How to Hike Cumberland Island

Cumberland Island, a 17.5-mile island off the coast of Georgia, has become a haven for backpackers and hikers in recent years. Once the site of many large Southern mansions and plantations, Cumberland Island is now the home of a remote, yet beautiful, national park. It can be reached only from the mainland by boat and ferry.

Instructions

1. Register with the National Park Service before you take a ferry or boat to Cumberland Island. The NPS limits the island to 300 hikers at a time and prohibits any hikers from camping more than 7 days in a row. Marine transportation generally departs from the mainland town of St. Mary's, Georgia.

2. Pack efficiently for your trip to Cumberland Island, since neither cars nor bicycles are allowed on the island. If you wish to camp on the island, you must carry your tents and bedrolls on your back. Additionally, there are no retail stores on Cumberland Island, so you will need to take food and drinks with you as well.

3. Meet with park rangers once you arrive on the island, and ask them for tips on where to hike and what to see. Cumberland Island is famous for the wild horses that run along the beaches and for the dolphins that are seen frequently just off the shore. You can also explore the old, abandoned mansions along the seashore, which provide a haunting sense of history to the island.

4. Hike through the wilderness just north of Plum Orchard. Here you will find forests of twisted oak and palmetto trees, with branches filled with larks and lizards. The further north you hike on the island, the denser the forest becomes.

5. Make hotel and restaurant reservations in St. Mary's for a stark contrast to the solitude and quiet of Cumberland Island. St. Mary's is known for its fine dining and luxurious accommodations, and it may offer the perfect way to wash the sand and salt out of your hair after a night spent camping on Cumberland Island beaches.

Tips & Warnings

• Plan a trip to Cumberland Island in the winter, when crowds and the mosquitoes are almost non-existent and the residents have adjourned to their winter homes on the mainland. The winters are relatively mild on the Georgia coast, with high temperatures typically in the 40s and 50s.

• Only one campground on the island, located near the ferry dock, features restrooms and running water, so plan accordingly.