Start the new year in nature as Georgia state parks host nearly 80 hikes
The Georgia Department of Natural Resources will be hosting and leading nearly 80 hikes on Jan. 1 to welcome in the new year.
In Middle Georgia, hikes will be held at High Falls State Park in Jackson, Indian Springs State Park in Flovilla, and Jarrell Plantation Historic Site in Juliette.
“I think part of what makes joining a First Day Hike special is that it is a great way to begin the new year, outside on a trail, sharing an experience with those hiking alongside you and also those around the country who woke up and decided to do the same thing,” said Josh Snead, park ranger and field interpreter with Georgia DNR. “For some visitors it is now a years long tradition. For others, it is an opportunity to join a hike possibly for the first time and embrace a new activity in a new year.”
Indian Springs State Park will offer two options on New Year’s Day: a 10 a.m. “Intermediate Hike,” a three-mile trek that starts at the Multi-Use Trailhead, and a shorter, family-friendly “Easy Breezy Hike” at 1 p.m. on the Overland Nature Trail. Both require a $5 registration fee plus $10 for parking, and participants must call the park office to sign up.
At High Falls, hikers can choose a 10 a.m. or 2 p.m. start, both beginning on the ADA-accessible half-mile Historic Trail with an option to continue onto the 2.5-mile Tranquility Trail. The park will also feature a K-9 demonstration, and vendors including Black Smoke Coffee and Chick-fil-A will have food available for purchase.
Jarrell Plantation is inviting visitors on a 2.6-mile hike to the Ocmulgee River as they help recreate a 1920 photograph taken on the property. The event, recommended for adults and children over 8, requires a reservation by Dec. 28 and will include lessons on how the boll weevil transformed former cotton fields back into forest; hikers should wear sturdy shoes and bring water, as the route includes uneven terrain.
Five coastal historic sites — Hofwyl-Broadfield Plantation, Fort King George, Fort Morris, Fort McAllister, and Wormsloe — have joined forces up to offer a “First Day Hike Through History Challenge,” a series of five guided hikes from the evening of Dec. 31 through New Year’s Day.
With a completion of a hike, participants get a token earning them different tiers of prizes. If participants complete all five hikes, earning five tokens, they will be invited to a special after-hours celebration at Wormsloe.
For this challenge, space is limited to 50 participants per hike and anyone interested must pre-register with the individual sites by Dec. 20. Annual pass holders receive discounted admission.
Hikes remain open to regular day visitors as well, but registration is required for challenge participants.
The naturalist at High Falls State Park, Bronwyn Morgan, said the First Day Hike last year drew nearly 175 participants at just that park.
“The hope and the goal is to bring as many people out to the parks as possible on January 1,” Morgan said. “New Year’s is kind of a time when we’re setting new goals for ourselves, and so I think that through this effort, the park is trying to encourage people to meet their goals -- whether it be exercise goals or whatever -- and also spend some time in the state parks.”
The event, First Day Hikes, are held at state parks across the country as part of a nationwide initiative organized through America’s State Parks, a program overseen by the National Association of State Park Directors. Georgia began participating in 2012.
This story was originally published December 10, 2025 at 6:00 AM.
