the wetter area before abruptly ending at a
sign that describes some common birds.
Retrace your steps to the Homestead Loop, then continue straight to
finish the loop.
 |
| End of Ridleys Island Trail |
At 2.6
miles, you return to the Chesser Homestead near the corn crib. Walk around the house and retrace your steps
to the boardwalk parking area to complete the hike. While you are here, try some of the shorter
trails such as the Canal Diggers Trail (a “tribute” to the timber companies
that dug the Suwanee Canal located near the present-day Visitor Center) or the
Upland Discovery Trail, or sign up for a swamp boat tour at the concession
building adjacent to the Visitor Center.
