Discover Middle Georgia: Dauset Trails Nature Center

JACKSON, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) — In the late 1970s Hampton Daughtry and D.P. Settle joined forces to set aside a nearly 1,800 acre piece of property to help kids get outside and foster a love for nature– and with that, Dauset Trails was born

The story goes that Daughtry said: “We have a place where kids can play ball, but we need a place where kids can get out and enjoy nature.”

The private non-profit is located in Jackson, Georgia, and is completely free to visit. The contents of the trails focus mostly on Georgia’s plants and animals, both to those that are wild and those who call the trails home– it’s hard to take just a few steps into the property without seeing a critter or…well three.

Manager Ike English says they host a lot of school field trips at Dauset Trails, where kids are able to learn a lot about the animals living around them in a hands-on way that’s inspiring.

With Georgia animals from owls to famous weather prognosticator groundhogs like good ol’ Beauregard, there’s plenty to see here. Most of the animals in enclosures were either orphaned or injured, so they’re non-releasable. There are plaques at each enclosure that can tell you some interesting facts about each animal, so anyone looking to visit should be ready to learn!

The trails are mostly wheelchair accessible, and have lots of resting spots for visitors that need to take breaks. Dauset trails are open Tuesday through Sunday from nine to five, and they also have a few yearly events to keep an eye out for like the Bluebirds and Bluegrass festival.

If you’re interested in donating to Dauset trails, you can check out their donation box on site, or you can take a look at their current Amazon wish list here: https://www.amazon.com/…/2NZEK…/ref=nav_wishlist_lists_1 \

You can also visit their Facebook page where they post updates regularly here.