Location: Folkston
Top Things to do in Folkston
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Top 6 Things to do in Folkston, Georgia (GA)
Folkston is a city in and the county seat of Charlton County, Georgia, United States. Folkston is in the Jacksonville Metropolitan Area. The population was 4,148 as of the 2010 census, up from 2,178 in 2000, largely due to the extension of the city boundary to include D. Ray James Prison.
Restaurants in Folkston
1. Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 339 reviews
Visitors to this nature preserve can experience the diversity of local wildlife.
Reviewed By sevensfine - Fort Lauderdale, United States
$5 dollars covers the WEEK. Pack a lunch. Bring bikes and ride the Chesser Island loop. See the homestead then walk the boardwalk to the tower. Very handicap accessible. Extremely clean park. Would imagine the cooler months is the best time for any swamp area.
2. Okefenokee Adventures
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 237 reviews
Okefenokee Adventures is the Visitor Services Contractor located at the primary entrance to Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge - also known as the East entrance, Folkston entrance or Suwannee Canal Recreation Area. We offer guided, interpretive tours, canoe & kayak tours & rentals, walking & driving trails, full service cafe & gift shop. We cater to individuals & groups. Refuge Visitor Center has a film, exhibits & displays.
3. Okefenokee
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 7 reviews
Okefenokee Pastimes Private Guided Tours is located at the headquarters Entrance of the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge, a one hour drive north of Jacksonville FL near Folkston GA. Offering daily, except Mondays, by reservation, half-day Private Guided Excursions on the St Marys River. Featuring privately guided eco-tours, tailored around themes; Birding, Wildlife Viewing & Sightseeing, Photography or a Nightime Experience. Private tours are by comfortable Motorboat or by Kayak & Canoe. Please phone us or visit the website for details and price.
4. Suwanee Canal Recreation Area
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 12 reviews
Reviewed By carolas936 - Marietta, United States
Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge is a treasure, encompassing 396,000 acres, with a variety of habitats, pine uplands, pocosin swamps, pitcher plant bogs, canals, cypress forest and flats of wildflowers. The name means "the land that trembles when you walk". The size, remoteness and variety of habitats makes for great birding, wildlife viewing and photography. The best sense of the swamp is from a boat or canoe. For those with limited time, a day trip in the Suwanee Canal Recreation Area will give you a sense of the Refuge. This is the main entrance to the refuge on the east side of the swamp, 11 miles southwest of Folkston, GA off Hwy 121/23. Start your day early for the best wildlife viewing; head to the Richard S. Bolt Visitor Center for an excellent film, exhibits about swamp origins, wildlife and ecology and recent wildlife sightings. A nearby boat dock offers guided boat tours, canoe/kayak/boat rentals, a gift shop and snack bar. Alternatively, you can bring your own boat and paddle along the canal. The canal was dug by the Suwanee Canal Company in the 1890s in an attempt to drain the Swamp. Fortunately, it failed; the Canal Digger's Trail near the visitor center offers insight into the effort. There is a snack bar in the boat dock for lunch, or bring a picnic and eat it on a waterside table and watch for alligators sunning themselves. The paved Swamp Island Drive (7.5 miles) starts near the visitor center, with about a dozen stops explaining swamp ecology (including some favorite places to see alligators). Several trails take off from this drive, allowing you to explore by bicycle or on foot. The drive turns around at the Chesser Island Homestead, a historic home with period furniture and exhibits explaining late 19th century settler life in the swamp. Nearby is a 3/4-mile boardwalk leading to Owl's Roost wildlife observation tower, allowing you a birds-eye view across the swamp. Although the Okefenokee swamp is fascinating to visit at any time of the year, the summer is hot and humid, with lots of biting insects. Spring, summer and fall are much cooler and more comfortable; late winter and early spring offer an effusion of wildflowers. Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge is open from ½-hour before sunrise every day, and closes at 7:30 pm (Mar 1-Oct 31) or 5:30 pm (Nov 1 end of Feb). There is a $5 entrance fee to the refuge, (Senior and Annual passes free), but no additional charge for the homestead or boardwalk. Lodging and restaurants are available in nearby Folkston.
5. Folkston Funnel Train Viewing Platform
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 117 reviews
Reviewed By dwcoffey - Concord, United States
We visited the Funnel after enjoying a wonderful supper at Thai Smile...it was after dark, and we saw 3 trains go by. It was clean, has a restroom and was a relaxing way to enjoy a cup of coffee and just chill for a bit.
6. Chesser Island Homestead/Boardwalk
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 24 reviews
Reviewed By AviationDave - Morrisville, United States
We headed here next after leaving Okefenokee Adventures (Boat ride). You just follow the swamp island drive. The first stop off point is the Homestead. They have bathrooms here and you must wear a mask on the trail. Keep going down the one way road and you will come to Chesser's Boardwalk parking lot. They have picnic facilities and rest rooms here as well. Bring water with you and a hat to keep the sun off your head. It starts out through a wooded swamp and then you are in the full sun. They have a few spots where they built canopies to stop and rest on the boardwalk and get out of the sun. It is about a 15 min walk but it is so peaceful out there in the prairie. The birds are singing and we did see an American Alligator sleeping off the boardwalk. **NOTE** No dogs and bikes are allowed on the Boardwalk. Once you reach the end you will see the observation tower. It is a decent climb to the top but gives you a 360* view of the Okefenokee Wildlife Refuge. 3/4 mile one way---15 mins walk one way
