Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge

The Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge offers three staffed entrances with guided tours daily. At the Main Entrance (Suwanee Canal Recreation Area), near Folkston, Georgia, refuge staff offer a variety of interpretive programs and special events seasonally. The onsite concession, Okefenokee Adventures offers 90 minute tours into the open swamp prairies found in the east side of the Okefenokee Swamp. Naturalists teach visitors the rich cultural and natural history during these tours. A variety of rentals and other tour options are available through Okefenokee Adventures.

Stephen C. Foster State Park near Fargo, Georgia offers a variety of interpretive programs and boat tours including night sky interpretation in the states only International Dark Sky Park.

Okefenokee Swamp Park near Waycross, Georgia offers live animal programs, interpretive boat rides, and train tours.

In addition to these guided services the refuge also has several permitted interpretive guides that offer day-use and overnight experiences. Below are the day-use guides.

Commercial Guides are interpretive guide programs that charge fees for their guiding/interpretive programs. To charge a fee to take people into the swamp, companies and individuals must possess a Special Use Permit for Commercial Guiding. There are 2 different types of commercial guiding: day-use and overnight. Day-use permits allow for guides to take visitors during public operational hours and also sunset paddle tours at Kingfisher Landing ONLY. Day-use guides do not get to enter early or stay later than the public and must stay on public access areas only.

Below are the overnight guides.

Overnight guides must follow all public rules and guidelines, including accessing the Permit Reservation Phone Line during public use hours. No special treatment is given to these guides.

If a company is interested in obtaining a Special Use Permit for Commercial Guiding, they must fill out an application. Applications can be found on our website or call 912-496-7836 and speak to a Visitor Services Ranger. Commercial Guide Permits are valid for 1 fiscal year (October 1-September 30).