On this rainy and chilly Sunday morning the park felt almost suspended in its own quiet, the kind of stillness you only get when the weather keeps everyone else home and you end up with the place to yourself. No one was camping or fishing or wandering the grounds (though I did see one park ranger pickup truck on patrol), which meant I had time with the real centerpiece of the park, the Watson Mill Covered Bridge, and the soft sound of the river underneath it carried farther than usual in the damp air. The bridge was built in 1885 by W. W. King, one of Georgia's most skilled nineteenth century bridge builders, and it remains the longest existing covered bridge in the state at 236 feet. It uses the Town lattice truss system, a design patented in 1820 that relies on a crisscross pattern of planks secured with wooden pegs, and Watson Mill is one of the best surviving examples of that method in the Southeast. The bridge once served the workers of the grist mill and sawmill that stood nearby, and it doubled as a community gathering place where people held picnics and even square dances. The Georgia Department of Transportation restored it in 1973, and the bridge became the anchor for the surrounding state park, which preserves both the structure and the landscape that supported it. The posted clearance was too low for my Sprinter van so I walked the length of the bridge instead, letting the boards creak underfoot and taking in the smell of wet timber that always feels older than the structure itself. There is no dedicated pedestrian lane, but the interior is wide enough that I could step to the side when a car approached, and the drivers moved slowly enough that it never felt unsafe. The combination of the rain, the quiet, and the long wooden tunnel made the whole experience feel like stepping back into the late nineteenth century for a few minutes. [Review 245 of 2026 - 942 in Georgia - 25434 overall] read more

See all

Beautiful, just beautiful place to go hike walk enjoy peace and quiet family time or whatever you want. Lovely, beautiful place small country perfect setting. read more

See all

Many picnic areas that are first come first serve but you need to reserve the shelters in advance.

Peaceful! Nice nature walk to take with kids, plenty of little photo ops next to the water! The playground was a nice little break for mom while kids got the rest of their energy out! read more

Watson Mill Bridge State Park - Playground slide - Parks Near Me - Comer, Georgia

This is a very beautiful spot to visit. We rented one of the log cabins at the equestrian campground. The cabin is really well built and has a lovely rustic charm. A little bit dirty but nothing that couldn't be overcome with a broom and the flip of a mattress. It has heat for the colder months and AC for summer. Important to note: 1.) If you arrive after 5:00 pm you retrieve a key from a lockbox. There is a number to phone. No one answered but the campground host was able to help. 2.) Bring a lantern and/or a flashlight. The campground is very dark (great for sleeping.) 3.) There is only one flush toilet and one semi outdoor shower stall for all campers to share. Each time we used the restroom we had to wait in line. Some folks might be cool with that as it is camping but for me personally that would be the one negative. All in all a very pretty place with a nice historic atmosphere. read more

See all

I caught wind of this place from reading the Atlanta Yelp threads and decided that it would be a great adventure for our Memorial Monday afternoon. We packed up the kids and all our beach/picnic gear and headed to see this landmark and play in it's waters. However, it was not at all what we were expecting. The standing water had a oily haze across it's surface, mosquito larva was in one section and huge schools of tadpoles in another. There was an odor in the air of stagnant water and/or something dead or dying. In the small whirlpools there was this brown gewy foam building up. We also spotted a dead fish in one algae filled pool of water. So needless to say we decided to forgo our plans to get wet and just admired the landmark instead. SUMMARY: It's kind of a dumping ground, as people have left behind shoes, flip flops, cans, tents and towels. Too bad, but it was still a great opportunity to visit local history. In the end, we spent a half hour taking a few pics and heading back to our car. The bridge itself is very cool and worth a visit if you are into landmarks like these. Georgia once had over 200 covered bridges, but only 16 now remain. We'll use this visit as a fun opportunity to begin a new quest with our children to find all the remaining covered bridges in Georgia. I loved seeing the old wooden nails used in the original construction. Overall, it was a pretty solid structure and not as rickety as it looks. The water flow was pretty low, which may be the major reason for the stagnant water pools. Probably better to visit after heavy rainfalls. We drove to Fort Yargo Beach instead for the kids to have a little cleaner water fun, which they greatly appreciated since their mom practically bathed them in antibacterial gel after splashing some water from the river on themselves. LOL read more

See all

This park is awesome. (Go Team Albino Cows!) I went on a group "camping" trip with about 8 friends. We arrived around 10pm to our cabin (which was rustic and beautiful). It was pitch dark. You could see thousands of stars. Beautiful!! But, there were ominous white cows with red eyes staring at us. Scary!! We instantly made friends with our neighbors who taught us how to 2 step. That night we sat up sharing stories and having fun. Saturday, we woke up and went on a 4 mile hike. The trail was fairly easy and the views were great. We hiked to an old power station with only the brick wall remaining. We finished up our hike then rented canoes and paddled to a beautiful waterfall. This park has so much to do. They have several campsites and a cabin available for rent. There's a covered bridge (one of only 20 in the state), horse stalls, bicycling, canoeing, paddle boats rentals, and fishing. read more

Watson Mill Bridge State Park - Watson Mill Bridge State Park - Parks Near Me - Comer, Georgia

Love the old bridge and it's history. Nice hiking trails. Also has picnic areas.

A beautiful little gem just 30 minutes away from Athens. A wonderful place to enjoy nature.

Just a little pit stop off the trip we were on. Great little covered bridge. THe Park looks amazing. Construction next to the bridge with tractors. read more

See all

This place is perhaps my absolute personal favorite place to stay (as in camp) overnight when in the Athens, Georgia area; however, there are crucial (CRUCIAL!) good things and bad things to take note of before staying here: The Good: This state park is a hidden gem. History and natural beauty abound. The namesake bridge is amazing as is the creek going under it. You can camp here for about $30 (give or take) a night depending on the campsite area. Cabins cost more; however, this park (and its lodgings) is / are much more preferable to crappy / seedy hotel rooms in Athens. Only 20 short minutes east of Athens via highway 72. Campsites are peaceful, quiet and scenic (often teeming with wildlife). You should (perhaps a must) use your GPS device to (a) mark your campsite, (b) the park entrance, and (c) the namesake bridge (as a reference point / point of orientation). Also GPS mark key points along highway 72 between the park entrance and Athens proper (trust me on this). I prefer the equestrian campsites over the other / main campsites (get one of those if available). Easy to book a reservation through http://www.reserveamerica.com/ but keep in mind that the campsite check-in office closes at 5pm sharp. This place is easily worth all the numerous and myriad precautions / caveats I have given. The Bad: You need a tent and sleeping bag if you aren't staying in a cabin. Gets very dark with low to zero visibility at night. Park camping check in office closes at 5pm. When it gets dark, there are NO lights / zero visibility (don't forget your flashlight). Only 20 short minutes east of Athens BUT you MUST go back and forth (from / to) Athens via highway 72. If you attempt alternate routes I promise that you will severely regret it (believe me I know). If you do not use your GPS device to mark your campsite, the park entrance, and the namesake bridge (as a reference point / point of orientation), you will be sorry (you have been warned). If you don't mark key points along highway 72 between the park entrance and Athens proper, you can (and likely will ) easily get lost. Bottom Line: This place is a Hidden Gem & easily worth all the numerous and myriad precautions / caveats I have given. read more

I had a great time visiting this park for the first time. I love finding new places and this is one to come back again! My boyfriend and I took our little pup with us. She loved the water and hike. I took beautiful pictures! read more

Watson Mill Bridge State Park - The bridge and water view. Ignore the blurry pup in the corner. She was moving during the pano picture and came out blurry. - Parks Near Me - Comer, Georgia

Lions, and tigers, and bears oh my! This place is shockingly funky-fresh! Well, there might not be any lions, tigers or even bears there, but what is there is one of the only 20 remaining covered bridges left here in the GA. (Think the of the bridge in Bridges of Madison County, the movie). Since this is a state park, there was plenty of fresh air, trees, water (including a huge water fall/rapids to play in). Tons of recreational activities such as canoning, 3 huge hiking and biking trails, horse back options (you have to supply your own horse), and fishing. Not to mention, the totally functioning and drive able historical covered bridge built in 1885. The most impressive about this state park were the rental cabins they offered to experience the state park (which sleeps 8). My friends (which included our friendly yelp moderator, Deanna) and I comfortably stayed in one of the cabins they offered. This cool hang out was totally wired for electricity, had an AC unit, and a mini fridge, which came in handy keeping the beer cold! Don't worry, when you go, you totally don't have to do your business in a dug out hole in the ground.. there is a fully functioning CLEAN restroom, with an adjacent shower! All for an amazing $90.00 for the weekend! So with 9 of us that went, it ended up being 11 bucks per person.. Overall, this place was pretty awesome, I recommend it as a get away from the city to experience some fresh air, friendship bonding, and to experience a piece of history. read more

Who knew that Watson Mill had cabins??? After driving over the bridge about six times trying to find them, I finally decided to take a chance and ask for help. It was almost 7:30 pm and the teenagers with me were headed into a deep depression about me not being able to find this day party in the "woods." I pulled up to what I thought was an all night state facility but I immediately realized that it was someone's home. I started to slowly back up (because being shot at was not on my agenda that night or any other night). Anywho...on goes some lights and I see a gentleman peering out the door. I proceeded to get out my car and explain that I did not mean any harm, but that I was lost. The gentleman was very polite and gave me very detailed directions to the cabins. He even offered to show me the location if I couldn't find them this one last time. There was no need...I finally found "Camp Crystal Lake" (j/k) with his help. It was actually a cool spot, but to finally getting those millennials there safe and sound was a joy!!! Thank you sir for your hospitality and help, but more importantly...for not taking up arms read more

We had a large group that camped over the weekend renting most of the campsites and horse stalls. We all gathered around the camp fire and we're cutting up and laughing. Quite time is 10pm, but we were told to shut it down at 9:30 because we were disturbing other campers. Come to find out those campers shouldn't have been camping in the equestrian camp grounds anyway. Otherwise great place to camp, but I don't know if we'd hold large get together anymore. read more

Watson Mill has been down graded to a outdoor area. No full time rangers. They only are doing reservations for summertime. This means that they are people coming to the park and drinking/drugging and there is NOONE there to inforce policy. read more