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Places We Protect

Moody Forest Preserve

Georgia

Looking into the longleaf pine and blackjack oak forest of the Moody Forest Natural Area near Baxley, Georgia.
Moody Forest in Georgia Moody Forest © Rich Reid

A unique partnership protects a treasured Georgia landscape.

Overview

Description

Old-growth longleaf and slash pines rise to guard the misty waters of the Altamaha River as it carves through cypress and tupelo swamps. Sunshine filters through dogwoods and basket oaks, tossing light and shadows onto fallen leaves. The sounds of nature are constant: the low call of wild turkeys, the echo of red-cockaded woodpeckers at work and the wind in the high canopy of longleaf pines. 

Hiking its trails, one can experience the preserve’s 4,400+ acres of wild, ethereal beauty. Here, TNC in Georgia protects unique ecosystems like longleaf pine-blackjack oak woodland, cypress-tupelo sloughs, bottomland hardwood forests and hardwood bluff forests, protecting this area’s unique natural habitats and heritage.

Access

OPEN TO THE PUBLIC

Highlights

Two interpretive trails wind through the preserve, offering more than five miles of year-round hiking—and the chance to spot rare and imperiled species like gopher tortoises and Eastern indigo snakes.

Size

4,698

Electric Vehicle Charging

N/A

Explore our work in this region

Looking up from the base of a giant towering pine tree.
Longleaf pine (Pinus palustris) forest at Moody Forest Natural Area near Baxley, Georgia. Moody Forest is managed by The Nature Conservancy. © Rich Reid/TNC

About the Preserve 

A Legacy of Protection 

Moody Forest Natural Area is named for the Moody family, which arrived in Appling County in the mid-1800s and spent much of the next century on the land, living amongst the longleaf pine trees and alongside the Altamaha River.   

The Moody family knew that the land they owned was special, and through the generations, they made the best choices they could to retain the natural beauty of the forest. In 2000, the property passed to 32 descendants of the original Moody settlers, and they decided to auction the land. TNC outbid a number of timber industry representatives and entered into a groundbreaking public/private land-management partnership with the Georgia Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to create and manage the preserve. 

Wildlife of Moody Forest

Red-cockaded woodpecker Resident of the longleaf pine ecosystem © Karen Willes
Gopher tortoise Long-lived reptiles that rely on sandy soil and clear groundcover. © Marc Del Santro
Eastern indigo snake These federally threatened snakes find refuge in gopher tortoise burrows. © Michelle Hoffman
Swainson's warbler An elusive bird found in southern swamps and forested ravines. © Richard Gibbons

TNC’s Impact 

While TNC plans and implements conservation strategies, DNR rangers patrol the site, and volunteers help with trail creation, facility construction and tree planting. TNC and the DNR also cooperate to maintain a regular regimen of prescribed fire on the property. In just a decade, those efforts have greatly improved the quality of forest habitat, restored native plant and animal communities and increased the overall diversity of life found on the preserve.

Visitors today—much like the Moodys of yesteryear—will find themselves enchanted by the atmospheric beauty of this forest and all it shelters.

Visit

  • Preserve Guidelines: 

    • Trail is wheelchair accessible for large tire outdoor type wheelchairs (gravel surface). 

    • Guided tours are offered for educational groups and seasonal hunting is allowed in accordance with state game regulations. 

  • Trails: 

    Two interpretive trails curl through the preserve, offering more than five miles of year-round hiking. 

    • Tavia’s Trail: Three-mile loop traversing longleaf pine and wiregrass savannas, pine oak woodlands and loblolly pine flats. 

    • Altamaha River Trail: Two-mile loop exploring the floodplain forests and swamps of the Altamaha River bottomlands. It is fairly flat and can be muddy during periods of high water.

How Fire Can Restore a Forest (0:49) Two months of time-lapse video capture the stunning regrowth of the longleaf pine habitat at Moody Forest.

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