Best Glamping 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.

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.

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.

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.

The green tunnel oak canopy and Spanish moss over the roadway is your welcome to this state park, an anachronistic island surrounded by quiet suburbs on Amelia Island. High profile vehicles need to watch overhead clearance, due to the canopy.

The eponymous 19th century third system fortification and museum has a wealth of information and interactive living history volunteers describing its operational span of Civil War, Spanish American War, and World War Two. Hiking, biking, wildlife, fishing, and birding are the other major activities here. There is a beach for swimming and surfing, Note St. Mary’s inlet is an active shipping channel with strong currents. Camp store and souvenir shop, special event and wedding planning. This is a major stop on the Great Florida Birding and Wildlife Trail, with some 100 avian species represented.

Group Primitive Campground favors youth groups with up to 11 month advance reservations, 30 days for adult groups if available. Three sites with capacity for 75. One of the best in the state parks system.

42 established tent sites in oak and Spanish Moss. Climate controlled bathrooms.

RV camp 21 back in sites with another six tent sites near the dunes. Renovated bathroom and laundry facilities, dump station.

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.

Love the Amelia river section. We stayed in site 23. The other loop is very windy, no shade or privacy between sites. The river section sites are huge, lots of trees and foliage and nicely spaced. All appeared pretty level. Most were dirt, a couple are concrete pads. Paid $26 per night. Super quiet in February, no kids. We had electric and water no FHU, fire pit, table, clothes line. Great bathhouse, clean, updated. Washer and dryer $2 per load. Great areas to bike and hike. Amazing sunsets viewed at the end of our loop. The fort is awesome! Cost $2.50 pp, well worth price. The fort is decorated with period furnishings. Self guided tour. A man dressed as a soldier answered all our questions. The campground is in a nice location, is gated. It's close to Fernandina beach and Amelia island. Amelia island, lots of nice shops and restaurants.

We arrived to the campground to take our little 3 yr old Grandson camping for his first time and were SHOCKED to find out that our site was under construction and had no electricity.  We had booked online and at no time were we informed that an entire section of the campground had lost all electric.  It was over 100 degrees that week with the heat index and there was no way we could camp in the sun with a small child, without air conditioning.  We were so upset and even more so when they said it had been that way for a YEAR and it was rented 'because we got a new reservation system and I guess it didn't show those sites as off limits'.  

Thankfully, they saw how disappointed we were and called around and found us a site at Fort Clinch State Park, 12 miles up the road.  Do not book here unless you're positive your site has the amenities you need.  The sites we know NOT to book at Little Talbot Island are sites #23 and 24.  There may be others, so beware.

Jekyll Island County Park is located at the northern end of Jekyll Island, a barrier island at the halfway point along the Georgia Coast. 

The campground at Jekyll Island is primarily an RV park, with 179 total campsites. The grounds here are gorgeous, with sweeping Spanish moss draped over live oaks, and walking distance from the otherworldly driftwood beach. 

As far as camping goes, there is definitely more of a party atmosphere here, and the emphasis is on overall location more than on the campground itself. The sites are all very small and very close together, and the "primitive" tent sites are far more similar to group camping at a state park or private campground than the word "primitive" brings to mind--they are still easy walking distance to the welcome center, restrooms with running water and electricity, and there is wifi throughout the campground. These sites are slightly set back from the RV sites but are largely in an open field, so there is still very little privacy to be had; that said these would be great for multiple families who want their own sites but to still have proximity to each other. As for the RV sites, as with most campgrounds the sites in the center of the campground (particularly loops D, B, F, and C) are the smallest and have the least amount of privacy, while the border loops (H and G) offer a little bit more quiet with the dense lowcountry brush as a barrier on one side. 

If you are comfortable with being near your neighbors however, this is an amazing alternative to hotels, and gives you direct access to the beauty of Jekyll Island. The beach is a true natural playground of driftwood, and the park offers numerous shelters, picnic tables, grills, a store that sells everything from fishing tackle to seashell curtains, and a pier for launching boats. Somehow this park manages to combine the ruggedness of the mountains--even with the amenities--with the relaxation of the beach--and gives the bonus of hot showers to wash off the sand at the end of the day!