Fort McAllister State Park: Fort Tour and Magnolia Trail (Blog Hike #835)

Trails: Fort and Magnolia Trails

Hike Location: Fort McAllister State Park
Geographic Location: south of Savannah, GA (31.88909, -81.20117)
Length: 4 miles
Difficulty: 3/10 (Easy/Moderate)
Date Hiked: January 2021
Overview: A semiloop featuring the restored Civil War fort where Sherman's March made it to the sea.
Park Information: https://gastateparks.org/FortMcAllister
Hike Route Map: https://www.mappedometer.com/?maproute=861143
Photo Highlight:

Hike Video: 

Directions to the trailhead: Just south of Savannah, take I-95 to SR 144 (exit 90) or US 17 (exit 87).  Exit and go north on US 17 or east on SR 144.  Where these two roads intersect, continue east on SR 144 for 6.6 miles to SR 144 Spur.  Turn left on SR 144 Spur, which deadends at the park in 4.2 miles.  Park in the parking lot in front of the park office/museum.

The hike: The date was December 13, 1864 when General William T. Sherman's Union army arrived outside Confederate Fort McAllister at the mouth of Georgia's Ogeechee River.  After capturing and burning Atlanta, Sherman's army had been marching southeast for 28 days on a scorched earth mission to destroy all targets, military and civilian, while capturing all available supplies to sustain their army.  Union gunboats had been trying unsuccessfully for more than a year to destroy Fort McAllister, and now only Fort McAllister stood between Sherman and his main objective: the Confederate port of Savannah.

            The battle that ensued lasted only about 15 minutes.  The fort's defense led by Major George W. Anderson consisted of only 230 men, and the Union infantry led by William B. Hazen easily overpowered them despite suffering 134 casualties.  The fort was abandoned and burned a week later, and Savannah fell to Sherman on December 21.

            Today Fort McAllister is one of the best preserved Confederate military installations, along with Fort Clinch some 90 miles down the coast in extreme north Florida.  The restoration work began while Henry Ford owned this site in the late 1930's, and the site was donated to the Georgia Historical Commission in 1958.  In 1980, Fort McAllister Historic Site was merged with Richmond Hill State Park to form the park we visit today.

            In addition to the restored fort, the park features a 65-site developed campground, 7 cottages, a pioneer camping area, a boat ramp and fishing pier on the Ogeechee River, some picnic shelters, and 2 hiking trails totaling about 4 miles.  When I came here in early January 2021, the Redbird Creek Trail, the park's longest trail, was closed for repairs.  Thus, I used a road walk to combine a walking tour of the fort with the Magnolia Trail, the park's short campground nature trail, thus forming the route described here.

Greenway behind museum

            After picking up a self-guided fort tour brochure and browsing the exhibits at the small museum, walk out the back door of the museum and head down the greenway that connects the museum and the fort.  The greenway is lined with Spanish moss-draped oak trees today, but during the fort's active days this area would have been lined by rows of tents: it was the main sleeping area for lower ranking enlisted men.  Take a quick detour to climb the steep steps to the top of a wooden signal tower, which offers great views up and down the Ogeechee River.  A "Sherman necktie," i.e. a railroad rail burned and twisted by Sherman's army, lies at the base of the tower.

View from signal tower

A "Sherman necktie"

            At 0.2 miles, you reach the barracks, officer huts, and blacksmith shop that sit at the entrance to the fort.  Cross the bridge over the waterless moat and enter the fort at the parade ground.  Follow the self-guided tour on the rubber-surface trail as it turns left and climbs past the 32 pound guns to the fort's parapet.  After walking a short distance along the parapet, the fort tour descends past the powder magazine before curving right to pass through the center of the fort.

32-pound gun on parapet

            At 0.3 miles, the fort's walking tour exits the fort at the salty port, a wide entrance used for supply wagons, and turns left to head for the mortar battery.  Although this area is heavily forested today, Hazen's main assault on the fort came from this direction.  You reach the mortar battery, the fort's eastern-most extension, at 0.4 miles, where the trail curves sharply left to trace the narrow strip of sandy land between the fort and the river.

The main barracks

            0.8 miles into the hike, you return to the barracks to complete the fort tour.  If all you want to do is see the fort, you can walk back across the greenway to the museum and complete your visit now.  To also see this park's natural area, walk partway down the greenway to a dirt service road that leads out to the paved campground access road.  Turn left twice, first on the service road and then on the campground access road.  The campground access road is arrow straight, and you can see the Savage Island Campground entrance off in the distance even though it is nearly a mile away.

            After the road to the primitive camping area exits right, the campground road exits the shady pines and enters the sunny, grassy salt marsh that separates Savage Island from the mainland.  Several benches provide opportunities to sit, rest, and watch for birds near the midpoint of this hike.  At 1.8 miles, you reach the campground entrance and the signed start of the Magnolia Trail on the left.  Turn left to leave the asphalt and begin the dirt nature trail.

Trailhead for Magnolia Trail

            The Magnolia Trail heads north through an oak and pine forest that is draped heavily with Spanish moss.  Saw palmettos dot the understory as the first of two short spur trails exits left.  These spur trails are worth taking, as they lead to nice views across the Ogeechee River's salt marsh.

Ogeechee River's salt marsh

            At 2.6 miles, you reach the other end of the Magnolia Trail, which lies deep in the Savage Island Campground.  Either retrace your steps along the nature trail, or turn right and walk the campground road back to the Magnolia Trail's trailhead near the campground entrance.  A road walk of just over a mile back to the park office and museum completes the hike.