Georgia’s Pristine Coast - The Most Scenic Drives in America: 120 Spectacular Road Trips - page 1079

2. Tybee Island
As you head east out of Savannah, follow palmetto-lined Rte. 80 over the Bull River and
intoasaltmarshwilderness,wherethelanguidfeederstreamsofavastestuaryriseandfall
to a tidal pulse and pelicans angle through the sky.
Just off the road on Cockspur Island stands Fort Pulaski National Monument, built in
1829 to defend Savannah's sea approaches; it was pummeled into submission by Union
guns in the desperate siege of 1862. The road ends at Tybee Island, where summering Sa-
vannahians recline on broad beaches, bike down sandy lanes, and sate their hunger with
steamed blue crabs. Tybee's lighthouse is Georgia's oldest and tallest; rising from founda-
tions that predate the Revolutionary War, it casts its beam across the harbor that long ago
ensured Savannah's prosperity.
3. Fort McAllister State Historic Park
After backtracking to the mainland, the drive heads south from Savannah on Rte. 17 past
dense coastal pine forests and Melon Bluff, a private preserve of sweeping river views and
moss-draped oaks. At the town of Richmond Hill, it turns east on Rte. 144 toward lovely
FortMcAllisterStateParknearthemouthoftheOgeecheeRiver.Anintriguingnaturetrail
and a choice scattering of sylvan campsites invite visitors to share the tranquil riverbanks
with an avian population that includes strutting gallinules and rails, barred owls, and the
painted bunting, the most extravagantly hued of all North American birds.
Fort McAllister was the scene of a grim encampment during the Civil War. Here Con-
federate troops dug massive walls of earth to block horrific Union bombardments from the
sea, only to fall to Sherman's land attack as Savannah's fate was sealed in the waning days
of1864.Nowfullyrestored andsurroundedbygreen,FortMcAllister standsguardagainst
nothing more than the sea breeze wafting in across the wildlife haven ofOssabaw Island to
the east.