Our family chose an old-fashioned Thanksgiving in a cabin by Lake Blackshear, complete with a vintage train ride.
Fall is special for our family. We have two kids born in November right around Thanksgiving. And since Thanksgiving is a holiday of gratitude, it’s one of the best times to thank and honor our family with a little fall vacation. We chose… Lake Blackshear!
Welcome to Lake Blackshear Resort & Golf Club, which is throwing out some subtle fall colors in South Georgia’s own special way. Like I love the way that sunsets shimmer off the lake, and the purple native grasses are in full bloom.
Last month, for Thanksgiving weekend, we chose to stay in the lakeside cabins for their coziness and lake views. The resort’s 10 cozy cabins offer lots of amenities (plus, there are 82 RV and tent camping spaces at Georgia Veterans State Park, part of the experience here). Lake Blackshear Resort & Golf Club is pet-friendly and allows pets for a nominal fee in some of the cabins.
Book your Christmastime cabin:
- 2 large bedrooms for my husband and me, and the two kids, with 2 queen beds in each bedroom (so you can sleep 8 if needed).
- Comfortable family room with a fireplace
- Large bath and a fully equipped kitchen
- Outdoor grill and a screened porch with rocking chairs
Insider’s Tip: Are the cabins booked? Try glamping at Lake Blackshear! There are 6 sites with 2 configurations. These look awesome.
During our stay, there was plenty for everyone in the family to do. The park features the Georgia Veterans Memorial Golf Course, an 18-hole golf course and clubhouse. My husband and I got in a round while the kids spent time exploring the park and participating in interpretive programs at the Visitor Center. Feel like exploring? Let’s go! You can go geocaching and hit the nature trails for hiking and biking. The Marina offers boat rentals, fishing pole rentals, kayak and canoe rentals during the Spring and Summer months.
There’s more: As a family we played a 18-hole round of Disc golf course in the pine forest across from the airfield. There’s also an outdoor fitness center, swimming beach (seasonal) and a grass airfield that locals use to fly model airplanes. Georgia Veteran’s State Park also has a military museum and archery & air rifle range.
While we could have enjoyed all our meals in our fully equipped kitchen in the cabin, we did venture out to Cordelia’s, the onsite restaurant near the conference center, for dinner twice – including their annual Thanksgiving Day Buffet. The food was amazing, the service was impeccable, and everyone came back to the cabin with full bellies and smiles of satisfaction.
The second time we ate dinner at Cordelia’s, my husband and I ventured out to the firepit for great conversation with some other guests who were staying in the campgrounds.
Our family highly recommends booking an excursion aboard the SAM Shortline Excursion Train for day trips to visit Americus and Plains or on one of their party themed excursions.
Insider’s Tip: S.A.M. is named for the original rail spur line that stretched from Savannnah to Americus and then on to Montgomery, Alabama.
Imagine an adventure in classic railroad travel with relaxing views and rolling-down-the-line feelings. The vintage train cars vary in ambiance, and all provide climate-controlled comfort and large windows to take in the passing South Georgia scenery between towns.
SAM Shortline’s itinerary varies and rotates stops at these scenic locations:
- Georgia Veterans State Park and Lake Blackshear Resort & Golf Club (our platform).
- City of Leslie, which hosts the Antique Dogwood Festival each year in April.
- City of Americus, a Victorian town with gorgeously restored period buildings such as the Rylander Theatre and the Windsor Hotel, not to mention the wealth of shopping and a distillery.
- City of Plains, the small Georgia town made famous by our 39thS. President Jimmy Carter, where you can visit the Jimmy Carter National Historic Park and see Carter’s high school, boyhood home, farm and more.
Check out the Christmas schedules for the Candy Cane Express and Cordele Holiday Train. The year 2025 has a whole lot more fun with train themes like Day Out with Thomas, Valentine’s Dinner Train, Wine & Cheese Train, Murder Mystery Dinner Train and dozens more rides.
- For a complete schedule, pricing, and to make a reservation visit: samshortline.com or call: 229-276-0755 or 877-427-2457.
No matter the season or occasion, there’s always a good reason to spend some time at Lake Blackshear Resort & Golf Club! Maybe next year we’ll delay our Thanksgiving getaway and make it a Christmas one instead.
- Laura M.
