4 Notes About Visiting Providence Canyon State Park

I was able to visit Providence Canyon State Park for the first time since I was a kid. Here are a few notes from seeing it as an adult.

Ok, Georgia Needs To Reframe Their Promotion of This Place

Georgia has a its share of tourist attractions that, you know, are fine. But I don’t really know why we promote them so much. For example, we need to stop promoting Underground Atlanta. It was a thing in the 1970s. It’s not anymore. It’s just weird and sad.

Providence Canyon belongs in this category…but only because of how we promote it. The Park is incredible in its own way. But the state of Georgia promotes it as The Little Grand Canyon. And honestly Providence Canyon is a terrible misnomer. We need to stop that.

It’s not a Canyon created by Providence or by the sands of time.

It’s an environmentally disastrous Ditch created by Man’s Ignorance.

A holy wow is it one giant erosion gully / ditch. I mean, it’s seriously huge. And it’s unbelievable that people created it in like less than a decade with nothing but manual plows. So it’s definitely worth preserving as a State Park…just not promoting it as The Grand Canyon of The East**. Maybe – an early example of how we can learn, repair, and repurpose our own destruction.

**Also, Georgia DNR – if you are going to promote this Park, you should budget for a better visitor center. You don’t have to go all Skidaway State Park, but the current one is…dated?

The Park Is Lovely to Photograph & Hike

If you go outside of the summer**, the Park is really lovely. The pine trees against the multicolored soil layers are beautiful. There are all sorts of outcrops for different perspectives. Even though the Park is on the small side, the surrounding area is not heavily developed, so it feels remote and isolated.

The hiking is interesting with lots of loops and options. There are even a few backcountry campsites that are more accessible than typical backcountry sites in a National Forest.

Just don’t go in the summer. It’s hot. But also the water is fairly slow & stagnant at the bottom…so the mosquitos take over.

The Park Is Incredible in Its Own Way

On its own, with no comparisons, Providence Canyon is really cool. The maze of slot canyons with layers of earth, pine trees, azaleas, and dogwoods are scenic and are truly unique.

I love the infinite choices for hiking trails and small pockets to explore. It does have backcountry sites, which are rare in Georgia State Parks. In the last two years, the State has finally invested in new parking, landscaping and main visitor center.

The Park is unlike any other in Georgia or the Southeast.

The Park Is In Very Rural Georgia

Southwestern Georgia has never been heavily settled. But it has suffered heavy population loss since the 1970s. The entire area is very rural. Plan out gas station stops. Pack snacks and water. And be sure to download Google Maps to your phone.

Providence Canyon does not have any car camping or lodging. However, Florence Marina State Park is nearby and they have excellent, clean cabins and a fairly solid car camping area.

I don’t know if I would plan a special trip there. However, if traveling to / from Florida, it’s a good area to stopover at.