Phinizy Swamp Nature Park — Attraction in Augusta

We were visiting for a basketball tournament and decided to stop and look for wildlife. We didn’t know what to expect coming in and we were the only ones at the park except for one employee we found. The website said there were otters, bobcats, and alligators but didn’t give too much more information about finding them. The employee we found said that she had only seen otters once in the three years she had worked there so if you’re coming to look for otters I would come with low expectations. I guess gators are more plentiful but we didn’t see any. We stopped to rest for a minute from the heat in one of the pavilions and heard a gator bellowing nearby but we couldn’t see him through all the thick brush. There was a ton of birds if you’re into birdwatching and the trees are as cool as trees get. The trails are some board walk areas but they were damaged a bit in the beginning and absolutely destroyed and unusable towards the end after we were already miles in. We had to exit out towards the main road and we ended up at the water sanitation center next door and had to get help from there to get out. The rest of the trails are like grass fields like a patch through the thick brush around you. DONT COME HERE AND WALK TO THE NORTHWEST CORNER, you will not be able to get back without...

Such a great park! We love taking visitors here to look for alligators (best to go after a couple warm days if you want to spot them). The walking paths are lovely and the scenery is always changing (depending on the season), so it keeps things interesting. We saw 8 alligators on our last visit! The park is more of a preserve, so alligators can come and go from areas as they please (it’s fenced, but has large gaps in the bottom). I asked some workers what to do if you see a gator on the path and they suggest going a different direction, lol (luckily all of the trails seem to loop, not dead end). It’s an adventure, but I feel comfortable bringing my young kiddos. I only felt uncomfortable when we decided to go on a path between two potentially gator-infested water areas, lol—paths are generally wide and very comfortable, with great visibility of the wildlife. Wild jasmine was in bloom on our last visit (in May), so the air smelled lovely and very un-swamp like, lol, but I think the trees are most striking in the fall/wintertime—really can’t go wrong visiting any time...

My husband and I stopped by for one of their Saturday morning guided hikes and it was beautiful! The hike was only $2 per person and went for 2.5 hours. The park itself is gorgeous and well-kept. We enjoyed walking through various different ecosystems including the forest, swamps, and reservoirs. There are wood planked trails that are easy to walk on for those with strollers and wheelchairs, and then those trails lead to dirt paths with some roots to watch out for. We saw lots of birds, a lizard, a blue heron, an osprey, and some egrets. We were told there are alligators that can be seen sometimes, but none were seen today. Our tour guide was very knowledgeable on the park and provided lots of fun facts, he was also great with the kids! It was a fun experience, and a lovely way to get out of the house and back into the woods. It smelled fantastic, had a nice breeze, and hearing the birds singing overhead made me smile. The park is also dog-friendly, which is really nice. I can't wait to go back and explore...