Cumberland Island National Seashore Visitor Center — Attraction in St. Marys

• Visited on a Saturday during winter break with kids in December 2023. • 2 hr parking is available right outside visitor center. There were only 2 other cars there when we arrived at 8AM. There was a line forming right outside the doors, but it was for people looking to get tickets on the ferry over to the island. • We believe longer term parking was available a block down the street. • We did not go on ferry because we didn’t have time. Tickets are kind of pricey. If we were going to pay that much, we would’ve probably stayed over there all day. • Many people were camping/backpacking the island. Also someone brought e-bikes. • Decent small visitor center exhibits with decent sized eastern national store where the park’s cancellation stamps are located. • Kids completed the Junior Ranger Booklet while inside the visitor center. We were able to complete it without going to the island. Tip, use the giant island map in the visitor center to answer many of the questions. We didn't notice until much later that they handed us 2 different Junior Ranger Badges. One is labeled 50th Anniversary and other just says National Seashore. See picture in review. • Bathrooms are located downstairs and outside the visitor center. Visitor center is located upstairs. There is a balcony to walk on and overlooks the water outside the upper part of the visitor center. • We will 100% need to visit again and possibly do a backpacking campout on the island. Campground reservations open and book 6 months in advance. Ranger said don’t wait. A ranger also told us the sand flies and mosquitos can be relentless depending on...

This was the best adventure we had all summer. We bought a ferry ticket online and the ride on the earliest ferry was a lot of fun. The island is beautiful and full of wild horses. We had a close call with some on a path near the house ruins, but otherwise they didn't care about people being near by.

We went to the raccoon beach area and there were tens of thousands of crabs scuttling around during low tide. It was the most amazing thing. We didn't find any shark teeth ourselves, but we had fun looking for shells and watching the crabs scurry as we walked on the beach.

We saw lots of birds, deer, horses, crabs, dolphins, and manatees. The manatees were near the dock and easy to see during low tide.

A few pro tips: 1 - bring lunch and lots of bug spray, 2 - if you go to the raccoon beach then you will get your shoes muddy so plan accordingly 3 - there is no such thing as bringing too much water during the summer 4 - only bring a stroller if it is a Bob-type that can handle off-roading and rolling in sand - regular strollers will struggle on the paths and beaches

I hope to visit again - this was a truly unique adventure we feel very fortunate to have...

The island is beautiful. We were at Sea Camp for two days. For it to be considered a wilderness island, the amenities are decent and well kept. We went to the beach, which is really nice, and took the river walk path to the Dungeness dock. We did see a little bit of wildlife: armadillos, raccoon(s), plenty of frogs and one horse siting. The raccoon came into our camp, which was funny. It was determined lol. Another lady showed us a picture of an alligator she saw off the main path. ⚠️: Be VERY careful near the ponds and lakes. The woman who checks everyone in and out told us a dog was eaten by an alligator. In regards to returning, we'll definitely go back, but not camping. This was a first and it could've been a lot better but it didn't have anything to do with the island. Just be prepared for the weather conditions (it heavily rained for few to several hours. Condensation ended up dripping quite a bit into our tent). I believe next time we'll stay on St. Marys or nearby, do a day trip including the tour. Well definitely be back though. It's...