Tag Archives: Stephen C. Foster State Park

Okefenokee Floyd’s Island Campout, Suwannee River, Okefenokee Swamp 2024-11-09-10

Update 2024-09-13: Got a permit for Sunday, November 10. Okefenokee Floyd’s Island Campout, Suwannee River, Okefenokee Swamp 2024-11-02.

Update 2024-09-04: Didn’t get a permit for November 2, so trying for November 9.

Pending a permit, join us to paddle 9 miles upstream on the Suwannee River for primitive camping on Floyd’s Island in the Okefenokee Swamp.

This is the farthest you can get from any road in Georgia, with very dark sky.

You can camp inside the century-old Hebard Cabin, or in your tent or hammock outside.

Yes, you will see gators, and probably other wildlife.

When: Gather 9 AM, launch 10 AM, end All Day, Saturday, November 9, 2024
Launch 9 AM, end 1 PM, Sunday, November 10, 2024

Put In: Stephen C. Foster State Park Ramp, 17515 GA-177, Fargo, GA 31631. From Fargo, travel south on US 441 to CR 177; turn left and travel to Stephen C. Foster State Park in Charlton County.

GPS: 30.826833, -82.361333

[Floyds Island Campout, Okefenokee Swamp 2024-11-02-03, Suwannee River, Fargo, GA, Stephen C. Foster State Park]
Floyds Island Campout, Okefenokee Swamp 2024-11-02-03, Suwannee River, Fargo, GA, Stephen C. Foster State Park

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Videos: Food at Griffis Fish Camp on the Suwannee River with Seminole Pumpkin 2023-12-09

Part four is videos of the food at Campfire Cookout at Griffis Fish Camp and Suwannee River Paddle including what happened to the Seminole pumpkin C.B. “Turtleman” Adams gave us back in part zero.

[Food and Seminole Pumpkin at Griffis Fish Camp, Suwannee River 2023-12-09]
Food and Seminole Pumpkin at Griffis Fish Camp, Suwannee River 2023-12-09

Spoiler: it got cooked and eaten, after the seeds were saved by several people for planting.

Here’s the video:
https://youtu.be/hh1lEWsC9VE Continue reading →

Videos: Suwannee River Sill Ramp to Griffis Fish Camp 2023-12-09

Update 2023-12-19: Videos: Food at Griffis Fish Camp on the Suwannee River with Seminole Pumpkin 2023-12-09

Part three is video highlights of Campfire Cookout at Griffis Fish Camp and Suwannee River Paddle from Suwannee River Sill Ramp through the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge to Griffis Fish Camp.

[From Suwannee River Sill Ramp to Griffis Fish Camp 2023-12-09]
From Suwannee River Sill Ramp to Griffis Fish Camp 2023-12-09

Here’s the video:
https://youtu.be/Jxg6dZ5pn2Y


Videos: SCFSP to Suwannee River Sill 2023-12-09
Videos by John S. Quarterman for WWALS Watershed Coalition (WWALS).

For more WWALS outings and events as they are posted, see the WWALS outings web page, https://wwals.net/outings/. WWALS members also get an upcoming list in the Tannin Times newsletter.

 -jsq, John S. Quarterman, Suwannee RIVERKEEPER®

You can help with clean, swimmable, fishable, drinkable, water in the 10,000-square-mile Suwannee River Basin in Florida and Georgia by becoming a WWALS member today!
https://wwals.net/donations

Videos: Suwannee River Sill to Lunch, Suwannee River 2023-12-09

Update 2023-12-14: Videos: Suwannee River Sill Ramp to Griffis Fish Camp 2023-12-09

Here’s the second part of the Paddle on Campfire Cookout at Griffis Fisth Camp and Suwannee River Paddle: through the Suwannee River Sill to lunch at the Sill Ramp, all in the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge.

[From Suwannee River Sill to Lunch 2023-12-09]
From Suwannee River Sill to Lunch 2023-12-09

Here’s the video:
https://youtu.be/oEJJLBMJhA4?si=bT1I2Ho5tMVT4qQ2

Continue reading →

Videos: SCFSP to Suwannee River Sill 2023-12-09

Update 2023-12-13: Videos: Suwannee River Sill to Lunch, Suwannee River 2023-12-09

Here are some video highlights of the first part of the Paddle on Campfire Cookout at Griffis Fisth Camp and Suwannee River Paddle: Stephen C. Foster State Park through the Narrows to the Suwannee River Sill, all in the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge.

[From Stephen C. Foster State Park to the Suwannee River Sill 2023-12-09]
From Stephen C. Foster State Park to the Suwannee River Sill 2023-12-09

Here’s the video:


Videos: SCFSP to Suwannee River Sill 2023-12-09
Videos by John S. Quarterman for WWALS Watershed Coalition (WWALS).

For more WWALS outings and events as they are posted, see the WWALS outings web page, https://wwals.net/outings/. WWALS members also get an upcoming list in the Tannin Times newsletter.

 -jsq, John S. Quarterman, Suwannee RIVERKEEPER®

You can help with clean, swimmable, fishable, drinkable, water in the 10,000-square-mile Suwannee River Basin in Florida and Georgia by becoming a WWALS member today!
https://wwals.net/donations

Logging Railroads in the Okefenokee Swamp 1889-1942

Here are maps of logging railroads in the Okefenokee Swamp, and detailed maps of railroads and the town on Billys Island.

[Logging Railroads and Billys Island, Okefenokee Swamp]
Logging Railroads and Billys Island, Okefenokee Swamp

The Billys Island maps are by Chris Trowell or revised from his maps. As the redrawn map says, Billys Island is 1.8 miles from Stephen C. Foster State Park, upstream on the Suwannee River and its East Fork. As you can see by the map, it was quite a bustling place. Until the trees ran out.

I don’t know who drew the map of all the railroads in the Swamp, but I would guess Chris Trowell may have had something to do with it. This is presumably the same C.T. Trowell frequently cited in the documents for Floyds Island in the National Register of Historic Places, and his paper included, “Seeking a Sanctuary: A Chronicle of Efforts to Preserve the Okefenokee,” C.T. Trowell, 1998.

These railroads did not all exist at the same time, since they pulled up tracks from one place to go another place.

These maps came from a ranger at Stephen C. Foster State Park, back in 2021. Naturally, right now I cannot find the email he sent with the maps. Continue reading →

Hurricane Idalia: State Parks Closed, Georgia and Florida 2023-09-02

Stir crazy from staying in due to Hurricane Idalia and want to go to a state park?

Many of them are open, but some remain closed, in the Suwannee River Basin in Georgia and Florida.

Or come to the WWALS Banks Lake Morning Paddle 2023-09-04.

[Georgia and Florida State Parks Closed 2023-09-02]
Georgia and Florida State Parks Closed 2023-09-02

According to Georgia State Parks Weather Alerts – Hurricane Idalia:

Continue reading →

Campfire Cooking at Griffis Fish Camp and Suwannee River paddle, 2023-12-08-10

Update 2023-12-01: South Georgia Naturalist Chris Adams to speak at WWALS Griffis Fish Campout and Okefenokee Swamp and Suwannee River Paddle 2023-11-08.

Join us to camp overnight Friday at Griffis Fish Camp.

On Saturday, paddle 9.5 miles down the Suwannee River from SCFSP through the Okefenokee Swamp National Wildlife Refuge, the Narrows, and the Sill to Griffis, to camp overnight again.

Each night, build a campfire and start cooking.

When: Arrive 4 PM, Friday, December 8, 2023, sunset 5:26 PM.
Gather 9 AM, Saturday, December 9, 2023, launch 9:30 AM, sunset 5:26 PM
Sunday, December 10, 2023, wake up and head on home.

Campground: Griffis Fish Camp, 10333 Ga Highway 177 Fargo, Georgia 31631. From Fargo, travel south on US 441 to CR 177; turn left and travel 10 miles northeast; Griffis Fish Camp is on left, in Clinch County.

Campground GPS: 30.78246, -82.443594

Put In: Stephen C. Foster State Park Ramp, 17515 GA-177, Fargo, GA 31631. From Fargo, travel south on US 441 to CR 177; turn left and travel to Stephen C. Foster State Park, in Charlton County.

Put In GPS: 30.826833, -82.361333

[Suwannee River, Okefenokee Swamp, Griffis Fish Camp, Campfire Cooking]
Suwannee River, Okefenokee Swamp, Griffis Fish Camp, Campfire Cooking

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Budget and Bats: Suwannee River Visitor Center

Regarding when and why the Suwannee River Visitor Center closed, I went to an authoritative source, Bryan Gray, Manager, Stephen Foster State Park (SFSP).

[Ramp (south) end, Suwannee River Visitor Center, 08:25:45, 30.6823112, -82.5600485]
Ramp (south) end, Suwannee River Visitor Center, 08:25:45, https://www.google.com/maps/@30.6823112,-82.5600485,17z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m2!3m1!1s0x0:0x0

He says it started with budgeting after the recession. Georgia State Parks had to operate more like businesses.

He started at SFSP in 2011, and the Visitor Center closed not long after that.

They tried to operate it in different capacities, such as Continue reading →

Suwannee River Visitor Center 2022-12-29

Update 2023-01-02: Budget and Bats: Suwannee River Visitor Center.

Somebody asked, what is that big building next to the Suwannee River at Fargo, and why is it closed?

[Front, Suwannee River Visitor Center, 08:22:40, 30.6822910, -82.5606494]
Front, Suwannee River Visitor Center, 08:22:40, 30.6822910,-82.5606494

The Suwannee River Visitor Center opened in 2004, before the nearby Eco-Lodge. Both are part of Stephen C. Foster State Park.

It was a showcase for the wildlife, composition, and history of the Suwannee River, as well as an example green building. But it has been closed since at February 2015 or earlier. Here is what I could find about it.

Ashley Harper, WALB TV, June 15, 2004, Tourist attraction brings life to Fargo, Continue reading →