When is the Best Time of Year to Visit the Okefenokee Swamp?
A question that I’ve been asked many times throughout the years is: “what is the best time to visit the Okefenokee Swamp?” Any visit to the grand and mysterious Okefenokee can be magical. But certain times through the year can make your visit more enjoyable (and less buggy and sweaty!). But even in the heat of summer, early morning trips can be amazing. Of course, the best time to visit the Swamp depends on your preferences and what you want to experience. A birdwatcher’s ideal trip can be very different from a landscape photographers’, for example. We here at Okefenokee & Satilla Expeditions have the knowledge and expertise to help anyone plan their perfect Okefenokee Swamp trip or tour.
Regarding time of year, the spring and fall are considered by most to be the best time to visit. During this period, the weather is more comfortable for our guided daytime/sunset paddle trips and motorized boat tours. Additionally, the water levels are typically higher, making it easier to get around on the wilderness water trails within Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge.
As a Naturalist, one thing that I love about my work is being present throughout the year to observe and note all the beautiful gradual seasonal changes… some big and obvious, and some so small that it takes a Swamper’s eye to see and appreciate. One of the beautiful things about a visit to the Swamp is that there is alway something changing, so each experience is unique if you only slow down long enough to “feel the Swamp breathin,” as we like to say. Here are some of my favorite changes that take place throughout the seasons:
In Spring, wildflowers like Blue Flag Iris, the yellow spikes of Neverwet (Goldenclub), and the tiny pink flowers of Hurrah Bush (Swamp Fetterbush) are in bloom, adding color to the prairies and water trails. Birdwatching is particularly rewarding during the spring migration. The courtship and breeding season of the Swamp’s 10,000+ alligators begins! Come at this time of the year to hear (and see, if you’re lucky!) our wild gators bellowing in song to one another to find mates and reinforce territorial claims. It’s an intensely primeval and beautiful experience, especially during our camping trips.
In Summer, oo-wee, summer… the weather can be hot, humid, and buggy. Very buggy! Watch out for the biting “bear flies” and yellow flies of late spring/early summer. Wear long sleeves and pants, closed toe shoes (they like biting feet!) and wear lots of bug spray. Without these essentials, a trip can be very uncomfortable. Go as early in the morning as possible and try to be done by noon. Water levels can vary with the evapotranspiration the hot summer days, affecting navigation. White water lilies are in bloom and are scattered throughout the Swamp’s prairies. Swallow-tailed Kites swoop and soar over the Swamp in seach of insects. Yellow Trumpet and Okefenokee Giant pitcher plants continue to bloom.
In Fall, weather is generally mild. September can be just as hot as mid summer, so plan a late September trip if that’s the month you have. Mid fall is nice, but late fall is nicest due to the disappearance of biting flies and the appearance of the changing colors of the swamp’s bastion cypress as the trees prepare themselves to lose their needles in time for the coming winter. While cypress never experience deep color changes, they do turn a deep reddish orange to a bright nearly neon orange, before winds of early winter blow all the needles down to the blackwater below. Early November is my favorite time in Okefenokee because of the cool weather and beautiful colors in the cypress! Flowers like Tickseed Sunflowers, Purple False Foxglove, and my favorite, the extremely miniscule white flower of the carnivorous Dwarf Bladderwort can be found. Many other carnivorous plants are still in bloom.
In Winter, the cypress have lost their needles. The now gray forms of the trees combined with the perpetually gray festoons of Spanish moss make the Swamp scenery hauntingly beautiful. You may see the migratory Greater Sandhill Cranes as they winter in the swamp alongside their year round resident cousins, the Florida Sandhill Cranes. Alligators are dormant unless on the occasional sunny and warm days, where you may see them basking on trembling earth. In late winter, Barred Owls, the Monkey Owls of old, begin their courtship and begin caterwauling. Soon Spring will arrive and Barred Owlets will begin life in the Swamp.
Any season in the Swamp has it own magic. Come out and explore the wilderness of Okefenokee with us on a guided tour and we’ll show you the beauty of the season.
