We are camping at Carter camp at Suwanee Cultural State Park, then Reserved screened platforms at Holton and Woods Ferry. Can hammocks be used at these three locations? Trees at Carter, and any way to hammock inside the screened structure or beside it?
This is a great paddle and you will have a wonderful time. Hammocks can easily be used in both locations. The couple at Holton Creek is great and takes very good care of the property. Woods Ferry is also nice but has recently (last year) been unattended. It is still in good working order, just not as well cared for as Holton. Water levels are really high right now. Be sure to bring your vessels to high ground when you stop. This past fall we pulled our yaks up on the "beach" and tied them up. It rained that night and the river level the next morning was so high our boats would have been gone! We actually had to wade out to get them. I suspect the river rose 3-4 feet overnight with moderately heavy rainfall. There are nice bathrooms and showers at each location as well as grills and fire pits. We grilled steaks our first night at Holton Branch. Also, while at Holton make sure you hike back to see the largest recorded Cypress tree. It took seven of us to reach around it! If you need a shuttle, the guys at the Canoe Outpost are really nice (but don't rent canoes there, $$$). If you have any other questions, email me at [email protected]. I'm fairly familiar with this stretch of the river.
Have a great trip.
JC
Awesome. Thanks very much for the quick reply. Can you describe the hanging options at the locations. Inside somehow within the shelter or nearby trees? We may have up to 5 with hammocks if it will accommodate. We've hung within the okefenokee platforms, but on south Ga river trips we've typically had to tent camp on sand bars. We are suwanee virgins.
You'll find plenty of good spots to hang within each campsite. You cannot hang in the enclosures (which are basically screened porches with a light and ceiling fan). Both river camps have nice covered pavilions. Bring bug repellent! Therm ocells are wonderful under the pavilions. You can also purchase wood for a fire at Holton. The river moves nicely - if not briskly right now. It will be a fun, low key, enjoyable paddle pending good weather. Have fun!
jcreamer,
Lots of good information. You make me want to road trip from NC to GA to do this paddle sometime.
mckinley,
Hope you do a trip report sometime after your trip. Have fun & happy hanging.
Thanks again. We are going in about a month so I know bugs will probably be an issue. We'll check water levels before going. We are really looking forward to seeing the mighty Suwanne River.
Thank you Starfish. We typically do the south GA rivers and swamp in the dead of winter to avoid bugs, but we thought we might luck up for some swimming on this one - a little later on the calendar and further south than we usually go. I'll put up some photos and a report afterwards.
We did that stretch of river a few years ago with about 10 of us. I don't remember which site was which. The enclosures at one site were so tall that two of us hung from the pilings under the structure. We did hang in another on the inside but I'm not sure it was authorized (just nothing we read said was prohibited). It was extremely hot at night so the ceiling fans made the hang bearable.
Yes firewood was a bit of a problem. I don't believe you're allowed to pick up dead wood in the immediate area and trying to haul it up/down stream in a kayak isn't much fun. If they have bundles available for purchase for a reasonable price that's probably a good deal.
I'm hoping to do that section or a bit farther North again once I get settled into my new job. Good luck and have fun.
A couple of buddies and I did a trip on the Suwannee a few years ago. We put in at White Springs and floated to Suwannee River State Park. You're gonna love it. I don't remember which camp it was, but one had hooks in the screened enclosures for hammocks. At both camps they actually let us hang in the picnic pavillion, since no one was using it! And, the Florida Trail parallels the river there in places, so not hard to find places to hang.
As stated, this is a great section to paddle. You should be able to hang two hammocks in each of the screened huts. A recent Girl Scout project was to install hardware for hanging in them. Most of them already had hardware but she was upgrading the ones she could. I paddle this river often, PM me if you need any additional information.
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