Little Ocmulgee State Park & Lodge

About halfway between metro Atlanta and popular Golden Isles destinations at Georgia's southern Atlantic coast, Little Ocmulgee State Park is perhaps best known as a way-station for weary drivers. Here travelers can take advantage of reasonable overnight lodging (guest rooms, cottages, or camping), a round of golf, a cooling run through the park's kid-pleaser "splash pad" fountains, or all-you-can-eat buffets at the park restaurant. Set in 1,227 acres of South Georgia's coastal plain (all this was sea at one time, and Georgia has the fossilized sharks' teeth to prove it), the park also offers trails through distinct local habitats. The easy ...

About halfway between metro Atlanta and popular Golden Isles destinations at Georgia's southern Atlantic coast, Little Ocmulgee State Park is perhaps best known as a way-station for weary drivers. Here travelers can take advantage of reasonable overnight lodging (guest rooms, cottages, or camping), a round of golf, a cooling run through the park's kid-pleaser "splash pad" fountains, or all-you-can-eat buffets at the park restaurant. Set in 1,227 acres of South Georgia's coastal plain (all this was sea at one time, and Georgia has the fossilized sharks' teeth to prove it), the park also offers trails through distinct local habitats. The easy 2.3-mile Oak Ridge loop trail takes hikers from the typical pine-wiregrass ecosystem through an oak-hickory forest and a gum swamp on a tributary of the Little Ocmulgee River before crossing a rare bay swamp. Look for hawks and vultures, wild turkeys, and a gopher tortoise burrow (the Georgia state reptile). If the rest of your trip does not take you near blackwater, you may want to rent a canoe and follow a 2-mile round-trip canoe trail out into the tannin-stained waters of the Little Ocmulgee River. Tannin is produced by decaying vegetation (it's actually red, but the water appears black at depth) and acts as a natural preservative; so while it may appear dirty, it's actually very pure. And you don't want to miss the miniature Statue of Liberty nearby in downtown McRae, two miles south of the park.

About the Expert

Kap Stann has written or contributed to many guidebooks to the American Southeast for such publishers as Moon, Avalon Travel, Lonely Planet, DK Eyewitness, and Mobil Guides.