We came here February 2nd, 2026 to find out if General Beauregard Lee would see his shadow! The park is not normally open on Mondays, but this was a special occasion. In fact, this was their 45th year celebrating Groundhog Day. The gates opened a little prior to 6am and there was plenty of parking. The restrooms were right next to the parking lot and not only were they clean...they were HEATED, which was so wonderful since it was about 25 degrees outside. It was a short walk to the festivities, less than a half mile, but it was through the woods (VERY CLEARLY marked!) and over some wooden boardwalks (not sure how handicap accessible this is but it was an easy walk for this out of shape girl.) Everything was well maintained and looked beautiful even in the dark. We were able to see a bald eagle and another hawk close to the groundhog enclosure. If it would have been a bit warmer (the pond was frozen over!) I would have loved to stay and see more of the animals. Especially the otters. This girl LOVES otters. There was quite a bit of merchandise available: stuffed groundhogs, bracelets, a variety of buttons, several different tee shirts, and magnets. We bought a few items and entered the raffle to win a gift bag that included the original copy of last years proclamation. It was a really cold wait for the 7:31 proclamation time, although the park did pass out hand warmers. I think we could have waited a bit longer but since this was our first time, we had no idea how big of a crowd to expect. I would guess that there were 100-150 people. Being so early, we were right up front but I think we would have been about to see if we had gotten there a bit later. All of the employees (volunteers?) were very nice and helpful. We met many people who do this annually and there were even news crews here. It was very fun and definitely worth attending. We will definitely be returning but only when it is absolutely warmer! Ps. He saw his shadow! read more

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Really nice place to take the whole family. Their facilities and employees are very nice. All of the animals are well cared for. The trails are great outside of the animal section. read more

Peaceful just walking around the whole park.... Need more movable animals, more lively.... But park rules... Great place to work out!

We came over spring break for a picnic and a walk around the nature center. It was such a nice time. We've also come on a field trip before and it's been fun both times. The staff is friendly and the animals seem happy and taken well care of. It's a beautiful place for low budget options. They have a gift shop and king of pop in there, it's definitely somewhere we will visit again. read more

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Such a cute nature trail. Nothing wildly exotic but it's a good 20 minute walk with the family. Plus it's free so donate if you can but it's definitely a cute afternoon activity. There are plenty of benches under the shade to sit and grab lunch. read more

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Super amazing place to bring the kids. Free to go to and they have so many animals and even a little playground! 10/10 would recommend

Beautiful place. Lots of rescued animals. Would highly recommend if you are near Jackson, GA. Free admission but donations go a long way to feed and maintain this place. Nice walking trails. Perfect fall walk. read more

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We tried to be flexible saying we're open to moving our event earlier in the day and be out of there by early afternoon for the other event to take over the space mid afternoon. Morgan, the coordinator, was doing her best to go back and forth and work things out,l which is why I'll give them a second star, but her supervisor was rude and inconsiderate about the situation and tried to offer some random house at a different location instead that we would not consider suitable for a baby shower. We sent invitations out over a month ago and have family traveling in from across the country that have already booked travel/hotel, but now we're back to square one having to source a new venue within our budget to host the event. Seems to me like the supervisor is just playing favorites towards an employee all while inconveniencing us and putting stress on my pregnant sister. I highly recommend looking elsewhere for your event space needs so this doesn't happen to you. read more

We love this place and will be back. There's so much to do and see. The animals and activities were perfect. I'm so impressed for a place that's totally free. This is a new favorite place. read more

Great place to take the family for a short hike. There are wild life animals as well as farm animals to see. I think feeding the fish in the pond was our favorite part of the trip. read more

I visited Dauset Trails by accident. I passed it while heading to my destination of Indian Springs State park, but very surprising that Multi use 3.25 mile trail that begins at Indian Springs takes you all the way to Dauset Trails Nature center Taking the multi purpose trail, I visited through the rear entry. One thing to note is that this rear trail closes at 4:30pm, so if your goal is to visit Dauset, keep an eye on your time so that you can leave the same way you came. With that said, today I saw quite a few animals all separated by what they were. The goats very close to the rear exit to themselves, some with their horns, some without. There were also chickens, horses, cows, mules, and pigs. All of the animals were in well kept, clean areas...ok the pigs area was as clean as you could expect would be There's also props from days long gone like old tractors, syrup cookers and "coca cola for 5 cents" ads The grounds of Dauset trails are also well kept up, which for a free center (yep, I said free), that's saying a lot! Sadly I did not get a chance to visit all areas of the park, due to time constraints. I'd like to come back and visit their additional trails: Brownlee Trail (1.2 miles) Sandy Creek Trail (0.8 mi) Pine Mountain Trail (0.8 mi) Wagon Track trail (0.3 mi) Huff N Puff Trail (2.5 mi) and on and on and on You definitely have your hands full with not only the animals but all the trails that feed from the nature center, and if you find yourself in the area with a need for a hike, this may be a winner for you! read more

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Completely affordable. Great place if looking for a field trip for children or adults. The animal habitats are informative, the trails are great and there's a bit of history at the welcome center. Bring along a picnic. Please don't forget to donate while visiting. God bless. read more

What a great place to take kids of all ages. Not only is it free but, it's a great nature walk. They have all kinds of rescued rehabilitated animals in their own little habitats, signs on every one telling you what they are and information about them. They have an inside reptile exhibit, and much more. If you check their schedule, they do shows, classes and festivals from time to time. The trails that take you around to all the animals are almost all paved so it's great easy walking for everyone even wheelchairs. The have nice, clean outside bathroom houses that make it super favorable. ;) In all, you can't beat good ole FREE FAMILY FUN! It's a great place for everyone of all ages. read more

Dauset Trails Nature Center - Bald Eagle - Hiking Near Me - Jackson, Georgia

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Stopped for some biking en route to a work thing. They have several miles of trails and they're well-built and fun, for the most part. I didn't have time for the whole system, but I managed maybe five miles or so. The first couple of miles were fun and flowy, but after that things got a little rough and ragged, with tons of roots and rocks. But that's mountain biking (even 150 miles from mountains.) I'd really love to come back later in the year when the humidity is somewhere below 95%. There are port-a-potties at the trailhead along with a structure that seems be for changing clothes (with two separate halves for privacy.) At least that's what I used it for. And by 8 a.m. there were already several cars in the parking lot, so it seems to be popular. Use of the trails is free, but they do have a donation box. I'd recommend dropping a buck or two in there, because places like this are few and far between and immensely appreciated. read more

Great family spot and outstanding trails! Make sure you have a map before using the trails!

Absolutely amazing! The most well maintained place of its kind that I have ever seen and free. They should totally be charging admission so leave a donation! All of the animals are rescues that would have died without this place. They have a bald eagle with one wing and lots of other animals too. Hiking and biking trails all over. read more

You can't really argue with free anything and this place is not only free but a great place to go walking with friends and especially with your kids! My friends and I took our little girls (all around 12-18 months old) and they loved running around and looking at all the animals and just being allowed to roam rather freely. As it is very family friendly you won't get any nasty looks if you have your kids running around or being noisy. Also there is quite ample shade so even if you go during a sunny day, which we did, you don't feel like you're getting baked. The parking area is a little limited but even during spring break we were all able to find spots for our cars. There are clean public toilets as well (and changing tables for babies)! My daughter isn't trained up for walking long distances so I had her in a stroller for a lot of the park and the paved walkways are super easy to navigate with a stroller. Totally worth the visit! read more

Great place to take family. I brought my nieces and nephews here and they really enjoyed theirselves. We had a great adventurous time.

My husband and I first visited Dauset Trails for my birthday a few years ago. Loved it! There is a Nature Rescue area that houses various animals. You cannot bet on all the animals being present all the time. Sometimes they die or get moved to other locations, but there is always something interesting to see. Beautiful scenery and GREAT biking trails. We biked for hours. Loads of fun! Recently we took our three year old son for an afternoon and it was awesome for him as well. In the Nature rescue there is an area for farm animals. Our little one got a chance to follow free roaming rooster, smell and watch the feisty pigs and piglets and watch a real live blacksmith make a chain link out of iron. We also sat on a real tractor (big deal for us city folks :-) and watched donkeys and goats graze. Seeing all of the animals took us about two and a half hours. Then we sat down in the picnic area and ate our lunch by the lake. It was a beautiful way to spend a Saturday afternoon. This place gets my vote! Great place to come on an outdoor date, bring the family or come alone for some peace, quiet and nature. Also, I am four months pregnant so restroom cleanliness is a big deal for me bc I have to go so much and I was super impressed at how clean the facilities were, as well as the grounds themselves. read more

This is a great place and I am looking forward to visiting again soon. PS--you have to drive a little further down Mt. Vernon Rd than the googlemaps directions will give you. read more

Dauset Trails Nature Center - Hiking Near Me - Jackson, Georgia

This review is for the fishing rodeo only. The event started at 9am, yet there was nowhere to fish at 9:01 because people were permitted in early. 50% of the patrons were smoking cigarettes and the other half were drinking beer with no correction from the Dauset Trails staff. This was an absolute waste of time and gas. read more

We went today and it's totally free so what else could one ask for??? Today was our first time here and I will say I was rather impressed my children loved it. They were excited to see the Bison as neither of them had ever seen one. But on the slight down side I will have to say some of the animal there seemed somewhat miserable. I've been to many zoos however the animals always seem to be more lively and I think this is because their habit is a bit more comfortable and accommodating I'm sure Dauset trails has passed all regulations to house the animal there but my suggestion would be to charge a small fee so that they can enhance the animals habit some. Other than that the place is nice grounds are very well kept the trails are wonderful one of my children is in a stroller and it was perfectly accommodating it wasn't hard at all to walk the woods with it. I will say if your passing through please stop by its well worth it you won't be disappointed I think next time we go I will pack a picnic lunch for us as there are picnic tables throughout. The scenery I'd very nice and relaxing as well do a picnic would be nice. I forgot to mention you can purchase little food for the turtle to eat in the pond the children will love doing that read more