Known as Georgia’s “Little Amazon,” the Altamaha is a mighty river. It drains the second largest watershed on the east coast into the Atlantic Ocean at a rate of over 100,000 gallons per second. Join the Georgia Conservancy on March 22 - 24 to explore the lower Altamaha, introducing first-time visitors to one of Georgia’s greatest treasures and welcoming returning paddlers to this second annual paddling and camping adventure.
REGISTRATION:
This is a bargain for an incredible camping/SUP/paddle trip. Contact Fuller Callaway (fcallaway@gaconservancy.org or at 404-876-2900 ext 113) to confirm if you will attend or if you have any questions. Full trip details are at http://www.georgiaconservancy.org/altamaha-paddle
LOCATION: The check in and camping is at Altamaha Regional Park, 1605 Altamaha Park Rd, Brunswick, GA 31525 (Directions). Download the River Trip Map.
PRICES (not including boat rental):
[Surfrider Members who are stand up paddling on this trip can deduct $25 from the costs below. You can join Surfrider Foundation HERE.]
Overnight - $75
Overnight couple - $125
Overnight Family - $200
Day Pass (no overnight accommodations) - $30
Add Friday Meal - $10
Add Saturday Meal - $10
Add Meal plan (Friday and Saturday) - $15
ADDITIONAL UPDATE AS OF 3/14
Breakfast update:
Instead of selling breakfast bowls and made to order food, the campground folks will have a breakfast buffet for your enjoyment (the price will be in the $7 range)
Friday paddle:
For folks arriving early on Thursday or Friday, Danny from Altamaha Coastal Tours is going to arrange the details for the “bonus” paddle. If you could bring $5 or $10 bucks to help him cover his costs he will lead you on an excellent paddle down Cathead Creek. The paddle on Friday leaves at 4:00 p.m. from Darien – not the campground. Contact Danny at (912) 437-6010 or padlindan@darientel.net to participate.
Sunday paddle:
Sunday’s paddle through the marsh will also be hosted by Altamaha Coastal Tours. We will break camp and head to Darien in the morning. Our Sunday paddle will begin and end at the same location, so we won’t need to shuttle cars.
Paddle Groups:
Good news, because of all the rain and the elevated river, the tidal influences is less than it would be otherwise. We are going to leave a little later, and stagger our paddlers. We will have three paddle groups leaving at 9:30, 9:50 and 10:10. We want to put our strongest paddlers in the last group and let folks who are just getting started paddling in the first group (along with the standup paddleboarders).
Music:
We are going to have a talented group of musicians from the band City Mouse join us for music around the campfire Friday night and Saturday. If you have an instrument and you would like to play please bring it down!
REVISED SCHEDULE
Friday
3:30 p.m. – Official campsite registration begins (look for Georgia Conservancy signs and table in camping area).
6:30 p.m. – Georgia Conservancy hosted cookout at the pavilion.
7:30 p.m. – Official greeting and introductions and a presentation by acclaimed naturalist Cathy Sakas.
8:00-9:00 p.m. – Registration will be moved to the pavilion area.
9:00 p.m. – If arriving late, park your car near the train bridge and look for a GC staff member hanging out at the campfire.
10:00 – Quite time begins at campsite. Please limit loud talking around the campsites. Please limit driving around the campsites.
Saturday
6:00 a.m. – Camp Store opens. Buffet breakfast begins.
7:30 a.m. – Shuttle group leaves to shuttle cars to Darien. If you didn’t rent a boat and you don’t want to move your car, bring $10 cash to pay Altamaha Coastal Tours for a shuttle of your boat (and your personage).
Starting at 9:30, paddle group leaves Altamaha Regional Park by boat headed for downtown Darien. From the campground we will paddle the main stem of the Altamaha, Stud Horse Creek, Lewis Creek and Rifle Cut. We will make our way to Darien Creek as we enter downtown Darien. This is a stunningly beautiful paddle through forest and marsh. We will stop along the way and enjoy lunch (make sure you bring your own!).
9:30 a.m. – Group 1 leaves (please arrive 10 min early for safety instruction and introductions)
9:50 a.m. – Group 2 leaves (please arrive 10 min early for safety instruction and introductions)
10:10 a.m. – Group 3 leaves (please arrive 10 min early for safety instruction and introductions)
2:00 p.m. – All groups off the river.
6:30 – Low county boil and presentations at the pavilion. We will be joined by Robby Arrington and Deborah Sheppard from the Altamaha Riverkeeper to speak about Altamaha specific conservation and environmental issues.
10:00 – Quite time begins at campsite. Please limit loud talking around the campsites. Please limit driving around the campsites.
Sunday
6:00 a.m. – Camp Store opens.
10:00 a.m. – All camping and tent equipment borrowed from the Georgia Conservancy must be returned.
10:30 a.m. – Say goodbye to Altamaha Regional Campground and head to Darien.
11:30 a.m. – Meet at the boat ramp in downtown Darien (where we took out on Saturday) for our last paddle
1:00 –Paddle ends. The trip is over!