The Oconee Forest, composed of 115,000 acres, is the only National Forest within the Georgia Piedmont and has something fore everyone to enjoy. Managed under multiple us principle, it provides opportunities for recreation, wildlife, wood, range, heritage resource, fisheries, and soil and water conservation.

 Oconee National Forest
1199 Madison Road
Eatonton, Georgia 31204
706-485-7110

  For more information:  Chattahoochee-Oconee
Map of Oconee National Forest

The Creek Indians inhabited much of the forest before the early 1800's. European settlers established communities throughout the land in the early 1800's and by the mid 1800's replaced the forest with cotton farming. When farming ended in the 1930's, the Soil Conservation Service and the Civilian Conservation Corps replanted the eroding landscape in 1959, the National Forest was established. Today, visitors can see remnants from the past activities, such as standing chimneys, wells, cemeteries, and field-clearing rock piles as they walk through the forest.

Wildlife species are plentiful. A variety of birds share the forest with deer, turkey, rabbits, squirrels, and other animals. The forest is also home to the endangered red-cockaded woodpecker, a bird that builds its home inside live pine trees. Approximately 70% of the forest is composed of pine habitat, while the remainder is a variety of hardwood species.