Woods Bay State Park, Natural preserve in Olanta, United States.
Woods Bay State Park is a natural preserve in South Carolina covering roughly 1,590 acres with swamps, marshes, sandhills, and forests. The park features a boardwalk over the water and offers canoe rentals for exploring a water trail through the landscape.
The park was established in 1973 to protect one of the largest remaining Carolina Bays in the region. These elliptical depressions formed during ice ages long ago through geological processes still being studied by scientists.
The natural center here teaches visitors about the ecological role that Carolina Bays play in the region today. These formations have shaped how people have lived and worked in this landscape for generations.
The park offers walking trails and paddling routes that work for different activity levels, so visitors can choose between walking and canoeing based on their preference. The warmer months offer the best conditions for exploring the water and wetland areas.
The park's elliptical depressions, called Carolina Bays, shift between wet and dry periods throughout the year, creating shifting conditions that support specialized plants and animals. This means the landscape looks and feels different depending on the season of your visit.
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