5 Notes on Visiting Jack Hill State Park
Jack Hill State Park is a Georgia State Park (formerly Gordonia-Altamaha State Park) in Middle Georgia in Reidsville near Vidalia. I stayed a few days in a cabin exploring not only Jack Hill but also the nearby George L Smith State Park.
Jack Hill Is *in* Reidsville
Like, you can walk to the Dairy Queen, El Cheapo Gasoline, and the City Hall close. Apparently this State Park was part of a special cohort of Parks in the late 1950s.
The Georgia General Assembly was in a (weirdly) generous mood at the time and was like “Hey Georgians, we need six new State Parks. Here’s a pot of money to build them. Now give us your best pitch for where we should put them.”
And apparently Reidsville, much to their credit, really, really wanted a State Park even though they have like, no natural scenery whatsoever. I mean – Middle Georgia is lovely and all – but there’s no, like, Cloudland Canyon or historic sites anywhere. So instead, Reidsville made a compelling pitch by having their local elites donate the land and kick in extra funding to have a really nice setup.
So that’s what they did. It’s sort of a “checklist” State Park right in the city. That said, the money definitely paid for good design & features. Even though it’s in the city, it is lovely, set back, and quiet. And, it is pretty convenient to have a full size grocery (Food Lion), pizza shop (Village Pizza), and a solid Mexican restaurant (Rio Grande in Lyons) not too far away.
Small but Mighty Amenities
It may be a “checklist” State Park, but they do have all the things. Fishing, boating, mini-golf (which is brand-new), nature trails, basketball, bikes, splash pad, etc – it’s all there. All of it is solid and worthwhile for a chill visit.
Very Well-Maintained
The cabins were in excellent shape. The park was tidy. Everything that I saw worked. That should be a baseline but here’s the thing.
Jack Hill is owned and operated by the Georgia Department of Natural Resources (DNR). That is not true of all State Parks. Back in Great Recession times (and renewed in 2016), the DNR leased several State Parks to Coral Hospitality, a private company.
That setup has not been going great IMHO. Coral focuses exclusively on maximizing short-term revenue and short-term costs while long-term viability falls apart.
I thought it was especially striking to see the contrast between Jack Hill State Park (DNR operated) and Little Ocmulgee State Park (Coral operated). They are both in Middle Georgia, focused on a golf course with other very similar amenities. I would go back to Jack Hill next week…while Little Ocmulgee needs some serious TLC and a take back into DNR operations.
Beautiful Golf Course (with FootGolf)
Jack Hill has Brazell’s Golf Course which is a typical Georgia golf course on the front 9 (fairways hemmed in by young trees, scraggly rough, man-made ponds) but is this wide-open links-style (almost pasture like) back 9. The greens were in good shape despite the drought. The course was a long and challenging par 71.
But what I loved most was how they overlaid a FootGolf course on the regular golf course. FootGolf is the most ridiculous but awesome sport. It’s even more accessible than Disc Golf. There are two FootGolf holes for every regular hole on the course. There’s no interference and it all seems to flow well.
Very Close To Other Parks & the Coast
Jack Hill is only about 45 minutes to the very scenic George L. Smith State Park and about an hour and a half to Savannah or St. Simons (the highway sort of cuts the corner of I-16/I-95.
It makes for a solid hub to jump off and explore that region of Georgia (even down to General Coffee State Park or Little Ocmulgee or the Altamaha River).
