Places to Paddle tm
Canoeing - Kayaking - Rafting

 
Ebenezer Creek, Georgia USA
By reading further, you agree to our Terms of Use

Copyright 2004 Alfonso Vazquez-Cuervo - See Terms of Use

Our Route Summary

  • Submitted by: Mark Bowman
  • Date Submitted: 6/2004
  • Location: Ebenezer, (Effingham County) Georgia USA
  • Class: 1
  • Distance Paddled: 7 miles (Entry to Exit) or 14 miles round trip (Entry to Exit and back)
  • Water Level:
  • Water: blackwater
  • Wildlife: American Alligator, Striped Bass, Cypress-Gum Trees, Spanish Moss
  • Special Regulations: none

Entry

  • Directions: I-95 Exit 109, north on GA-21 8.1 miles to Rincon, Georgia, east on GA-275 (Ebenezer Rd) for 5.4 miles. The road ends at Ebenezer Landing on the banks of the Savannah River.
  • Fee: $5
  • Description: Paved boat ramp
  • Parking: Adjacent paved and gravel
  • Facilities: Picnic area and restrooms
  • Handicap Access: none
  • GPS: N32 22 43.6 W81 10 56.2

Exit

  • Directions: I-95 Exit 109, north on GA-21 8.1 miles to Rincon,GA, east on GA-275 (Ebenezer Rd) for 2.4 miles. Left on Long Bridge Road (at Ebenezer Elementary School) for 1.1 miles to the bridge across Ebenezer Creek. There is a dirt and gravel pull-over at the bridge. (Another option is to make a round trip paddle from the Entry to the Exit and back again.)
  • Fee: none
  • Description: dirt and gravel pull-over at the bridge
  • Parking:
  • Facilities: none
  • Handicap Access: none
  • GPS: N32 21 52.2 W81 13 50.5

What We Saw

This trip follows Ebenezer Creek through a Cyprus forest straight out of Tolkien's Trilogy.

Water directions to the Exit point: Travel north on the Savannah River about 0.1 miles. Enter the mouth of Ebenezer Creek on the left. The rest of the trip follows Ebenezer Creek as it winds through Ebenezer swamp. 

GPS Coordinates:

Mouth of Ebenezer Creek: N32 22 51.7 W81 10 55.0

Selected Route Way Points:

N32 22 59.0 W81 11 00.8

N32 23 06.0 W81 12 38.0

N32 22 39.8 W81 13 00.4

N32 22 40.4 W81 13 35.3

N32 22 06.4 W81 14 00.0

A million Cyprus trees reach up to meet the Spanish moss like stalactites and stalagmites in a watery cave.  This blackwater river flows so slowly you can paddle it in either direction with ease. The single best word to describe this place? Enchanting.

Ebenezer Creek Swamp was designated as a National Landmark in 1976 after a nomination by the Smithsonian Institution.  It is the best remaining cypress-gum swamp forest in the Savannah River Basin.

Ebenezer was actually the first capitol of Georgia under the State's first governor, John Adam Treutlen, who was reared at the orphanage at Ebenezer.
The area is rich in Georgia history and boasts the oldest public building in the state, the Ebenezer Jerusalem Lutheran Church, built in 1769. The members were exiled from Salzburg, Austria, and were seeking freedom from religious persecution as followers of Martin Luther. They arrived in Savannah on March 12, 1734 and founded the town of Ebenezeron Ebenezer Creek in what is now Effingham County.