I tuned into the latest episode of Monroe Today to listen to my good friend Ms. Gilda Stanbery interview Kevin Walters of Dogwood Creek Hunting Preserve. Now, I don’t know about you all, but I had no idea Monroe County had a huntin’ preserve! Grab yourself somethin’ refreshing and sit back as I share everything I learned from the new episode.
For the Love of Huntin’
Kevin and Jane Walters are the owners and operators of Dogwood Creek Hunting Preserve. Dogwood Creek is a family passion tucked in the southwestern corner of Monroe County, where the family has been raisin’ quail going on 17 years now. The dream of creatin’ the establishment started from Mr. Kevin’s love of hunting. He was always fascinated by quail; as a little boy growin’ up on the east coast of Georgia, he would go on quail hunts with his family. As he got older, he attended Mercer University (where he met his wife, Jane) and then moved to Virginia to attend law school. “We lived in Texas for a while,” Mr. Kevin shared, “and then had the opportunity to come back to Georgia” to work as an attorney for ACCG, the Association of County Commissioners of Georgia. One of Mr. Kevin’s requests to Ms. Jane was that they move to a place with land and not in the city, which is how they ended up in the charming countryside of Culloden! “I grew up in the country and I prefer that,” he confided to Ms. Gilda. They found a little spot and decided to look into quail development as a part-time hobby.
How It All Started
In 2009, they opened Dogwood Creek Farms as an LLC, where they raised quail and pheasant. They would sell the birds to hunting preserves, dog trainers, and anyone else who was interested in purchasin’ some quail or pheasant. For example, “we used to sell it to wounded warrior guys in Kentucky,” Mr. Kevin explained. Ms. Jane, his wife, is from London, England, where they have their own huntin’ traditions. By combining their love for the sport, they decided to switch gears and open up a hunting preserve. This change officially happened on October 1, 2025 with the start of the huntin’ season. The Georgia Department of Natural Resources designated Dogwood Creek Hunting Preserve as a genuine hunting preserve and as an agent of the state, which means you can buy hunting preserve licenses on site!
The Hunting Preserve Experience
Dogwood Creek Hunting Preserve is unlike other hunting preserves in Georgia. Here you get a more intimate experience because the party size is smaller, and you are not hunting thousands of acres. When you reserve a half or full day hunt, the first stop is the skeet shootin’ spot, which helps give the professional hunting guide an idea of the skill level of each member of the group. From there, your party is joined by the property’s traditional huntin’ dogs, which are an English Pointer to find the birds and an English Cocker Spaniel to flush them out! Mr. Kevin’s team raises the quail to live in the wild on the property so at night, they’re kept safe in a callback box. Any eggs that are laid are incubated and hatched, providing a sustainable way to repopulate the property’s quail.
Somethin’ for Everyone to Experience
Now, while you may be thinkin’ to yourself that this establishment is only good for those who like to hunt, there’s so much more than meets the eye at Dogwood Creek Hunting Preserve! First off, the family has worked hard to establish relationships with local businesses to create an inviting experience for visitors. For example, Queen Bee Coffee Company crafts a special blend of coffee that’s served on site, and Chef Robert of Grits Cafe has curated a special catered dining menu for corporate events. As Mr. Kevin and Ms. Jane continue to forge relationships with the community, the possibilities are endless!
Quail season runs October 1 through March 31. The folks at the preserve are offering off-season activities, too. This includes mule rides, couples skeet shootin’ nights, more corporate events, and cowboy camps! These cowboy camps feature a catered dinner by the pond, a night on the property in a tent or bunkhouse, and flameless fires to set the mood for an evening of adventure! Dogwood Creek will also soon be included in the State Department of Agriculture’s 341 Agritourism Trail. Another exciting endeavor that they’re workin’ on is gettin’ licensed to have food trucks on site. Mr. Kevin wants to sell quail & prosciutto sandwiches in the morning for people to grab on the way to work or custard pies at dinnertime, and maybe some cherry-smoked quail, too!
Alright y’all, I know I’ve been talking your ears off, so I’ll let you go with one last quote from Mr. Kevin: he wants visitors to drive by 20 years from now and think to themselves about “how they had the best time of their lives on the property!” I have no doubt they will.
You can listen to the latest Monroe Today episode below!
‘Till Next Time,
Your Storyteller