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The 1,350-acre Grand Bay Wildlife Management Area is part of an 18,000-acre wetlands complex second in size only to the Okenfenokee Swamp.
For hikers, boaters and campers, Grand Bay offers an unusual and intriguing contact with nature. Visitors find waters dark with tannic acid speckled with white water lilies.
About 85 bird species frequent the blackgum-cypress forest, from woodpeckers and wading birds to prothonotary warblers. Other wildlife includes alligators and rare Florida water rats that build their nests on floating islands of vegetation.
Boaters and canoeists enjoy this area. From a launch site on Knights Academy Road, six miles north of Valdosta off Hwy. 221, they can run a loop through a fascinating array of habitats in the area. Boat motors are limited to 10 hp.
Hikers can follow a 2,600-foot wooden walkway to a rebuilt fire tower. Here, hundreds of wood ducks nest in man-made boxes.
Visitors fish for bass and bream, and hunt deer, ducks and doves at Grand Bay.
There is also a three-mile hiking trail through pine flatwoods and a camping area used on weekends, when planes from Moody Air Force Base are not using the adjacent bombing range.
Outdoor Activities |
A 2,600-foot wooden walkway brings visitors to a rebuilt fire tower in the midst of the Grand Bay Wildlife Management Area.
Another view of the walkway and observation tower at Grand Bay Wildlife Management Area.
Floating islands at Grand Bay Wildlife Management Area.
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