Watson Mill Bridge Review
Watson Mill Bridge State Park is located in eastern Georgia right outside of Comer. The park is a little over 1,000 acres and features over 15 miles of horse trails, an equestrian campground, stables, and the largest remaining covered bridge in Georgia.
The bridge was built in 1885 and is amazing! Unfortunately, you cannot ride your horses through it or to it, but it’s definitely worth driving down to and checking out while you’re at the park for a ride. Make sure that when you’re coming into the park that you come in via Hwy 72 NOT 22. You cannot drive a trailer over the bridge and there is no trailer-friendly turn around near the bridge.
They have a large day parking lot with trail-head access, a large mounting block, handicapped mounting platform, water, and wash rack. There is a $5 parking fee if you do not have a GA State Park pass and a trail fee as well. There are fee schedules posted and a drop box available at the day lot.
They have fantastic facilities for camping as well. Sites 22 (closest to stables), 23, and 28 are pull through. The rest are back in sites. Sites 25/26 are their double site. All sites are large and wooded and have water, electric, a fire ring with grill, and a picnic table. They have a really nice bathhouse with individual locking rooms that each have a sink, toilet, and shower. There is also a laundry facility at the bathhouse and three bunk cabins directly adjacent to both the stables and the bathhouse. When you exit the camping area, you will see their dump station and dumpster straight ahead.
They have three stables. The one closest to the bathhouse and cabins is a six-stall barn that starts with stall 33 and ends with 38. The middle barn is directly next to the first and is an eight-stall barn that has stalls 39 through 46. The third barn is on the other side of the drive leading into the camping area; it is an eight-stall barn that has stalls 47 through 54. Stalls are well maintained and large. They’re high-walled on three sides and have a heavy-duty, double-latched door. Stalls are matted and also have a water hook for your bucket. You will need to bring your own shavings or pellets and clean your stall before you leave. The park does provide wheelbarrows, shovels, pitchforks, and brooms for you to use.
Trails are barefoot friendly. Bikes and dogs are not allowed on the equestrian trails. They are mostly clay, sand, and pine needle trails. There is a mix of both single-track and wider trails. Trails can be rooty - especially in the moderate incline sections, but the roots aren’t bad. The trails are relatively easy with no strenuous inclines. There are a lot of wooded sections and quite a few sections that wind along streams and beside a larger river. The yellow and black trails have old homesite remnants from the 1800s. There is also a fantastic picnic area along the river where the green and orange trails meet. The picnic area has a mounting block, picnic tables, hitching posts, and a water pump. We have seen the pump working and broken - so don’t count on it being a viable water source. Even though there is a lot of water on the trail, all of the stream crossings are by culvert and the river has a steep bank. There aren’t a lot of opportunities to water your horse on the trail, so take advantage of it when you can.
Watson Mill Bridge State Park has a large deer population - the deer are unique because they’re so used to the horses that they do not typically flee, but just stand there calmly and watch you ride by.
They also have a large wild hog population. We saw the most activity on the orange trail near the river. The park is currently trying to trap and remove them, but the hogs keep evading the traps. Two of our riders ran into a group of 25-30 hogs on the trail. They kept their distance and ran when they yelled at them.
Check out our video review for a lot of footage of the camping area and trails. We highly recommend a visit to this park!