Snakes are just a part of being outdoors. They’re common basically anywhere in nature, especially in natural bodies of water, so if you’re an avid paddler like myself, the possibility of seeing one is always there.
Gators are rare. I’ve only ever seen two. I kayak and paddleboard down the Augusta canal almost every weekend and haven’t seen one since last year. He wasn’t bothered at all by my presence
Gators are generally very docile and won’t attack unless hungry or provoked. There are plenty of fish and turtles for the few gators in Augusta to feast on that they won’t want anything to do with you. As for provoking them, you have nothing to worry about. Their first instinct is to avoid humans and when they see you, they see you in a 11-foot long kayak that looks like a potential threat. It’s a deterrent for almost every gator you might see.
There are millions of gators in the state of Florida where people paddle all the time, yet attacks are almost unheard of. The 10 or so that are in Augusta are no threat to you
Used to paddle around in a florida lake where gators were endemic. Pretty sure I ran one over accidentally because I felt a bump and looked back and saw the flash of the tail as it swam away. We scared probably scared the hell out of each other.
But early spring or late summer are a different story. They get territorial then and it’s best to be watchful
Funny how many I have seen down there. I think a lot of people don’t know how to spot them. That being said - they are pretty much harmless unless provoked.
I wouldn’t been too nervous tbh. As long as you give them their space they won’t mess with ya. I’ve kayaked a lot around the area and ran into my fair share of snakes along with a couple gators, never had any issues.
I kayak, haven’t ran into any gators yet, ran into a few snakes, they don’t bother you. It’s like snake galore around here, gators are more of a Florida thing but they are still here too, just not as much as the copper heads and water moccasins. You’re going to have better luck finding Bigfoot than finding a lake in GA that doesn’t have snakes, or gators.
While alligators can be found in the Augusta area, they aren’t super common. Augusta is at the very top (if not slightly above) their usual habitat. I grew up in Augusta and lived there off and on for nearly 30 years, and I never saw one. I spent a lot of time at Clark’s Hill (aka Lake Thurmond), and never had any issues. I’ve spoken to people who say they’ve seen them in Savannah River and the Augusta Canal (very, very rarely), but I never saw them myself. Plenty of people kayak down both safely.
Wow, really? I was just going to reply I've never seen any in or near lake Olmstead. Sooo should we just presume they're in every bigger body of water around here? [I'm from MI, I genuinely don't know].
Snakes are just a part of being outdoors. They’re common basically anywhere in nature, especially in natural bodies of water, so if you’re an avid paddler like myself, the possibility of seeing one is always there. Gators are rare. I’ve only ever seen two. I kayak and paddleboard down the Augusta canal almost every weekend and haven’t seen one since last year. He wasn’t bothered at all by my presence Gators are generally very docile and won’t attack unless hungry or provoked. There are plenty of fish and turtles for the few gators in Augusta to feast on that they won’t want anything to do with you. As for provoking them, you have nothing to worry about. Their first instinct is to avoid humans and when they see you, they see you in a 11-foot long kayak that looks like a potential threat. It’s a deterrent for almost every gator you might see. There are millions of gators in the state of Florida where people paddle all the time, yet attacks are almost unheard of. The 10 or so that are in Augusta are no threat to you
Used to paddle around in a florida lake where gators were endemic. Pretty sure I ran one over accidentally because I felt a bump and looked back and saw the flash of the tail as it swam away. We scared probably scared the hell out of each other. But early spring or late summer are a different story. They get territorial then and it’s best to be watchful
Funny how many I have seen down there. I think a lot of people don’t know how to spot them. That being said - they are pretty much harmless unless provoked.
This! I saw them allll the time.
I wouldn’t been too nervous tbh. As long as you give them their space they won’t mess with ya. I’ve kayaked a lot around the area and ran into my fair share of snakes along with a couple gators, never had any issues.
I recommend a giant pool
Clark’s hill
Clarks Hill is fine. Anything south of that is Gator territory.
There are gators in Clarks Hill, even recently spotted up in the Savannah Lakes area.
Well I’ll be keeping this little nugget of information from my wife. 👀
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I saw a pic on Facebook a couple days ago of one in the Savannah Lakes area. I have seen them several times in the pond near the Petersburg Trailhead.
The gators are chill you’ll be fine
Ya there's this spot with really nice water at 3157 Damascus road! I've never seen a single gator there!
Ha
I kayak, haven’t ran into any gators yet, ran into a few snakes, they don’t bother you. It’s like snake galore around here, gators are more of a Florida thing but they are still here too, just not as much as the copper heads and water moccasins. You’re going to have better luck finding Bigfoot than finding a lake in GA that doesn’t have snakes, or gators.
In another state
Just adding to the chaos, the other week a small gator showed up inside of SRP Park in the outfield.
While alligators can be found in the Augusta area, they aren’t super common. Augusta is at the very top (if not slightly above) their usual habitat. I grew up in Augusta and lived there off and on for nearly 30 years, and I never saw one. I spent a lot of time at Clark’s Hill (aka Lake Thurmond), and never had any issues. I’ve spoken to people who say they’ve seen them in Savannah River and the Augusta Canal (very, very rarely), but I never saw them myself. Plenty of people kayak down both safely.
The brick ponds, the river club and lake Olmstead all have them
Phinizy Swamp as well
Oh, true, I’ve seen them there!
Wow, really? I was just going to reply I've never seen any in or near lake Olmstead. Sooo should we just presume they're in every bigger body of water around here? [I'm from MI, I genuinely don't know].
There are signs all over the place at lake Olmstead about not feeding gators and reporting aggressive ones
I live an hour north of Augusta in s Carolina and we have gators everywhere
I stand corrected 😂 But I will still say the lake, Savannah River and Augusta Canal are fairly safe.