Georgia’s Pristine Coast - The Most Scenic Drives in America: 120 Spectacular Road Trips - page 1084

The scenic island is laced with paved bicycle trails that lead to lovely picnic spots,
broad sandy beaches, and secluded wildlife areas where a host of wading birds keep cau-
tious company with the ever-watching alligators.
From Jekyll Island the drive returns to Rte. 17 and breezes through the tiny villages
of Spring Bluff, White Oak, and Woodbine. At Kingsland a turn onto Rte. 40 leads to St.
Marys, where you can catch a ferry for a 45-minute voyage to the serenely gorgeous en-
virons of Cumberland Island.
9. Cumberland Island National Seashore
No vehicles are permitted on the ferry from St. Marys to Cumberland Island, where human
activity is largely limited to camping and day visits, so you'll have to get around on foot
(unless you stay at the private Greyfield Inn, which is equipped with bicycles). Trails
canopied with live oaks, cabbage palms, and holly lead through this pristine wilderness,
roamed by such creatures as armadillos, wild pigs, wild turkeys, even wild horses.
OspreyswheelaboveCumberland'stidalcreeks,alligatorsdozeinitsfreshwaterponds,
and loggerhead turtles lay their eggs on the sandy beaches. Among the few signs of civil-
ization are the Dungeness Ruins, the overgrown skeleton of an 1880s Carnegie mansion
located about a mile south of the ferry dock. Remember that the last boat back to the main-
landleavesat4:45—unlessyou'restayinghereandcanspendaleisurely eveninglulledby
the wildlife serenade.
Did you know…
Franciscan monks introduced peaches to St. Simons and Cumberland islands
along Georgia's coast in 1571. By the mid-1700s peaches were cultivated by
theCherokeeIndians.AhundredyearslaterRaphaelMoses,aplanterandCon-
federate officer from Columbus, was among the first to market peaches within
Georgiaandiscreditedwithbeingthefirsttoshipandsellpeachessuccessfully
outside of the South. Today Georgia grows 130 million peaches annually.