Trails: River, Dungeness, Marsh Boardwalk, Dunes Boardwalk, and Sea Camp Trails
Hike Location: Cumberland Island National Seashore
Geographic Location: off the coast of St. Marys, GA (30.76419, -81.47101)
Length: 4.4 miles
Difficulty: 5/10 (Moderate)
Date Hiked: February 2023
Overview: A loop hike featuring the Dungeness ruins and a long beach walk.
Park Information:
https://www.nps.gov/cuis/index.htm
Hike Route Map:
https://www.mappedometer.com/?maproute=929478Photo Highlight:
Directions to the trailhead: Cumberland Island is accessible only by boat. A
ferry shuttles visitors from St. Marys to the island; reservations and prepayment are recommended. This hike begins at the Sea Camp dock, which is the ferry's second and final stop on the island.
The hike: I bought my first published guide to Georgia hiking in 2005 shortly after I moved from Ohio to Georgia. That guide detailed the fantastic hiking available on Cumberland Island, the largest island off the coast of southeast Georgia, and I immediately added the island to my list of intended Georgia hiking destinations. Cumberland Island is accessible only by boat, and years went by before the ferry's schedule lined up with my travel schedule at a time of the year conducive to hiking. Finally, on a Thursday morning in early February 2023, I boarded the ferry to take the boat ride I had been awaiting for more than 17 years.
Established in 1972, Cumberland Island National Seashore protects most of its namesake island except for a few inholdings of privately owned land. The boat-only access limits the number of visitors, so this park does not suffer from overcrowding like many National Park Service sites. Yet the natural scenery and human history preserved by this park are second to none in the southeast.
Human habitation of Cumberland Island dates back nearly 4000 years, and evidence shows that the ancient Timucuan people lived here. Spanish missionaries arrived in the 1600's. The English arrived in 1733 and named the island for Prince William, the Duke of Cumberland, son of King George II. Plantation life dominated the island in the 1700's and 1800's, and in 1884 Thomas Carnegie built a mansion called Dungeness as a winter retreat. Dungeness burned in 1959, but the Carnegie's family cemetery still sits near the mansion's ruins on the island.
In addition to the human history, Cumberland Island National Seashore offers primitive camping, one of the longest undeveloped beaches on the east coast, and an almost endless system of hiking and biking trails. Due to the boat dock's location, the south end of the island is the easiest area to explore on a day trip. The route described here is one recommended by the National Park Service, and it provides a nice loop on fairly easy trails. This hike visits the Dungeness ruins, the marsh, and some other historic buildings, and it offers a long hike on the undeveloped beach, thus sampling everything the island has to offer.
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| Start of River Trail |
After stepping off the ferry at the Sea Camp dock, look to the right for the start of the River Trail; it is marked by a simple wooden sign and a red carsonite stake. The dirt River Trail heads south through dense forest dominated by live oaks with a thick draping of Spanish moss. A dense covering of palmettos populates the understory. Cumberland Sound, which you floated in on, sits just to the right although it stays out of sight most of the time.
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| Hiking the River Trail |
At 0.7 miles, you reach the Ice House Museum and the Dungeness dock, which was the ferry's first stop on the island. The Ice House and its cluster of buildings date to the 1890-1900 period, and today some of the buildings are used as park administrative buildings. Restrooms and drinking water are also available here.
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| Ice House Museum |
To continue, pick up the two-track dirt road that heads away from the dock, and then turn right at the next road intersection to reach the Dungeness ruins. Two mansions named Dungeness stood here, one built in 1803 by Catharine Greene, widow of Revolutionary War general Nathanael Greene, and another built by Thomas Carnegie in 1884. The ruins of the 1884 mansion are the ones you see here today. Notice all of the nearby support buildings and the elaborate south entrance to the mansion, and imagine how grand this place would have been in the early 1900's.
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| Entrance gate at Dungeness |
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| Dungeness ruins |
After admiring the mansion ruins, turn left to head east on a two-track dirt road that passes some of the support buildings. An elaborate building called The Grange, the foundation of a water tower, and the foundation of the dairy barn are among the buildings and ruins passed. After exiting the mansion area, turn right at a signed trail for the marsh. Quickly you arrive at the wooden boardwalk that overlooks the Beach Creek salt marsh. I saw many birds here including an egret, and I also saw some of Cumberland Island's famous wild horses.
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| Wild horses at marsh |
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| Beach Creek salt marsh |
After crossing the marsh boardwalk, you walk through an area of soft white sand to return to the two-track dirt road. Turn right on the dirt road, then turn right again to begin the Interdune Boardwalk. True to its name, the Interdune Boardwalk takes you among the towering white sand dunes that line this island's eastern side. Walking on the boardwalk is much easier than walking in the soft sand.
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| Dunes beside Interdune Boardwalk |
At 2.4 miles, you reach this hike's most shining moment, the moment you exit the dunes and walk onto the beach. This beach is truly spectacular: the sand is sugar-white, and no development can be seen in either direction. Before you get lost in the sandy and oceany wonder, note the black and white striped pole where the trail intersects the beach: you will have to find a similar pole at the other end of this beach hike.
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| Walking out onto the beach |
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| Looking north up the beach |
Turn left to begin walking north along the beach. Sea gulls and dead jellyfish were the most common organic things on this beach. Due to the island's boat-only access and the fact that all of the docks are on the island's west side, I only saw 5 or 6 other people on the beach the entire time I was here. Take your time and enjoy this spectacular area.
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| Exiting the beach |
At 3.7 miles, you reach the trail that leads back to Sea Camp dock; look for the black and white striped pole. After a brief period of hiking through sand, you reach a wooden boardwalk that again mercifully carries you over the majority of the soft sand. 3.9 miles into the hike, you reach Sea Camp, a very nice primitive campground. Walk through the campground and pick up the sandy dirt road, which returns you to the dock at 4.4 miles. Enjoy the ferry ride back to St. Marys having experienced one of the best historical and natural sites in Georgia.
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