I’m a Presbyterian Church youth group leader. Really, just a parent volunteer who loves to help kids find their true selves in the tangle of the teen years. This Spring Break, we are taking 25 high schoolers on a road trip from Atlanta to Little Ocmulgee State Park & Lodge in South Georgia.
Far from big city distractions and garish night lights, we’ll be venturing into the woods to be surrounded by sand hills, pine trees, cool water, and serenely comfortable accommodations.
I learned when arranging our youth retreat that the lodge accommodates every kind of group, from business retreats to weddings and family reunions.
Fun Fact: Little Ocmulgee State Park & Lodge accommodates conference groups, reunions, and weddings of up to 200 people.
Our youth retreat is more about outdoor recreation, with morning and evening gathering times scheduled. The lodge is outfitted with the latest technology and the conference services team will help me with audio-visual set-up for our group presentations.
The lodge also has full-service catering for buffet service or plated meals. Our group, of course, is casual and rambunctious, so we’re doing breakfast and dinner buffets, with lunches packed for us as we go out kayaking, swimming, golfing, hiking, and relaxing by Little Ocmulgee Lake on Thaxton Beach during the days.
Fun Fact: Nearby, the annual Vidalia Onion Festival is April 20-23, 2023! Live bands and food and culture combine in a celebration of Georgia’s official state vegetable, the Vidalia Onion.
Outside of catering, our group can also visit the Fairway Grill restaurant that overlooks the Wallace Adams Golf Course. This is the restaurant that is handling our boxed lunches, and the authentic Southern food is amazing, so we’re ready to be satisfied!
A big focus of our retreat is to be in touch with nature and our youthfulness by engaging in the outdoors. If you’re not too familiar with all that is offered here, here’s a breakdown of the explorations and discoveries everyone has access to:
- Group picnics in the picnic shelter are close to the 265-acre Little Ocmulgee Lake. The shelters have benches and grills and are fully covered for sun or rain.
- A mini golf course is designed to be a mini replica of the Wallace Adams Golf Course and is free for all to play by the picnic shelters.
- Sun-soaked days splashing in the private pool and Splash Pad (both open Memorial Day weekend)
- Thaxton Beach is a white sand beach to spread out towels, picnic blankets and enjoy swimming, reading, or launching a kayak into the water. Fishing is allowed with state license on the lake’s dock.
- Golfers are challenged by the highly regarded Wallace Adams Golf Course – recognized as one of the best public courses in the South.
- Hiking through rare plant communities on a 2.6-mile loop is best done in the morning or evening during the late Spring and Summer seasons.
I hope you are learning that planning a group event at Little O is rewarding because of the beauty and adventurous options surrounding the experience.
This may become an annual retreat for our youth group because the kids who came two years ago voted to have us go back. With everything there is to see and do, and an amazing conference services team who backs up all your plans with exquisite detail, you’ll find Little Ocmulgee State Park & Lodge is a cinch.
Plan your stay: Just south of McRae-Helena, Little Ocmulgee State Park & Lodge offers 60 Lodge guest rooms and 54 campsites for tent and R/V camping.
By Quentin Jones
Left: Pro Shop Photo
I began my adventure in the pro shop checking out the golf wear for women, choosing a sassy pink golf dress because I wanted to look the part of a bold athlete! This is where you sign in, get the keys to your cart, enjoy a hot dog with relish, and pack the cooler with ice and drinks.
The 18-hole 
We loved the ponds, stone masonry bridge and water features. I enjoyed seeing teens with dads, and women’s groups on the course. Anyone can play golf and South Georgia hospitality is underfoot everywhere.
Wallace Adams also has a driving range, chipping area and practice green where you can warm up and keep the arms and back fluid. We returned a set of rented clubs and parted ways to clean up back at the lodge.
By LYDIA SEA, Georgia wanderer finding off-the-beaten path places (and gems!)
Little Ocmulgee State Park is a peaceful 1,360-acre Georgia State Park two miles north of McRae-Helena on the Little Ocmulgee River. Look down at the soil, which is more of a fine white sand. It makes for a soft lakeside beach perfect for relaxing.
Image caption: The mini golf course is designed identically to scale as the Wallace Adams Golf Course.
Taking in the beauty of the park, it made me think it would be the perfect destination wedding, family reunion, or weekend getaway destination. Imagine an e-vite or invitation with the words: Welcome to the white sand hills of South Georgia
Above: People swim at Thaxton Beach on the sandy shore of Little Ocmulgee Lake
There are seven picnic shelters and two group shelters available for reservation by the lake. When I visited, it was graduation weekend and families were honoring new grads with picnics. One of the group shelters hosted a family reunion, and they brought a smoker. Their laughter and playfulness together—every generation—was touching to me. They wore a family reunion tee-shirt. I was ready to be adopted!
These shelters offered much more than shade and picnic tables; their proximity to the lake means there’s even more to do when visiting together. Some families were picnicking on Thaxton Beach by the lake. Kids and adults were splashing, laughing, drying off and sipping drinks while food was coming out of coolers and baskets.
I watched another family spend graduation weekend kayaking on the water. I know that next time I visit I will bring friends and kayaks because everything is so beautiful and peaceful here.
I wanted to stretch my legs, so I highly recommend a stroll along the short loop or the longer 2.6-mile Oak Ridge Trail, where some of South Georgia’s rare plant and animal species are protected. Much of the sandy pathways are covered in shade by loblolly pines and even the rarer long leaf pines. Interior swamps are shaded by cypress and oaks.
You’re not likely to see the harmless, non-venomous Eastern indigo snake, but if you do, it might be out in the sunshine warming its glossy body. Another protected animal you have an even better chance of seeing is the gopher tortoise. It’s faster than you think, so I stepped out of the way when I met one along the golf cart path.
Image: Gopher Tortoise along the Wallace Adams Golf Course
Image: Lodging
The back nine, originally designed by O.C. Jones of the Robert Trent Jones family, is less restrictive and features smaller, sloping greens that follow doglegging fairways. Regardless of the style of play, golfers here must be thoughtful of each shot. Every playing style – long-ball hitters and short-game strikers – must use their skills wisely. I got in trouble trying to air it out in hopes of straightening the doglegs. If you make it, it can pay off, but be careful. If you don’t make it, you can easily find yourself in a difficult situation. I learned my lesson after having to punch out of deep rough when I didn’t clear a stand of pines. I suggest picking your spots carefully in the fairways to set up skillful second and third shots to lower your score.
Along the way I enjoyed the lush Bermuda fairways and TifEagle Bermuda greens that are as pristine as the most renowned golf resorts in the world. Grabbing a cart is always an option, but I suggest taking the time to walk the course, which is allowed year-round. Walking let me see every bend, every hump, and every hazard from a new perspective, giving me the information I needed to lower my score in subsequent rounds.
The full-service pro shop at Wallace Adams course had everything I needed to be ready to play. It had the full range of golf accessories, clubs, apparel, and more. I brought my own, but if packing your clubs is not an option for your stay at Little Ocmulgee State Park & Lodge, the pro shop also has clubs for rent.
The practice area at Wallace Adams is well maintained and was the perfect place to get in the groove before my tee time. The chipping area features approaches like what I saw on the course and the practice green was the same speed as those on the course and gave me the chance to learn how to read the greens before teeing off.
There is also a fully stocked snack and beverage bar so you can properly fuel your round. A Bloody Mary to start and a couple of beers after 18 holes was the perfect way to end a great round of golf.
I also noticed during my stay at Little Ocmulgee that Wallace Adams Golf Course is a favorite among locals who are lucky enough to live nearby. But with the lodge at Little Ocmulgee State Park on site, it is also the perfect place for a full-fledged golf getaway. There is even an airstrip nearby so you can fly in to stay and play. It’s easy for me to see why Wallace Adams Golf Course is perennially ranked among the top courses in Georgia.
Book your next golf retreat by visiting us online or calling 229-868-7474. Tee times can be made ahead of your arrival at