Best Cabin Camping near Cumberland Island National Seashore

Most striking feature was the wonderful natural separation between the sites on the "west" loop. Sites are large and very level. Nice hiking trails and a bird watching site and nature center. They have an abundance of volunteers who keep things clean as well as do occasional drive byes in case you have an issue or need help.

The campground is less than 15 minutes from charming St. Mary's, GA. It has several wonderful restaurants and parks and is a short boat ride from Cumberland Island National Seashore. Unfortunately no dogs are allowed on the park operated boats.

Make sure you have bug spray.

This review is for CRSP Cottage 10, a 2 bedroom, 4 bed, 1 bath, pet friendly house down a quiet road within the park. The park staff at the gift shop were very kind and engaged. They collected our balance and $50.00 pet fee there. Not all cottages are pet friendly. Cottage 10 is...so plan ahead! Despite that, there was 0 smell when we entered the cottage. It was very clean! Exceptional view of Crooked River! Our family of four loved s’mores under the stars and twisted coastal trees. There is a jumbo picnic table and fire pit. Carrying meals out was no issue and so much less exhausting than cooking on the Coleman stove and dealing with gear and tents. That’s also a fun experience, but coming back to AC and a private bathroom after a full day of hiking Cumberland Island is worth the nightly price tag. One day it poured. We comfortably watched the storm from the cozy screened-in porch. The kitchen is well stocked, minus a cutting board. No biggie. Made do. I always travel with a reliable and sharpened kitchen knife, kitchen scissors, and my trusty cast iron pan. But I was surprised to find supplies at the cottage like paper towels, toilet paper, and dish washer pods. The beds are comfortable and the linens and towels are clean and plentiful. It was a great experience and we would love to return.

We spent a pleasant long weekend here in this 2-br cottage with a peaceful view of the river. Full kitchen, screened-in porch, and a fire ring outside. We t in a short nature walk along the river, but this cottage made an especially great jumping off point to catch the ferry in St. Mary’s for a day trip (with bikes) to Cumberland Island. It poured the whole day, so we felt especially grateful for the dry cabin and ability to cook food upon return. Would definitely return and would bring the kayaks to use in the park next time. Be sure to also check out the tabby sugar works ruins just down the road from the park!

Crooked River State Park is located near the town of St. Mary’s, Georgia, and very close to interstate 95. The park is very well maintained and the staff was pleasant and informative. The campground is divided into two areas designated as # 1 and # 2, all accessed via one way roads throughout the campgrounds. Area # 1 is treed with tall Georgia pines but no ground vegetation for privacy, beautiful but very open. Camping area # 2 is very private with lots space and vegetation between sites. We stayed at site 58 in area # 2 which is equipped with full hook ups and a long back in site. Since we stayed there the park has included sewer to about half of the sites, all on Camping area #2. The bath houses were very clean and well maintained daily, the laundry facilities were the same. There are some good walking trails throughout the park and an active boat ramp with a small floating pier/dock on the River.

There are numerous shopping areas and restaurants within a few miles of the park. The Cumberland Island National Seashore is also nearby and accessible on by boat but worth the effort to go. The Cumberland Queen docks downtown St. Mary’s and has a schedule for departure and return for day trips, you will need to take everything you need as there are NO items for sale on the island.

This area of SE Georgia is known for its population of sand gnats. They are very active in the mornings and evenings when the humidity and temperatures are high. The locals swear by Soft Sense lotion as a deterrent but you will have to decide for yourself. This is a very nice park from our experience, a hidden gem that is often overlooked.

We stayed here the Memorial Day week.  Great campground with spacious sites and very quiet.   Some of the sites have more privacy with the palmettos in between, but the site we were were at did not.   Sites are level, park is clean, bathhouses are clean.   Three bars of cell service at the campground.  The park has some  trails for hiking, a nature center, picnic areas, and of course access to the water for fishing and kayaking.  We rode our bikes around the park every day.  We especially liked the short river trail in the mornings and evenings - great views.   This campground is within an hour's drive of Jekyll Island and St. Simon's Island, as well as Florida beaches, which we visited.  We also took the ferry to Cumberland Island National Seashore and spent a day hiking around the island - it was amazing.  See photos below.

Simply put, the ‘surf’ side of Little Talbot Island State Park is all white capped oceanfront and white sand beach paradise with its opposing side strategically located across the street is the ‘turf’ that hosts some 3 dozen or so campsites in lush, verdant foliage completely encapsulating the campground in a jungle-like canopy of ancient Oaks complete with signature draping Spanish moss. While there’s definitely oceanfront camping options out there, particularly in Florida, what is quite unique about Little Talbot is that while you will be able to access the beach and ocean, you aren’t parked right in front of it. In fact, you’ll have a decent hike or a short ride to get to the seaside from your campsite. 

Serene beaches await you on this remote barrier island where snake-like river inlets provide ample kayaking, canoeing, paddle-boarding and boating options further inland, while choppy waves from the frolicking Atlantic Ocean will beckon you further east. Beachside, you’ll discover that there’s half a dozen or so picnic shelters running parallel to the seaside, along with a perfectly paved bicycling / running pathway along with dedicated restroom and shower facilities. Just over the sand dunes, you will arrive at some of the most pristine, well-kept beaches in Florida’s entire eastern coastline. 

With the actual campground in mind, there’s 3 circular loops or ‘neighborhoods’ that the campsites are organized around – on the far eastern side are sites 1-10, and by far, these are the most secluded, but also IMHO, the best of all the sites. There’s great growth here between each individual campsite, so while you’ll hear (and likely see) your neighbors, there is a decent amount of privacy. The second set of sites 11– 20 sit in the center of the campground and nearest to the bathroom and shower facilities (which are just OK BTW), but offer somewhat better waterviews of Myrtle Creek and further beyond that, Simpson Creek. These sites are much more open and don’t offer much if any privacy. The third set of sites is on the far western side of the campground and feels the most dated and in dire need of some TLC as most of the sites I saw were overgrown with substantial leaf pile-up on the picnic tables, which were pretty dilapidated anyway. 

As far as amenities are concerned, bearing in mind this campground leans more basic, rustic and primitive, you'll find: 20 / 30 amp electricity, fresh water, decent fire ring w/ BBQ lid and picnic tables.  There is a laundry facility along with two bathhouses and there is a proper trash dumpster upon exiting the campground.  There's a decent kayak / canoe launch (and if you don't have your own, Kayak Amelia located just a 1/4 mile up the road has rentals) on the western periphery of the campground where there is a short dock for casting a fishing line along with a bait cleaning station.  The kiddos will discover a nearly brand new playground (although submerged by water when we were there) and a group campfire circle for larger groups offered on a first-come, first-served basis

Insider’s tips? Here's a few: (1) If you’d like to get a good hike on, well, of course you have the 7 miles of unspoiled beach shoreline, but if you’re looking for something further inland there is a small nature loop that is pretty nice and is located at the campground; (2) Up in these parts, you have to mind the timing for low and high tide, so when checking in, ask the park rangers and they’ll get you all squared away; (3) no pets on the beach or boardwalks; and (4) If you need a break from roasting hotdogs and beans fireside, head due south to The Sand Dollar for some pretty great seafood while overlooking St. Johns River with Jacksonville as a backdrop. 

Happy Camping!

Given the size of the RVs, this looks like a great family vacation destination. For us, the attraction was Cumberland Island which is a 45 minute ferry ride from St. Mary's GA (20 minutes from the campground).

Some Info About the Sites

• There are many pull through sites which have huge gravel pads.

• Back in sites have long parking pads.

• The grassy areas accompanying each site are spacious.

• We ended up in the middle (see map) on #3 because it's what was available. I recommend you stick to the outside of the loops. There are more opportunities for shade.

• You'll be closest to the water at sites 39, 41 or 42. There are woods behind you if you stick with the area that includes sites 11-27.

Amenities

• Water and electricity at all sites

• There is a restroom behind our site (#3) that is set up as men's/women's restrooms with 2 showers in each. One of the showers is handicapped accessible, but there is a nicer (newer) restroom across from site 48 and next to ADA site 46. There are 4 private restrooms (2 handicapped accessible) with toilet, sink and shower along with a laundry room with 2 washers and 2 dryers. The other restroom has a washer, dryer and utility sink between the men's and women's rooms.

• Dump station and trash dumpsters along with recycling bins

• Playground

• Golf cart paths

Fun Things To Do

• Visit Cumberland Island (see info below)

• Mini golf

• Bird watching - there's a bird blind for bird experts, novice watchers and photographers

• Boating and fishing on the Crooked River

• A few trails and an observation tower

• Nature center

Cumberland Island National Seashore: The only way to reach the island is via boat. A day trip via ferry from St. Marys is definitely worth the trip. You need to bring food for the day because there's no place to buy ANYTHING....really! You can get water in a few places, but we brought water to start the day.  Our 8 mile hike took us south on the island to the Dungeness Ruins and further south before we turned around and headed across the island to the beach on the ocean side. There were probably only a couple hundred people on the island, and we only saw a few people on the beach. We saw lots of wildlife (feral horses, snakes, deer, armadillo) on the trails and in open areas. We hiked through the Sea Camp campground which had beautiful sites. If you want to stay overnight on Cumberland Island, you'll have to bring your tent and all your food.

I love this campground! Plenty of trees for hammock camping, which is what I prefer, as well as many options for tent set ups. They do have Adirondacks on site for camping. Established fire pit, large covered pavilion with multiple picnic tables, electrical hookups located within pavilion and a shower house equip with sinks and toilets. Walking distance to the beach. Very beautiful! Bike and kayak rental available through on site camp host. Ice and firewood for purchase. You take a ferry to sapelo island, then a bus takes you to Cabretta Campground. Heaven on earth, just don’t forget the bug spray.

Super close to Okefenokee Swamp (actually, any closer, you’d be in it!). Strategically located right down the street to the park entrance, this is likely the very closest to camping near Okefenokee you’ll come. Of course, you could try to camp INSIDE Okefenokee, but that’s quite challenging as you’ll need to book well in advance and kayak / canoe/ boat to get to the primitive sites that are there (more on this in another review from inside Okefenokee). Here, you don’t have to think about anything. Just rock up, pitch your tent, park your RV or open the door to the wooden cabins they rent. The place is incredibly compact and tight, but if you don’t mind rubbing elbows with your neighbors in exchange for waking up early the next morning to be one of the first to get zapped by the mosquitos in the south’s most infamous swampland, then you’ve come to the right place. Great news is that you are far enough removed from civilization, you won’t miss it (or hear/ see it!), but if you do need anything, Okefenokee Pastimes has you covered with a campground store where you can find those commonly forgotten things, get snacks, drinks, candy, ice cream, ice and even trinkets from local craftsman as well as some beginner and advanced astronomy equipment from time to time as well as a view into one of the darkest, natural skies on the East cost (this place is also rated as one of the top 10 in the Country!).  And if you can't find what you need here at Pastimes, no worries, the nearby town of Folkston has you covered with its many restaurants (mostly fast food joints), gas stations, grocery stores and typical small town shopping.

Pastimes has excellent paved / milling parking pads & roads, built-in fire pits at all sites, relatively new / well-maintained wooden picnic tables as well as natural grass boundaries that both separates and surrounds all sites. There are many wildflower areas to attract pollinators and hummingbirds (with the campground's own distinct, bespoke hummingbird area), a small patio / dock area where you can feed the fish, watch the hummingbirds and / or just sit back, soak it all in and relax. A covered, lit pergola, complete with picnic tables, built-in benches and a top-end charcoal grill to cook at while overlooking the pond area.  There's also a small, fenced-in dog park that's perfect for keeping your furry friends active and engaged (they even provide pet toys!).  Nearby, there's a small playground, swing set and small yard game areas (think horseshoes, badminton, volleyball, jenga and jarts!).  Beyond playtime activities, there's a proper laundry room with 2 sets of washers and dryers (with only 1 key given to a single guest at a time, so you have a real sense of privacy. This place scores extra points for having a book exchange and even offers up DVD's and VCR tape rentals (take that Blockbuster!).  The best part about Pastimes?  Unlike many other campgrounds that are well lit, Pastimes actually has a policy where they turn off all their lights at night so as not to contribute to light pollution and to preserve the most amazing star-gazing experiences you will ever have (OK, at least hear near Okefenokee - sorry, star-gazing in the Nordics is still the best IMHO!).

Insider’s tip? You’ve made it this close to Okefenokee, it’s important that you get out early – that’s when you’ll see the gators at their most active and we’re you’ll land some great photos – albeit from the bow of a canoe or kayak, which you can easily rent at the refuge itself.  Also, while at Pastimes, do ensure you get out to spy on the many dragonflies, shouldered hawks, butterflies, squirrels, barn owls, armadillos and woodpeckers (obviously, be sure to pack your binoculars).

Happy Camping!