Crawfish and Cumberland Island, Georgia - Saint Marys GA Off the Beaten Path

Preview: Cumberland Island National Seashore is an intricate web of nature’s rarest, most wondrous gifts. Maintained by the National Park Service, the island—18 miles long and 1 to 2 miles wide—preserves astonishing treasures of marshes and dunes, pristine beaches, live oak forests, lakes, ponds, estuaries, and inlets. “Natives” include great blue heron, wood storks, egrets, and dozens of other bird species, many rarely seen beyond these shores; giant sea turtles, which plod over the beaches to regenerate their endangered kind; fiddler, hermit, and ghost crabs; shrimp, oysters, and flounder; deer, armadillo, mink, wild horses, and wild boar; playful otters; and gators that cruise the waterways like men o’ war. Mankind’s 4,000-year habitation began with ancient Guale Indians, followed by sixteenth-century Spanish missionaries, eighteenth-century British troops, and pre–Civil War indigo and cotton planters. Thomas Carnegie, of the Pittsburgh Carnegies, bought the entire island in the 1880s. His family’s splendid estates were mostly abandoned when the Gilded Age gave way to the Roaring Twenties, and high society discovered more fashionable wintering places. With only a few intrusions, the island has passed into public trust largely as it was created. Unless you own your own boat, the only way to enjoy Cumberland’s glories is via a forty-five-minute ride on the Cumberland Queen from St. Marys. With a capacity of 150, the Queen departs St. Marys daily. Bear in mind that sailing times are as precise as Swiss trains. If you miss the last ferry from the island, you’ll have to hire a boat from St. Marys or Fernandina beach. Campers have a choice of developed and primitive campgrounds available for a small cost, which varies according to the site you choose. Sea Camp, five minutes’ walk from the ferry dock, has bathrooms and showers; primitive campsites, a 3.5- to 10-mile hike from the dock, have trench latrines and coldwater spigots. If you’re a day-tripper, you can walk several nature trails, or swim and sun and view the remains of Dungeness, the Carnegies’ fabulous estate destroyed by fire in the 1950s. Park Service rangers lead history and nature walks. There’s nothing at all for sale on the island, so remember to bring food, cold drinks, insect repellent, and sunscreen. The Greyfield Inn is Cumberland’s only hotel-type accommodation. The late John F. Kennedy, Jr., and his wife, Carolyn, had their wedding reception in the Carnegie family’s old Georgian-style mansion after taking their vows at the island’s African-American chapel. Staying overnight is a one-of-a-kind experience. Guests sleep in seventeen air-conditioned rooms with four-poster beds, bathe in claw-footed tubs, and relax amid family portraits and mementos. All meals, boat transportation from Fernandina Beach, Florida, and walks with naturalists are included in the rates. The above description is an excerpt from "Georgia: Off the Beaten Path." Whether you're a visitor or a local looking for something different, this chapter from the Off the Beaten Path series will help you take the "road less traveled" and discover hidden attractions, unique finds, and unusual locales that most tourists miss.
© Copyright William Schemmel published by Insiders' Guide all rights reserved.


This travel guide comes from:
Georgia Off the Beaten Path Guide Book