Cumberland Island, Georgia – it couldn’t get any better

Paradise found

Trying to determine the best things about our trip to Cumberland Island is like sorting out the ingredients in a homemade chocolate cake. Flour, sugar, chocolate, butter: delicious. Sun, sand, wildlife, friendship: incredible. Although everything is important and necessary; It’s not the individual parts of the cake or the adventure, it’s the perfectly baked and experienced combination that creates magic.

The last few miles to St. Mary’s, Georgia, are like many straight roads to coastal towns. The numbers on the speed limit signs decrease as you drive down the two-lane road. Ice cream shops and seafood stands replace box stores and gas stations. But at the end of the road, there is no fancy modern bridge over the Intracoastal Waterway to Cumberland Island. The only way to get there is by jet ski. The ferry is managed by the US Forest Service and is an orderly process. From check-in to a short, fun briefing to organized boarding, these people know what they’re doing.

The weather is perfect for a boat ride. Bicycles, backpacks and people loaded in the lady cumberland and we set off for the 45 minute trip. Once we arrive at the island, we are greeted by a ranger who checks us in and reminds us once again of the ferry departure times. Hikers are especially advised to pay attention. It’s not uncommon for latecomers to be left behind, and although they are heated and lit, the park bathroom would be a terribly uncomfortable place to spend the night. Debbie and I nodded unenthusiastically at the warning, knowing it wouldn’t be a big deal for us since we’re well equipped with all the camping gear for our three-night adventure.

I may have packed too much!

It’s only been 47 years

After Debbie reminded me that there were over 650 students in our high school class of 1979, I didn’t feel so bad for not remembering even one time we spoke. She didn’t remember it either. But we both knew each other. I had friends in common. She dated the same guys. I walked through the same hallways. At football games, she would watch and listen to the marching band, where somewhere in that ensemble she played the flute. Maybe he caught my last few minutes playing basketball before the boys game started. It wasn’t until last fall that we met and confirmed our mutual love of hiking, camping, and outdoor exploration.

On the trip was Duke, a small stuffed dog and the beloved mascot of the island’s two ferries that make the round trip twice a day. Duke, neatly tucked away in the side pocket of my backpack, needs no food or water, just a willing hiker to carry him. Thank you David Scalliwag and the team for trusting us with your furry ambassador.

We had to explore a bit to do it, so off we go. Dungeness Ruins was our first destination. Along the way we spotted a snake, a manatee, an armadillo and many of the famous wild horses that inhabit the island. Including the dolphins swimming alongside our ferry, we were racking up wildlife sightings. At the end of our trip we would also see raccoons, deer, wild boars with their piglets, squirrels, lizards, bald eagles, pelicans, ospreys and all types of sea and land birds. The firefly shows at night were spectacular. Hundreds upon hundreds illuminated our camps from dusk to dawn. None of us had seen anything like it.

Duke is coming to do the hike.

friends for life

All wildlife encounters were not pleasant. A dead sea turtle, cracked horseshoe crabs, jellyfish, and other dead fish lined the shore we walked along. They were minor disturbances, however, compared to the tiny nightmarish creatures inside: ticks. Many, many little bugs teased us and tormented us on the grassy paths. Debbie and I may have started the trip as strangers, but we ended up being very close friends. At some point, Debbie started singing Brad Paisley’s song, «I Want To Check You For Ticks.» It’s not what we wanted, it was mandatory and, unlike the song, the exams were by no means whimsical or romantic. But we laughed, found the tweezers, and got to work. Most of the time you could feel or see them and eliminate them before they did the dirty work. But some managed to hold on and crawl to hard-to-reach places and dig.

Tick ​​checks weren’t the only thing that brought us together. Debbie and I had some catching up to do and we walked up and down the island for over 30 miles telling each other about our lives for the past 47 years. Having hiked to the southernmost spot on the island on the first day, we hiked to the northernmost spot, covering the full 18 miles of Cumberland. There we visited The Settlement and the First African Baptist Church, where John F. Kennedy, Jr. and Carolyn Bessette were married in 1996. We had lunch and rested for hours on the huge lawn of the Plum Orchard Mansion. We met and chatted with locals and visitors, but mainly had the northern part of the island to ourselves. It was peaceful. We walked a lot, but every mile presented opportunities for deep conversation or lovely encounters with wildlife. We hiked some of the unmanaged trails and dodged the tour vans on the main dirt road. One day we watched the sunrise on the east ocean side of the island, and later that night we watched it set on the marshy west side.

Do we have to go home?

I probably could have stayed one more day. I think we covered most of the island, although not all the trails. We didn’t see an alligator. He only submerged himself in the ocean up to his thighs. I didn’t know the wild woman of Cumberland Island, Carol Rucksdeschel. I missed a connection with Chris, a local friend, who happened to be on the island at the same time as us. (Iced tea on the terrace of the Greyfield Inn would have been sweet.) But, as I started this story: what really matters is the sum and not the parts. Walking, camping, talking, laughing, sweating and dodging ticks. Wildlife watching and boating…ingredients and adventures all mixed together. We made ourselves a damn perfect chocolate cake experience. As for the question, will we return? Well, I’ll check with Debbie, but I bet she’s okay with it. Coconut cake. Lemon cake. Red Velvet Cake…they are all delicious and I’m always up for baking or more hiking!

Sunrise at Stafford Beach April 14, 2026

Sunset at Brickhill Bluff April 14, 2026

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