Cumberland Island National Seashore

Players:  Jenny & some friends
Date of Visit:  January 2010
Website:  www.nps.gov/cuis
Location:  Georgia
Entrance Fee:  $4 per person plus $20 per person for the boat ride to the island
Type of Trip:  Daytrip from home
Park Passport Stamps Available:  1

Cumberland Island National Seashore is one of the barrier islands off the coast of Georgia, just north of the Florida/Georgia border.  In addition to being an interesting natural environment, it was also the winter retreat of many wealthy northerners around the turn of the century – including members of the Carnegie family from Pennsylvania.  Many ruins are still standing on the island for you to explore.  Visiting Cumberland Island is a bit of a challenge.  You either need a boat, or a ticket to ride on the park concessionaire’s boat.  The park concessionaire’s boat costs $20 per person to ride (round-trip) and tickets must be purchased in advance.  We were visiting in the off-season, so were able to show up at the Visitor’s Center early and purchase day-of tickets that way.  However, in the busy season, I would recommend calling ahead to reserve tickets.  Twice a month, tours of the Plum Orchard house (built by the Carnegie family) are also available.  We happened to be visiting on a day this tour was offered, and so we decided to go for it.

Dungeness Ruins on Cumberland Island

 

After parking our car at the Visitor’s Center in St. Mary, and buying our tickets, we boarded the Cumberland Queen to take us to the island.  The boat ride to the island takes approximately 45 minutes one-way.  It’s moderately scenic, providing views of a naval base just to the north of the island.  Dolphins in the sound love to play in the wake of the boat, so we had fun watching them jump.

Dolphin playing in the wake of the boat

Be aware that much of the seating on the boat is outdoors and not covered – fun on a hot day, but very chilly in the winter!  Also, be sure to wear sunscreen.  The boat stops at two places before making a return trip to the mainland.  Day visitors are encouraged to disembark at the first stop, the Dungeness Ruins.  Campers get off at the second stop, the Sea Dock.  We disembarked at the first stop.  A ranger is on hand to meet the boat and give a short tour of the immediate area.  I grabbed a park brochure to take us on a self-guided tour of the ruins.  It’s a short walk from the dock to the ruins.  A house has been on this site since the early 1800s, although the ruins that can be seen today are from the second house that was constructed in the 1880s.  The house burned to the ground in 1959, so all that is left are some skeletal ruins, including a few of the outbuildings.  It is very scenic in this area, however, with views over the marsh back to the mainland.

Me "breaking into" the cemetery

Wild horses on the island

After touring the ruins, we headed towards the eastern end of the island to walk on the shore.  Along the way, we passed several houses.  There are still private homes on the island and people who live in them year-round.  We also passed an old cemetery, and looked at a few of the stones.  Some of them were nearly 200 years old.

The walk to the beach is relatively short.  Like all barrier island, the beach here is full of seashells.  Because shells are considered to be a renewable resource, you are allowed to gather shells and take them with you from the park – the only thing that you are legally allowed to remove from the island (besides, obviously, anything you bring with you).  We spent about an hour on the beach enjoying the views and walking near the water.  It being winter, it was much too cold to swim, but the beach is broad and flat and this would be a nice place to bring kids for a dip in the ocean during summer or early fall.  There are no lifeguards, however, so all swimming is at your own risk.

Me and my friend Chris on the walk to the beach

Chris, Sean and I on the beach

After spending some time on the beach, we continued north towards the Sea Camp dock.  This is where we would pick up the boat to Plum Orchard, on the north end of the island.  It took us about 45 minutes or so to walk up the beach to the Sea Camp area.  On the way back west to the dock, we walked through the campground.  It is full of huge, huge oak trees with amazing curved limbs!  I really think camping here would be a great time.  The walk from the dock to the campground is, at most, half a mile, and you can borrow carts to haul your stuff from the boat to your campsite.  It is a relatively primitive campground, although there are cold water showers and flush toilets available.  There is no place to buy any kind of food or supplies on the island, so you have to bring everything with you.

We arrived at the Sea Camp dock and enjoyed sitting down for a few minutes.  Pretty soon, the boat arrived to take us to Plum Orchard.  The trip to Plum Orchard, which is on the northern part of the island, took about 45 minutes.  Upon arrival, an NPS ranger takes you on a tour of the house and grounds.  The house was built by a Carnegie woman for her son and his wife in 1898.  It was truly a grand house for the age, complete with indoor plumbing, shampoo/soap dispensers in the showers, an indoor swimming pool, and so on.  Restoration work is ongoing in the house, but the rangers did a great job of making the area come alive.  The Plum Orchard tours are very popular; even in the offseason, our tour was completely full.  I highly recommend advance reservations, and I recommend this tour very much.  There is an additional fee for the boat/tour. 

Front of Plum Orchard house

Indoor Swimming Pool at Plum Orchard

Interesting plumbing at Plum Orchard -- notice the "shampoo" nozzle

After the Plum Orchard tour, we hopped back on the boat to the mainland.  We relaxed on the trip (I think a few members of our group actually fell asleep…) and then it was off to our car for the trip home.  Cumberland Island was a great day trip, and I know there is an entire northern section of the island that we didn’t even touch.  Most of the northern section can only be reached by foot or by bicycle, making this an ideal place to do an overnight weekend trip, or even an extended backcountry trip.  As with all National Park Service units, I was pleasantly surprised by this trip and glad we spent the extra money to see Plum Orchard – all of the people in my group agreed that it was one of the highlights of the trip.