Are you a resident of Charlton, Ware, or Clinch County, Georgia or Baker County, Florida?
Looking for something fun for the whole family during this holiday season? Come and visit the Suwannee Canal Recreation Area on Saturday December 13 for the refuge’s first Locals Day! During this event, the refuge will be open as normal to the public, but for residents that live in the counties where the refuge is found (Charlton, Ware, Clinch and Baker, FL) – great discounts are available! Locals will receive FREE ENTRY (normally $5/vehicle), a 10% discount on purchases made at the Okefenokee Wildlife League bookstore (within the Richard S. Bolt Visitor Center), and 10% discounts on 90-minute boat tours and canoe/kayak rentals (Okefenokee Adventures).
Don’t forget to take a ride down the Swamp Island Drive while you are here – the drive has great opportunities for viewing a variety of wildlife and also to observe the fall colors that South Georgia has to offer. Stop by the Chesser Island Homestead and tour the swamper cabin with a refuge volunteer to learn about how people lived during the early 1900s. Then visit the Chesser Island Boardwalk to observe the vast Wilderness of the Okefenokee looking out from the Owl’s Roost Tower onto Seagrove Lake.
Stay into the evening and come join in the fun as we celebrate Christmas at the Chesser Island Homestead from 6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. Enjoy refreshments (cookies, hot chocolate or apple cider), decorate a Gingerbread cookie, help the children find a Christmas log to be used in the fire, and join the Roddenberry Sisters as they sing Christmas carols around the bonfire.
We hope to see many of our neighbors on Saturday December 13! Don’t miss this great opportunity to pick up a few gifts for the holidays, enjoy a day at the refuge, and get into the holiday spirit, on us! For more information, contact the Richard S. Bolt Visitor Center at 912-496-7836, 9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. Tuesday – Saturday.
Sarah Wyatt
Refuge Ranger & Environmental Education Coordinator
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service – Southeast Region 4
Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge
Richard S. Bolt Visitor Center
2700 Suwannee Canal Road, Folkston, GA 31537
t: 912.496.7836 x24
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