Hailed for its well-balanced live-work-play environment, the city of Statesboro is the largest city and seat of Bulloch County in east Georgia.
The city has gone a long way since its foundation in 1803, with less than 25 residents in its fold.
Statesboro started its growth as a small trading town supplying essentials to its neighboring cotton plantations.
The fortunes of cotton propelled Statesboro’s economy throughout the 19th century.
Later in the 1930s, tobacco became the economic driver for Statesboro, enabling it to recover quicker than most jurisdictions from the Great Depression.
An institution of higher learning, the Georgia Southern University established in 1906, is also a pillar of Statesboro’s growth.
This university has its flagship campus in the city, which is also host to the East Georgia State College and Ogeechee Technical College.
Discover more about this city celebrating the lifestyle traditions of the South in this list of things to do in Statesboro.
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This art center, located on East Main Street, is an inclusive institution advocating for the growth of a broad range of artistic activities.
It is housed in the vintage building of the Bank of Statesboro, which was inaugurated in 1895.
The Averitt Center for the Arts also runs the Emma Kelly Theater in its adjoining building, which is also a Statesboro downtown landmark.
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This building formerly housed the Georgia Theater, which opened in 1936 and operated as a movie house until it closed in the 1980s.
The Emma Kelly Theater, now occupying the building, serves as the stage for the theatrical productions of the Averitt Center of the Arts.
The center also presents art exhibits in its gallery at the old Bank of Statesboro building.
You can feel the vibrant beat of campus life at Georgia Southern University with a stroll around its Sweetheart Circle on Southern Drive.
This verdant promenade comes striking not only for its rolling lawn with stately oaks and pecan trees.
Since the early years of the university, Sweetheart Circle was an area for its male and female to socialize.
Because of this, it was eventually named Sweetheart Circle, boosted by stories that couples who walked around it thrice were sure to be married.
The Sweetheart Circle has been the scene of many wedding proposals and wedding rites.
Besides these, it also hosts a lot of campus events, such as the annual Lighting of Sweetheart Circle in December.
This botanic garden is located on Bland Avenue at the campus of Georgia Southern University.
Sprawling over more than 11 acres, the Garden of the Coastal Plain boasts woodland trails, paths, and courtyards.
The garden keeps a growing collection of native plants, including more than 20 of Georgia’s protective species.
The Garden of the Coastal Plain also features original farmstead buildings constructed in the early 20thcentury.
Other points of interest in the garden include the Rural Life Museum, the Whelchel Camellia Garden, the Kennedy Outdoor Classroom, a children’s vegetable garden, heritage gardens, and a bog and a sandhill.
This facility, which opened in 2018, is on Forest Drive at the campus of Georgia Southern University.
Its acreage also features the Lamar Q Ball Jr. Raptor Center, an amphitheater, and a 12-acre wetland preserve.
During a visit to the Center for Wildlife Education, you can watch eagles take flight or touch its resident python.
Besides eagles, the birds of prey on display at the center include vultures, hawks, falcons, owls, and kestrels.
In the center, you can also explore the various habitats of mammals, raptors, and reptiles.
The Center’s wetland preserve features a capture basin and a small pond that holds a beaver lodge.
Self-guided nature walks on the Children’s Discovery Trail can also highlight a visit to the Center for Wildlife Education.
The museum is located in the Rosenwald Building on Southern Drive at the campus of Georgia Southern University.
One of its permanent exhibits is Uncharted Worlds: The Natural History of Georgia’s Coastal Plain.
It features the dramatic pre-historic changes in Georgia’s landscape through millions of years.
The exhibit’s standout is the fossil of a 41-million-year-old whale, the oldest discovered in North America.
Another permanent museum display—Charted Worlds: The Cultural History of Georgia’s Coastal Plain—is as interesting.
It presents various artifacts highlighting the distinct heritage and traditions of Georgia’s Coastal Plain.
The stories that this exhibit weaves revolve around agriculture, slave labor, and the region’s contribution to American art and culture.
The S & S Greenway is a 2.75-mile walking/biking trail that stretches on the former Savannah and Statesboro Railroad right-of-way.
Its trailhead is located at Gentilly Road, featuring parking and restrooms, plus informational signage about the local ecosystem, wildlife, and habitat.
This multi-use trail is 12 feet wide and paved all the way.
From Gentilly Road, the trail continues eastward, crossing under the 301 Bypass.
Onward, the trail crosses Cawana Road and runs on the flank of Railroad Bed Road.
The trail ends at another trailhead located at the intersection of Pretoria-Rushing Road and Burkhalter Road.
The Trailhead here also features paved parking, restroom facilities, informational signage, a picnic area, water fountains, and park benches.
This trail starts on the south side of Memorial Park on Fair Road and heads northward to its terminus on Triangle Park at the intersection of East Main Street and Savannah Avenue.
Architecturally designed, the trail features 7,415 square yards of asphalt, landscaped islands, six tree varieties, and raised pedestrian crosswalks.
It also provides custom-designed benches, bike racks, picnic tables, and trash receptacles.
The trail enables locals and visitors to walk and picnic while exploring the downtown area.
At the trail’s northern edge, you will see Triangle Park’s time-worn but still-flowing fountain at the entrance of a serene alcove of camellias and azaleas.
This family fun center is located on Old Register Road, featuring outdoor recreational facilities over 38 acres plus 42,000 square feet of indoor amusement platforms.
Its outdoor attractions include a mini-golf course, batting cages, and the Coca-Cola 125 Raceway, where you can have fun riding fully electric go-carts.
Indoors, the action shifts to the Clubhouse Statesboro’s 24 bowling lanes, four of which are luxury lanes in a private suite.
This amusement center also boasts a state-of-the-art arcade and laser tag arena.
The Clubhouse Statesboro, in addition, provides an onsite restaurant serving sandwiches, desserts, as well as beer, and wine.
Statesboro takes pride in its Splash in the Boro Family Water Park & Aquatic Center off of Highway 24 and the 301 Bypass.
Here, you can pick from several pools and other water features for different levels of fun and enjoyment.
The park includes a zero-depth entry play pool with low-level water designed for a variety of ages.
It also added a Wave Pool in 2017 with a capacity of 340,000 gallons of water and a spray playground.
You can also jump into the park’s 768,000-gallon Lazy River, which meanders over 800 feet, circling the play and leisure pools.
Other park features are as inviting like the five-lane Mat Racer slide, Spray Ground, plus three waterslides composed of two body slides and one inner tube slide.
The pools of the park are under a portable dome structure and are open year-round.
The park has a concession stand with a seating area and a menu offering pizza, nachos, cheeseburgers, and sandwiches, among other food items.
Statesboro is home to the first disc golf course in Bulloch County, and playing on it is free.
This facility is located on Mill Creek Road near the Statesboro Airport, just off Highway 301 North.
Players can pick from a 9-hole beginner layout or an 18-hole intermediate/advanced setup on this disc golf course.
The course’s Miller Creek Road area is also home to the arena of the Bulloch County Horseman’s Association.
Besides its horse shows and other equestrian events, the association also offers various horse-riding lessons like showmanship and walk-trot.
This 155-acre park is adjacent north of the Splash Boro Water Park & Aquatic Center.
The myriads of outdoor recreational facilities at the Mill Creek Regional Park are open to the public from sunrise to sunset.
This park provides 15 lighted baseball/softball fields, 12 of which are lighted.
It also features seven soccer/football fields, with four of them also lighted.
In addition, the park offers two playgrounds, nine picnic pavilions, eight public restrooms, one lake, and a 1.25-mile walking trail with workout stations.
Open to the public, this 18-hole championship golf course offers par 72 play over 6,900 yards from the back tees and 5,300 yards from the front tees.
The course, accessible via Club Road, was opened in October 2013.
It occupies167 acres on a site six miles south of Georgia Southern University’s main campus.
This layout offers five sets of tees, enabling play for various skill levels.
Its fairways have 53 bunkers around the greens, and 11 of its 18 holes pose water hazards.
The facility also has a 30-station driving range, chipping greens, and a 10,000-square-foot putting green.
It also boasts an 8,000-square-foot clubhouse with a pro shop, snack bar, and meeting space.
The Kiwanis Club of Statesboro has been holding this annual agricultural fair for some 60 years.
It aims to bring a fun-filled event to Bulloch County and its surrounding areas.
This event is held at Kiwanis Fairgrounds on Highway 67, traditionally around the third week of October.
The fair offers carnival rides and games along with livestock shows, live entertainment, local food vendors, local business booths, and agricultural history displays.
These exhibits are presented in the fair’s “Our Heritage Village,” featuring old-fashioned stores, bee-keeping displays, a chicken barn, a blacksmith shop, and old farm tools.
The fair also features the vintage shotgun-style Aldrich House displaying late 19th and early 20th-century items like furniture and a working cotton spinning wheel.
A production craft brewpub, Eagle Creek Brewing Company, opened in 2013 on Savannah Avenue in downtown Statesboro.
It brews beer not only for local customers but also for statewide distribution.
The local favorites you can try in its brewpub include Tea Party Amber, Spot Tail, and River Street Praline.
Watch out too for the Gas Light Series, which is only available every Thursday at the brewery’s Taproom.
This series is where the brewmasters put their creativity to the hilt in making small-batch, limited-release beers using unconventional and seasonal ingredients.
The brewery also has an onsite restaurant for customers to want to pair its beer with great food.
Local farmers and vendors not only from Bulloch but also from surrounding counties join this seasosnal marketplace on South Main Street.
The Statesboro Farmers Market runs from April to November every Saturday from 9:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
The goods available in this market include fresh produce, herbs, milk, goat milk products, and homemade goodies.
In your shopping, you can also enjoy food truck fare, fresh coffee, homemade lemonade, and live music.
A visit to the Statesboro Farmers Market also opens the opportunity to browse items at The Hot Vintage Market on East Grady Street nearby.
This store was a home turned into a boutique selling well-maintained antiques, as well as modern home décor, interesting focal pieces, and gift items.
The Explorseum is an exciting indoor interactive playground that’s a must-try if you’re with children.
It’s a modern way of stimulating a child’s intelligence through fun activities and engaging exhibits.
Tons of varied activities can be done through their play center, such as learning Spanish, cooking, and exploring their talent in art and science.
With so many things to do, The Explorseum is a perfect bonding activity for toddlers and their parents or guardians.
It’s located along Northside Drive West, near Downtown Statesboro.
Luetta Moore Park is a great city park that gets the job done if you’re looking for something nearby to do when staying in Statesboro.
It has everything you’d want in a park, but it’s best known for its swimming pool and splash pad that’s perfect when visiting the hot summer months.
The park is newly renovated as of 2023, so you’d be ecstatic to try out its modern amenities such as its basketball courts and newly added swimming pool.
Located in the residential neighborhoods of Statesboro, Luetta Park is also a great respite after a busy day.
You can access the park along Martin Luther King Jr Drive.
If you’re checking the numerous attractions at Georgia Southern University, you’d be hard-pressed to miss out on its Botanic Garden.
The Botanic Garden at Georgia Southern University is a scenic spot brimming with all sorts of shrubberies, flowers, and trees.
A couple of ponds and rustic wooden barn houses are also found here, accentuating the place as a serene place for reflection.
Whether you want a quiet stroll or you’re planning to do photography, the Botanic Garden at Georgia Southern University is a must-see.
It’s conveniently located along Bland Avenue, near the bustling districts of the city.
If you’re a passionate fur parent and you’re bringing your pooch with you during your travel, Statesboro City Dog Park is a great addition to your itinerary.
The park is conveniently located near the downtown area of Statesboro, making it a great stopover if your pet needs to run loose.
The park is well fenced and has beautiful greenery—a great spot for all breeds to get some exercise and meet other dogs.
There is plenty of shade and water available at Statesboro City Dog Park as well, along with benches and tables.
A great all-rounder, you can access this dog park along East Grady Street.
Shelby Park is a hidden gem in Statesboro, located along North Edgewood Drive in the residential neighborhoods east of Georgia Southern University.
Shelby Park is best known for its scenic lake and lush greenery—a perfect spot for a tranquil afternoon.
There’s a bit of fish found at the park’s lake, so go ahead and bring your fishing rod if you want.
Lots of ducks and geese are found at Shelby Park, making it a great spot to bring children to have fun observing them.
Large, wooded walking paths are found throughout as well, adding intimacy to its overall atmosphere.
Statesboro is a city offering the charms of a small college town where the live-work-play environment is well-balanced.
Plan a visit to this city where easy-going activities and things to do can leave you refreshed and relaxed after a trip.
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