Charles Harrold Nature Preserve

Visitor update — September 10, 2026: Charles Harrold Preserve is temporarily closed while restoration work continues after Hurricane Helene. Check The Nature Conservancy’s visitor information for reopening updates before planning a visit.

Located in Candler County, near Metter in eastern Georgia, Charles Harrold Preserve protects 73 acres of ecologically significant land. The preserve includes two distinct habitats: a sandhill community and a mixture of flatwoods and alluvial swamp. The sandhills are dominated by wiregrass, scrub oaks and longleaf pines. A number of rare and beautiful plants grow among the wiregrass clumps, including the silky camellia and the state-threatened Georgia plume, a deciduous shrub that grows as large as a small tree.

Many animals inhabit the site. Seven species of fish live in Stockinghead Creek, which runs along the property line, and 37 species of birds have been observed in the preserve. A variety of amphibians and reptiles are also present, including the state-threatened gopher tortoise.

Seventy-two acres of the land were donated to the Nature Conservancy in 1964, making it the first preserve donated to the Conservancy in Georgia. It is named for Dr. Charles C. Harrold, who bought the land in the 1930s. His widow deeded the land to Ms. C. Lee and Mr. F.R. Dulany in 1958, who then transferred the site to the Conservancy.