United States
Georgia (GA)
Georgia Coast
Waycross
Things to Do in Waycross
Okefenokee Swamp Park
See all things to do

Okefenokee Swamp Park

See all things to do
See all things to do
Okefenokee Swamp Park
4.5
663 reviews
#1 of 7 things to do in Waycross
Nature & Wildlife Areas • Parks
Read more
9:00 AM - 5:30 PM
Monday
9:00 AM - 5:30 PM
Tuesday
9:00 AM - 5:30 PM
Wednesday
9:00 AM - 5:30 PM
Thursday
9:00 AM - 5:30 PM
Friday
9:00 AM - 5:30 PM
Saturday
9:00 AM - 5:30 PM
Sunday
9:00 AM - 5:30 PM
Write a review
About
Located in the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge, the Okefenokee Swamp Park is a convenient point of entry and a magnificent show-window for the "Land of the Trembling Earth." The park's lily-decked water trails, with their miraculously reflective waters mirroring the overhanging beauty, lead to all points in this vast wilderness of islands, lakes, jungles, forest and prairies. Boat tours on original Indian waterways, wilderness walkways, Pioneer Island and native animals in their own habitat, all combine to weave a spell of pioneer American life. Headwaters of the Suwannee and St. Mary's Rivers, Okefenokee is a National Wildlife Refuge which covers nearly a half million acres.
Suggested duration
2-3 hours
Suggest edits to improve what we show.
Improve this listing
Full view
What is Travelers’ Choice?
Tripadvisor gives a Travelers’ Choice award to accommodations, attractions and restaurants that consistently earn great reviews from travelers and are ranked within the top 10% of properties on Tripadvisor.

Top ways to experience nearby attractions

The area
Address
Best nearby
We rank these restaurants and attractions by balancing reviews from our members with how close they are to this location.
Attractions
1 within 6 miles
Obediah's Okefenok
6
Points of Interest & Landmarks
See all
Detailed Reviews: Reviews order informed by descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as cleanliness, atmosphere, general tips and location information.
Popular mentions
4.5
663 reviews
Excellent
424
Very good
151
Average
52
Poor
23
Terrible
13
Ric B
Taylors, SC13 contributions
Okefenokee Awesome!
May 2023 • Friends
I work in the ecotourist industry and I was extremely impressed with both ends of the Okefenokee park. Totally different areas in the the east end near Folkston Is a wildlife refuge and the north end near Waycross features an interpretive park. We took the boat tour at the refuge with Kaitlin as our guide / boat captain. She was both engagingly friendly and quite knowledgeable. We also drove the loop road around the park and walked one of the boardwalks.
I was even more impressed with the north end park. In the course of half a day we saw and did all offered activities, boat, train, wildlife show, and walked numerous trails. All the park staff was super friendly and very knowledgeable.
My recommendation would be to take at least two days. Bring water especially to the refuge and pack your own food.
Both areas are suitable for families and safety was never in question.
Written May 25, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
KC Gypsy Explorer
Crawfordville, FL1,457 contributions
Loved It
Jul 2022
Took my granddaughters here on a road trip. This place is awesome!!! The boat ride was great. Wild animal show was interesting and the girls got to touch a snake and turtle. Gift shop was reasonable and the food in the little cafe was cheap and good.
Written May 25, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Julia C
Athens, GA86 contributions
Great way to get a taste of the swamp!
Apr 2023
I've lived in GA for 20 years and hadn't seen any of the Okefenokee until this month! Finally! As a side trip on our way to FL, I dragged my 16 yr old daughter (who's lived in GA her whole life) with me on the 90 min boat tour with Matt. It was even better than. expected and Matt was so knowledgeable about the area's history of ecosystem, and did his best to allay my daughter's fear of gators. It was clear he has a passion for teaching others about the uniqueness of the swamp, he also has an amazing owl call!
If you just don't have much time and just want a glimpse of the swamp, I'd highly recommend this tour!
Written April 25, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Dawn Walker
Eatonton, GA14 contributions
Boring
Mar 2023
The employees, all women, were super impressive and knowledgeable; however we did not see a single alligator on the entire trip. They said that most of them have moved to the Folkston area because they don't feed them there. When I came to this location 20 years ago, alligators were everywhere. To put it simply, it was just a boring afternoon and we spent $75.
The young college student who did the train tour did a great job, but there was nothing to see. It looked like something middle schoolrs put together in the woods It was embarrassing honestly..
The facilities and workers are great, but people really do want to see alligators. I know it's not a circus, but seems like there would be some in "capture enclosures". There were 2 black bears in enclosures.
I would not ever go again
Written April 3, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Stacy W
3 contributions
Definitely recommend this!
Jan 2023 • Couples
The Okefenokee Swamp Park was amazing! The boat captain, train conductor, and the show guy were all extremely knowledgeable about the swamps and the animals that live there! Would definitely recommend this to everyone!
Written January 11, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Ashley P
1 contribution
Less than impressive
Dec 2022 • Family
Every year I’ve heard about the Okefenokee Christmas lights. So this year, I decided to take my nephews.It’s a beautiful place overall but the lights were less than impressive. It looked like half of the lights were just thrown up onto the trees unless it was a formed character light. There were not many lights at all along the train.
Aside from the lights, the speakers on the train were not great. The Christmas music was nice to have but it was screeching.
Positively, we walked around for a little bit after riding the trail and got a nice picture of my nephews in the Santa sleigh prop. There was a nice woman selling hot chocolate & s’mores’ kits.
Overall, not sure I would pay $60 to go back next year.
Written December 11, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Lisa B
1 contribution
Disappointing
Dec 2022
The front entrance of the park and the walking around part where you could view the lights was pretty. However, the ride through the swamp on the train was very disappointing, I was expecting a lot more lights. For the cost of $14 per person I would have thought there would have been more lights. I traveled from out of town to see these lights, it was good that we had a good time with friends.
Written December 6, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Connie T
Folkston, GA1 contribution
Mesmerizing!
Nov 2022 • Family
I’ve been one of the lucky few that have experienced the park through the years. I have attended field trips as a student and later with students, private tours with my own children, and now as an adult. It’s a unique place and one that you can never grow tired of. It’s a place that needs to be seen several times a year.
Written November 30, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Breannah C
1 contribution
Christmas Train at the Okefenokee Swamp
Nov 2022
It was a good experience however for $14 a person to ride the train the best part of the train was just riding it. There were barely any lights put up on the ride and we got seated on the back of the train, which were extra carts and the carts in front were covered, lights on them, and had Christmas music playing as our seats were much more uncomfortable and our tickets costed the same. The lights were only pretty in the park that you can walk through for free.
Written November 28, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Jim H
1 contribution
Great time
Nov 2022
It was amazing. Well organized and flowed very smoothly. We came from out of town. All the staff was super friendly and very helpful.
Written November 28, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
2
…
Showing results 1-10 of 642
Anything missing or inaccurate?
Suggest edits to improve what we show.
Improve this listing

Okefenokee Swamp Park (Waycross) - All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go

Frequently Asked Questions about Okefenokee Swamp Park
Okefenokee Swamp Park is open:
  • Sun - Sat 9:00 AM - 5:30 PM