Laura S. Walker State Park, State park beside Okefenokee Swamp in Waycross, United States

Laura S. Walker State Park is a Georgia state park near Waycross, set beside the Okefenokee Swamp and centered on a pine-fringed lake with nature trails along its shores. The grounds also include an 18-hole golf course, campgrounds, cottages, picnic shelters, and a boat ramp that gives direct access to the lake.

In the 1930s, at the urging of Georgia's senators, President Franklin D. Roosevelt issued a proclamation establishing Laura S. Walker National Park, honoring the Waycross conservationist for her forestry work; she was the only living person for whom a state or national park was named. In 1937 the federal government bought distressed farmland for the park under the Bankhead-Jones Farm Tenant Act, and the Works Progress Administration and Civilian Conservation Corps built it. In 1941 it was deeded to Georgia as the state's 13th state park.

The park honors Laura S. Walker, a Waycross writer, teacher, civic leader and naturalist known for promoting forestry. She was the only living person for whom a state or national park was named. The park hosts the Okefenokee 10K Race each March.

The park is easy to reach from Waycross and works well for a day trip or a longer stay, since both day-use areas and overnight lodging are available on site. During warm months, bringing insect repellent and water-resistant shoes is a good idea, as the trails near the swamp edge can be wet underfoot.

The park sits exactly where dry pine uplands meet the edge of the Okefenokee Swamp, a transition zone that is uncommon in the region. Walking here, you can move from sandy forest paths to wet, dark waterways in just a short distance.