Sea Camp Campground — Cumberland Island National Seashore

One of the greatest charms about Cumberland Island is that it is still somewhat of a little kept secret. Cumberland is one of, if not THE largest underdeveloped barrier islands in Georgia, and certainly is the southernmost isle boasting some 36,000 acres of protected nature and wildlife sanctuary and miles upon miles of unspoiled white sand beaches. Originally settled as a plantation, the Carnegie family turned it into a winter holiday island playground that now the isle is protected and managed by the NPS, which has maintained nothing short of a pristine, idyllic overgrown island oasis complete with loggerhead sea turtles, wild turkeys, white-tailed deer, feral hogs, American alligators, wild boards, squirrels, nine-banded armadillos, raccoons and wild horses, whose bloodlines can be traced directly to the royal stables of the Arabian royalty. Please let me know if you ever find another campground of such distinction! 

For us nature lovers, there are 3 distinct ecosystems here: salt marshes, gnarled live oak tree forests and, of course, pristine white sand beaches. With this opening salvo in mind, let’s address the biggest question that no doubt abates for this particular campground– HOLY COW! (Nod here to my broadcasting hero, Harry Caray) … Cumberland Island looks like one very difficult place to get to!!! This is undoubtedly true. But is it worth it? My simple response: Yes! Absolutely. 

It’s a lot of work, that’s to be sure, but if you are looking for an ABSOLUTE GEM of a seaside campground oasis to plot your particular camping experience in, then you’ve just found a slice of island heaven on earth. But before we get to the ‘payload,’ let’s discuss the toil that’s required to get to Cumberland Isle. To begin with, the ONLY way most people can arrive to Cumberland Island is by ferry from St. Mary’s. The only other way is by private boat or private plane via Stafford Airport. The challenge with arriving by ferry is compounded by a number of factors:

(1) Whatever supplies you choose to go camping with, you will need to ‘wheel it on’ the actual ferry, which likely requires a hard examination of what really is essential versus ‘nice-to-have’;

(2) You will need to calculate both your entrance AND exit to this enchanting island by more than a couple of hours on both sides of arrival and departure, so make sure you research embarkation and disembarkation times closely and buy your ferry tickets WELL IN ADVANCE; and

(3) Whatever you actually need for the entire time on this island, you’re going to have to bring – because there’s ABSOLUTELY no markets or shops to save you if you’ve forgotten anything … 

SO, if you are on OCD planner/ camper/ packer like me, Sea Camp Beach on Cumberland Island represents, perhaps, one of the greatest primitive camping expedition challenges out there … well, at least on or near the Florida–Georgia line. 

Before I get into the specific campground I visited on Cumberland Island, I want to be clear, there’s 5 (count ‘em 5!) individual campgrounds to choose from, which include the 2 designated campgrounds of Sea Camp and Stafford Beach, along with the two wilderness campgrounds of Hickory Hill, Yankee Paradise and Brickhill Bluff. And in order to camp in any one of these 5 campgrounds, you need to secure a permit, which will occur when you book on Recreation.gov. Please note for this particular review, I will be focused on Sea Camp on Cumberland Island. 

I hope to return to this majestic island where wild horses roam free on some of the most pristine beaches I have ever experienced. As for Sea Camp Beach Campground itself, you’ll want to jump off on the second ferry stop called Sea Camp Dock, wherein you’ll disembark upon a pretty amazing, modern ferry landing with acres of sea crabs conquering the beachhead (although to be honest, it’s more mud than sand) on either side of the jetty. Upon arrival, you’ll discover a well-established Ranger Station with actual helpful Rangers that will provide you all the useful information you will need for the entirety of your stay. 

From here, you’ll either continue moving eastward with your mobile moving trolley – BUT IF YOU DON’T, you’re in LUCK as Cumberland Island provides, at this particular stop, about a dozen or so complimentary luggage trollies that will help enable you to bring all your camping gear to the designated location. That said, it’s a good ½ mile trek from the Ranger’s Station to Sea Camp Beach Campground, so be prepared for this slight, albeit long haul. I have to admit, hauling everything that you need to camp with by foot is a major drag, but trust me, if you plan well, you won’t mind the labor here, as you’ll get to the payoff soon enough. 

Sea Camp Beach Campground is formed by a simple circle that is intersected by Sea Camp Road (the very pathway you are either walking or biking on), with sites #1–12 on the southern loop and sites #13-16 on the northern loop. There are 2 group sites, conveniently called Group South and Group North that have their own distinct paths just 1/8 mile before reaching the Sea Camp loop proper. Each campsite is allowed just 2 tents, but the grounds themselves for each site were very spacious and offered substantial privacy and distance in between sites. While primitive, you’ll still have a picnic table (some sites had 2), fire ring w/ fold-over grill (actually in really great condition), very good sized bear-proof food storage lockers, hanging trash or lantern pole and some very odd small sheltered stand that looked like an open-air bird house - we could not for the life of us figure out what it was for, other than for perhaps putting a lantern inside of, but alas, ours didn’t fit! Other than this, that’s it. You’ll have access to a community bathroom and shower facility where there is ‘drinking water’ although we used our own. Lastly, depending upon which site you have, the walk to the beach is just a short 20 minute walk away and features a brilliant wooden promenade and some of the most beautiful beachheads with next to zero crowds. Check-in and check-out are the same: 10am. Maximum # of people per site is 6. 

Insider’s tips? I have a bunch for this particular campground: (1) If you have bikes, BRING’ EM – and even better, if you can outfit your bikes with attachments that will allow you to haul your own wagon or trollies by bike, then you’ll be completely set. But do ensure that your bikes have the right tires on them – you will want the wider, thicker tires that will make biking on sand trails easier than the slim tires you might be used to using on long-distance road biking. We were super glad we brought our own bikes as after speaking to other campers, they couldn’t bike as the waiting list at the bike rental was 2 days long; (2) Bring your insect repellant, citronella and mosquito foggers! Although you are somewhat near the ocean and would expect a decent breeze to keep the bugs from biting, trust me, every camping site at Sea Camp Beach Campground is in the thick of the island jungle and without proper repellant, you will have a miserable experience; (3) My cell carrier is AT&T and I had next to zero connectivity – which was great! But the real point here is to prepare not to be able to communicate with the outside world during your entire stay here; (4) There is solid shade in all of the campground sites that we saw, so you wouldn’t necessarily need to bring a tarp or worry about erecting a canopy of any sort, unless you wanted to be protected from potential rainfall; (5) While the ferry company will sell you firewood ($6/bundle), what little they did have was all wet, so we were glad we brought 3 firewood bundles; (6) For those who don’t want to camp, you’re still in luck as you can book a night or two at Greyfield Inn (the site for JFK Jr.’s wedding);(7) Cumberland Island is 18 miles long and 3 miles wide, so if you didn’t bring a bike, make sure you bring a great pair of hiking shoes / boots!; (8) The only electricity outlets you will find are located at the Ranger’s Station, so ensure you have USB chargers and / or a small generator; and (9) Either upon leaving St. Mary’s or returning from Cumberland Isle after what is hopefully nothing short of a fantastic camping experience, if you are in the mood for a good meal, then check out Riverside Café and Seagles for typical seafood plates or have an amazing breakfast at Cedar Oak Café, which offers up typical southern fare such as corned beef hash, grits, biscuits & gravy or new twists like banana foster oatmeal, which was nothing short of excellent. 

Happy Camping!

Cumberland Island is a beautiful pristine National Seashore accessible by ferry off the coast of Georgia. We tent camped there in the middle of June 2021. It was a hot time of year but under the canopy of the live oak trees where the tent sites are located (Sea Camp) was easily 10+ degrees cooler than elsewhere. However, be warned, it was extremely humid. You might consider taking a small battery-operated fan. If I return, I will try to visit during a more cool season of the year. 

The tent sites are large, roomy, and equipped with a picnic table, fire ring, pole for hanging stuff, and a big metal lockable wildlife-proof box. There is no electricity or water except at the shower/restroom building that is near the campsites. You can borrow a cart to take your tent and supplies from the boat to the campsite (Seacamp only - the more distant campsites (on the north side of the island) are hike & carry only). You can also bring your own wagon/cart on the boat (we did). You can rent a bicycle on the island at the ranger station or bring your own. The ferry charges $10 to transport your own bike). Otherwise, the approximately 45-minute ferry ride costs $15 per person. You need to make a reservation in advance online (https://www.cumberlandislandferry.com/st-marys-cumberland-island-ferry/). You will need to reserve the campsite well in advance (they fill up quickly) and pay online (https://www.nps.gov/cuis/planyourvisit/camping.htm). You may pay the national part fee (parking fee?) of $20 at the park station in St. Marys prior to boarding the ferry or you can pay it online in advance as well. I paid in advance online but the rangers reimbursed me after I got there because, to my surprise, it just happened to be National Park Week and the parking fee was waived as part of the celebration. Lucky me.

The island is absolutely beautiful with miles of pristine beach with lovely waves and a luscious live oak forest. You can swim. Watch out for jellyfish. I flew a kite, too. Watch the sunrise in the morning and at night, you might get an unpolluted view of the stars. Expect to see wild horses on the beach and the trails. You should not try to approach them or feed them but they came pretty close to me anyway. So it is easy to get a good look at them. A harmless armadillo visited our campsite one day.

The rangers were super nice. We enjoyed an outdoor lecture on sea turtles outside the ranger station when we were waiting for the ferry on our departure day. The rangers also provide tours of the south side of the island and the Dungeness Ruins (the remains of Lucy Carnegie’s island mansion).

I highly recommend camping (or even just visiting for the day) on Cumberland Island, Georgia.

Camping on Cumberland island for 8 days is an experience you will never forget. It rained every day while we were there and past clothing not drying it was still an amazing trip. Wild horses running on the beach is something to see. The ruins of an 1800s mansion built by a Carnagie that burned in 1959 is also one of those mysterious places that conjure emotions and kick the imagination in gear. Palm trees filling in the canopy of the largest stand of live oaks left in U.S. that all have spanish moss hanging in them like no movie production set designer could ever replicate make you feel like you time jumped to a jurassic age. Armadillo are scurrying around minding their own business dragging their noses through the sandy dirt eating ant trails and the only problem to deal with is Raccoons have learned how to unzip tents when they are unoccupied. Food will dissapear if you dont use the bear boxes each site has for food storage. Walking out on beach from tent every morning just to watch the sun rise over the Atlantic ocean while crab boats chug along being part of the scenery as the sun rises, you are first and only person on an 18 mile long beach until around 10 a.m. 7 out of 8 mornings, which means you get first dibs on shells left for you by mother nature overnight. I recommend this camp to everyone. Mosquitos are not as bad as we were told.

Arrived 10 mins too late to catch the ferry to the island ( had a flat tire on my 4 hour trip there). The people in the office made arrangements for me to catch the ferry at 3:15 ( which they rarely ever take passengers then). Very pleasant boat ride there. Had to hike about .75 mile to my site with a wagon that had prob 50lbs of gear. Through sand. It was the hardest hike I've ever done ( it was 94 outside). Forgot my water and was grateful that a guy on the ferry gave me a bottle of water on my way there. It was the most amazing campsite I've ever seen. Huge, shaded, outstanding are only a few words to describe it. Set up tent and went straight to the ocean. I almost cried when the boardwalk through the woods opened up to mountains of dunes and sky. Felt like I was in another world or someone's dream when I stood on the empty beach and watched the sunset. Only advice I would give is watch out for racoons. I saw a lot. Several were scratching at my tent once night came. They left once I played some music. Kind of creepy but normal. I will return again. This time with more time and more water!

Visiting Cumberland Island National Seashore requires some advance planning because you must reserve a site at Sea Camp, Stafford Beach, or one of the backcountry sites AND you must reserve a spot on the ferry from St. Marys that aligns with your camping reservation. Reservations can be made up to 6 months in advance and usually need to be made 5 - 6 months in advance for a site at Sea Camp.

I stayed on Cumberland Island in August and April. Months to avoid include July, August, and September because it is hot, humid, and later on in the summer - hurricane season! I did stay on Cumberland Island in August and the temperatures were record-setting hot almost everyday!!! The next time I visited I made sure to book the trip in April.

Sea Camp is a great way to ease into backpacking/camping/outdoor activities as it requires a short hike with gear to reach the campground but it is an established campground with (cold) showers and toilets and there are wagons available to help you haul your gear. In terms of packing, bring what you would bring for car camping but remember you are there to enjoy the beach and not to spend all day hauling gear from the dock to camp. After two trips, I've found that a backpack, cooler, camping supplies box, and chair are really all I need. Some campers bring showering systems to obtain hot water showers - I love the cold water showers especially after a hot day at the beach.

Once at Sea Camp, be sure to properly store your food inside the provided food cage AND make sure your food is properly wrapped and stored - ants can be problematic. If you have a cooler, you can buy more ice from the Ferry each morning at the Sea Camp Dock and you should plan to buy ice each day if you are staying for the hottest months.

I recommend a minimum of two nights but if you can stay for a week I highly recommend it. Staying multiple nights guarantees isolation and peace and quiet at night as the day visitors leave AND Cumberland Island is amazing for star gazing and staying multiple nights gives you a better chance of seeing shooting stars.

In terms of what to do - be sure to take a sunrise walk at least one morning - I took a sunrise walk and found SO MANY treasures washed ashore over a small area - I left them for others to enjoy but not until I lined them all up for a photo (see below). Also be sure to hike to and explore the Dungeness Ruins and make it a roundtrip hike by returning via the beach.

Finally, if you are only there a few days I would stay on the southern end of the island but if you are there for a more than a few days I suggest renting a bike (from the Ferry operators) and biking up to some of the other historical areas on the island.

In preparation for your trip, I highly recommend reading Untamed as it tells the history of Cumberland Island and the stories of some of its most famous residents.

Finally, be sure to hike some around sunset to see armadillos and wild horses.

This was my second time camping on Cumberland Island but the first time was 12 years prior at the then primitive Stafford Campground. (That site now allows fires and has running water.) I decided to do Sea Camp this time because I was camping with my mother and my three year old. It's the perfect campground for those who don't want to forego basic amenities.

Each site has a good amount of privacy and comes with a fire ring (and grill on top), picnic table, and food cage. We had one of the smaller sites - but it still had plenty of room, even with the tent and the hammock. Some of the sites are big enough for multiple tents.

There are showers and toilets at this campground that are in pretty decent shape. The best part is that it's just a hop and a skip to the beach, and an easy hike (on a hard pack road) to the Dungeness Ruins. We took a wagon to carry to our stuff (and the kid) but the road terrain was pretty rough. If anyone is planning to bike on the road, I'd recommend they ensure their bicycle can handle that sort of surface.

We went in spring just before the busy season officially started, so rates were still low and we were able to reserve a spot at the last minute. I highly recommend reserving in advance as it's very popular.

The wildlife is one of the best parts of visiting Cumberland Island. The only animals we saw at the actual campsite were armadillos and raccoons, the latter of which were bold enough to walk right up to our campfire when we started cooking. Elsewhere in the island are all sorts of other animals such as wild boar, wild horses, deer, and various types of birds, just to name a few. The resident volunteer led an info session on armadillos which was educational and fun and really added value to our trip.

One other important thing to note is that the only way to the island is by ferry, which is a big reason to pack light and efficiently. (We used a wagon.)

Overall, this is a perfect non primitive campsite in one of the most beautiful places I've ever been.

Nice secluded campground where each site is set back and nestled into a saw palm clearing and equipped with a picnic table, fire ring/grill and food cache box (an elevated roofed chicken wire cage). This campground is super easy to get to from the ferry, less than a mile walk (about ½ mile). You are responsible for carrying all of your own gear to the campgrounds so you’re want to pack it all in a backpack, bring your own wagon or hope to try and borrow one of the wagons they have at the ranger station (they do have a lot, but they get taken pretty quickly). Once you’re in the campgrounds there is a nice short trail directly onto the ocean side beach, which is wonderful for catching the sunrise. Another nice feature about this (compared to the other north primitive sites on the island) is that they are the closest and a relatively short walk/hike to the Dungeness Ruins. If you stay for a while or have the time head up to the northern end and visit the Plum Orchard Mansion (14 mile round trip) as most people don't and you'll likely get an almost private tour (we thought we would right up until the very last moment when another small group showed up). If you want to explore more of the island in a short period of time I’d suggest biking. You can bring your own ($10 fee) or rent bikes from the ferry personal ($16 day, $20 overnight). If you are renting, I’d suggest renting them the day before (overnight) so you can then explore a lot more of the island first thing in the morning before the day trippers arrive on the ferry.

This campground is the only campground on the island where you’ll have access to potable water, restrooms and cold showers so if you want to stay here definitely make reservations. The 16 smaller & 2 group sites are all located off some main paths situated in little clearings of the saw palmettos giving them a little bit of privacy. The northern half of the loop is more separated than the southern but all the sites are located under the trees so you'll get a decent amount of shade/wind cover no matter where you.

You don’t reserve a specific site when you make your reservation but get to pick your site from the remaining open sites after a nice long introduction/video from the camp host once you arrive. So you don’t fully know what you’ll be able to select until you’re there.

Facilities

·       These are tent only primitive campsites with the standard uncovered picnic table and fire ring with a grate and/or a grill and your chicken wire cache box to keep they racoons out of your food.

·       Camp fires are only permitted at Sea Camp & Stafford Beach campgrounds. You must use designated fire rings. You may gather dead and down wood or purchase bundles of firewood on the ferry.

·       Flush restrooms and potable water.

·       Dish/food washing sink area

·       There are actually some electrical plugs hidden about that I say someone charging there phone in at one point.

·       No Pets: Only service animals are permitted in campgrounds.

What an amazing spot to spend a few days! You can get here by personal boat or on the NPS concessioners' ferry. We paddled in a canoe from Crooked River State Park to Cumberland Island, so that certainly added an element of remoteness.

When you arrive, be prepared to load your items into a cart in order to get them from the dock area to your campsite. The campsites are probably a 10 minute jaunt from the park office on the island (near where you dock) and doesn't take too long if you're able to load everything in one trip.

The wildlife is abundant so be sure to proactively store your food. The raccoons are active all hours of the day and night so be sure to lock things up (including securing the lids to your coolers) if you stray away from your site. The beach is a short walk from the camping area and is a great place to spot more incredible wildlife and a magnificent sunrise.

While we were there we saw wild hogs, armadillos, raccoons and many other small mammals. This campground is situated in the perfect location to explore the island. I would recommend getting an early start to the day so to have the island to yourselves before the first ferry of the day arrives. There's something special about being one of only a handful of people there overnight.

There are cold water showers and access to fresh water at Sea Camp as well.