After a 5-hour drive from my hometown in Athens, Georgia, my tires finally rolled over the boundary line onto the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge in south Georgia! My first stop was going to be the Suwannee River Sill Recreation Area on the Fargo side of the Swamp. Having only a half-day, The Sill would be good place to start since it is a straight, easy to paddle, two-mile manmade channel along the western edge of the Swamp.
As soon as I turned onto The Sill, I knew I wouldn’t be putting in my canoe. The width of the waterway in the canal was just a sliver of its normal, high-water width. Sandbars emerged all along the canal and the water couldn’t have been any more than a foot deep in the deepest areas. I had tried to paddle once before in low level and only bottomed out repeatedly. The water level today was even lower than that past trip, so I wouldn’t even bother.
As I drove to the back parking area, several large alligators still lay along the banks to bask in the sun despite the low water. I also spotted two rather large Florida Softshell Turtles. I parked my vehicle and canoe trailer at the upper end of the parking lot. I walked onto the bridge over the sluice gate that separates the Okefenokee Swamp from the Suwannee River. A rather large alligator lay half emerged from the water and backed slowly into the water as it noticed my appearance. Two White Ibis were feeding frantically in the low waters, while a more calm Snowy Egret made calculated stabs into the blackwater. And a trio of Killdeer broke off into the air while emitting their distinct calls.
Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge; October 13, 2025
Okefenokee Photography Project by William Wise 