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!
