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I recently had the opportunity to go camping with Jay (Ghostfreehiker) and a couple of other buddies down on Cumberland Island on the Georgia coast. Cumberland Island is now a designated National Seashore accessible only by ferry from St. Mary's, GA with the number of day visitors and campers restricted so as to ensure the tranquility and solitude that the island is known for. The island is larger than Manhattan Island and with hiking being the main mode of travel unless you are one of the few people who live there with a car or you rent one of the bikes so there is an incredible amount of space to explore and hike.
Wildlife is fairly abundant on the island with the feral horses probably being the most unique sight although when the sun went down, we quickly realized that we were far outnumbered by the armadillo and raccoons. We also got to see some deer, turkey, snakes, spiders and dolphins over the weekend but thankfully no alligators or poisonous snakes.
Cumberland has a pretty varied history with estates on the island founded by Revolutionary War hero Gen. Nathanial Greene and Gen. Lighthorse Harry Lee. In the late 1880s The Carnegies acquired property there and built a number of estates on the island. Dungeness, probably the grandest of these burned in 1959 and the island was donated to the National Park Service for future control. So far, all efforts at development on the island have thankfully been stopped. Most people have heard of the island after JFK, Jr was married there in the small one roomed First African Baptist Church in the 1990s.
There are several campsites on the island. Sea Camp is a short walk from the ferry dock but if you are more adventurous, Stafford Campground is a 3.5 mile hike as well as 3 other campsites up to 10.6 miles away. Since we only had one night there, we chose Stafford and had an awesome hike through the live oak forests just on the other side of the beach sand dunes.
Although there are no official clothing optional beaches or camping areas, the island is pretty remote and you can enjoy the beaches or hiking textile free as we did as long as you are careful and considerate of others.
Wildlife is fairly abundant on the island with the feral horses probably being the most unique sight although when the sun went down, we quickly realized that we were far outnumbered by the armadillo and raccoons. We also got to see some deer, turkey, snakes, spiders and dolphins over the weekend but thankfully no alligators or poisonous snakes.
Cumberland has a pretty varied history with estates on the island founded by Revolutionary War hero Gen. Nathanial Greene and Gen. Lighthorse Harry Lee. In the late 1880s The Carnegies acquired property there and built a number of estates on the island. Dungeness, probably the grandest of these burned in 1959 and the island was donated to the National Park Service for future control. So far, all efforts at development on the island have thankfully been stopped. Most people have heard of the island after JFK, Jr was married there in the small one roomed First African Baptist Church in the 1990s.
There are several campsites on the island. Sea Camp is a short walk from the ferry dock but if you are more adventurous, Stafford Campground is a 3.5 mile hike as well as 3 other campsites up to 10.6 miles away. Since we only had one night there, we chose Stafford and had an awesome hike through the live oak forests just on the other side of the beach sand dunes.
Although there are no official clothing optional beaches or camping areas, the island is pretty remote and you can enjoy the beaches or hiking textile free as we did as long as you are careful and considerate of others.
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