Canoe Camping in the Okefenokee Swamp

Canoe Camping in the Okefenokee Swamp

By Robert Martin

a Carolina Paddler article

∞ In December of 2018 Gary Gurkin, a wilderness canoeist who has paddled all over North America and is one hell of a whitewater openboater, called me and asked if I wanted to go into the Okefenokee Swamps for some canoe camping. The trip would be in February, the coldest month of the year down there. This is so the bugs, snakes and alligators would be dormant, or at least docile. Gary has never let me down and I never regretted going on one of his trips.

The Okefenokee swamp is one of the most remote places in the Southeast. At 700 square miles, it is the largest blackwater swamp in North America. It is the headwaters of the Suwanee River, which runs into the Gulf of Mexico, and the St. Mary’s River, which empties into the Atlantic Ocean. The tannin-stained water has the same PH as orange juice, so the fish there have had to evolve to tolerate it. Hunting in the swamps has been banned for many decades and the waterfowl and birds are abundant. The alligators are numerous and large. I have written several paragraphs trying to describe the beauty of this place and it’s…. indescribable. So, I deleted it. I will just say it is breathtaking! It is like nothing I have ever experienced, like being on another planet.

The area we visited is called Floyd’s Island, a 40 acre sandy haven in the swamp. The gators were everywhere! I stopped counting at seventy in the first few miles. It had been cold but the day we started the temps got into the low 80s, so the alligators were out sunning and docile. During the paddle out, after they warmed, the gators were very intolerant to any encroachment. We gave them a wide berth.

After we left the swamps, we drove down into Florida and did day trips on several crystal clear spring-fed streams, the icing on the cake for a perfect winter paddling trip. Gary and I have been back to the Okefenokee three times since then. Each time to a different area. They were all different and all beautiful. Ahh, the Sand Cranes are back…………………

Here are some things to know:

1. We saw no snakes, and had no mosquito bites or bug bites.
2. Floyd’s Island was hard packed sand a few feet above the water level, no muck to slog through. The camping area was complete with a grassy yard, fire ring, picnic table and a cabin that was built in the 1920s. A Seminole tribe once lived on Floyd’s Island. Floyd probably ran them off….
3. There are black bears, alligators and the elusive Skunk Ape in the swamp. So don’t leave food out.
4. Three miles from the Island there was one of the wooden signs, that are so important in the swamp for guiding paddlers. This sign read “Only permitted paddlers allowed beyond this point”. The rangers allow only one group at a time to camp on Floyd’s Island. That’s a smart move.
5. There is no cell phone service on the island (there may be now). If there is an emergency, you will have to paddle 10 miles back to the ranger station. If a person is in peril and cannot be canoed back, the ranger will get into a jonboat with a small outboard motor and get the person. From Stephen C Foster State Park, it’s 60 miles to the nearest trauma center. Helicopters are available when needed.
6.  There are several designated campsites for paddlers in the swamp. All require a permit. You can make reservations up to two months in advance of the first day of your trip by calling the Camping Permit Reservation Line at 912-496-3331 on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays from 7:00 am to 10:00 am Eastern Time. The permit line is closed on federal holidays and during weather-related closures. You must create a profile in Recreation.gov before calling the camping permit reservation line.
7. Even though this trip is flatwater with little current and the paddling is easy, the swamp is unforgiving. I won’t carry non-paddlers, non-campers or my drug-addled nephews on a trip like this. If your boat tips over, you will be in a swamp full of danger and recovery will require unique skills.

All photos by Robert Martin

Front Photo:  This is a place called Minnie’s Lake named after the daughter of “Indian Billy” Lee, who lived on Billy’s Island.