UPDATED - FLOWERS: Experience 13 State Parks this summer within a day's drive of Colquitt County

May 31—MOULTRIE — This summer, I am going to take Colquitt County on an exploration of the 14 Georgia State Parks within a day trip of our county. Visiting these parks are a phenomenal way of getting some fresh air and exercise while giving the family a unique memory to treasure.

Plus experiencing the beauty of Georgia is never a bad thing!

The majority of State Parks offer cottages, cabins or some form of camping or RV hookups, which means those 36 other State Parks further away can quickly turn into weekend quickaways with the proper equipment and planning.

Picnic sites, large grass areas and playgrounds are also provided at most parks, and many of them are focused around a body of water so things such as fishing, kayaking and boating are available.

A fair amount offer geocaching and golf, but not always the traditional sport Tiger Woods helped make so popular. Disc golf, minigolf and footgolf are also options at a lot of the parks.

Not only do State Parks open up a plethora of outdoor activities to choose from that provide the body with the fresh air and daily vitamin C it requires, but it also gives an alternate way to spend a sunny day with the family or even alone.

A day trip, to me, is something within a 2.5 hour drive, one way. That would mean a total of five hours in the car, not including potty or gas breaks, and, especially for smaller ones, that can start to become quite a long time.

2.5 hours one way is the perfect distance because the train can leave the station, so to speak, around 8-9 a.m. and have the car roll into the destination by mid-morning or lunchtime.

This gives the family roughly 4-6 hours to eat the beautifully prepared picnic of turkey pinwheels with sides, or whatever your family's favorite is, and explore the park's amenities before having to climb back in the car and, fingers crossed, be lulled off to the white noise of the engine and gentle rocking of the frame on the drive home.

The 13 state parks that are within a day trip for those residents of Colquitt County are: Reed Bingham, Seminole, Kolomoki Mounds, George T. Bagby, Providence "Littlest Grand" Canyon, Florence Marina, Standing Boy Creek, Georgia Veterans, Little Ocmulgee, General Coffee, Laura S. Walker and Suwannee River.

All of these parks require parking passes.

An annual pass can be purchased for 50 dollars. It would mean that by the end of summer each visit would only cost 3.5 dollars, provided no weeks were skipped.

But life happens, and if a week or two is missed, that's okay. There is a whole year to get your money's worth. The more times the pass is used, the cheaper each visit technically becomes and if the pass is used semi-continuously throughout the year the visits could be brought down into the pennies.

For those families that enjoy the outdoors and the activities you could participate in at the parks, then the annual pass is absolutely the way to go. It saves a lot of money in the long run, especially because Georgia is a state that stays hot enough to visit the parks nearly year round.

And for those who can afford this option and know you would utilize it, I implore you to choose this option because the fund received from the annual passes is largely used for maintenance of the wonderful parks you are enjoying.

If you don't want to commit to the annual pass though I completely understand, and there are two other options.

The first is to pay the daily rate of five dollars, but if you start going frequently, this adds up quickly and can become quite expensive. I would really only recommend this option if you are a one and done kind of person and you know you won't be returning to any of the State parks.

The second option is to use your PINE Moultrie Library card.

Now, where I grew up, near Seattle, things were very different. A library card was for checking books in and out and that was it. No special perks. So, it never crossed my mind that here in South Georgia a library might be used for more than that.

I was wrong, and am happy to admit that.

Melba Sherrill Weeks, who follows the Moultrie Observer on social media, commented that she has used her library card to check out a park pass on multiple occasions.

I was immediately intrigued and called the Moultrie public library to get more details and verified the library keeps state park passes on hand for those with the PINE library card to check out.

When the pass is checked out it can be kept for two weeks before it has to be either returned or renewed. There is no limit to the number of times the State Park Pass can be renewed.

The pass is good for two adults and four children.

So, now you have three options on how to get that pass. All you have to do is pick which one you're taking and get the pass and then you can explore the State parks alongside me.

Each week this summer I will visit a different State Park and share my experience. Consider it a vetting process to decide where to take the family for the perfect family day trip.