Out of all the places I’ve gone camping, Cumberland Island has to be one of the best places to backpack. It’s an experience like no other. This was my third time on the island, the first time was a weekend backing trip with Boy Scouts about 8 years ago, the second time was just a day trip to explore the Dungeness Ruins and the south end of the island, and this time was another camping trip to Yankee Paradise.
About the site:
Yankee Paradise is a 7.5 mile hike and is one of the few wilderness sites, along with Hickory Hill (5.5 miles) and Brickhill Bluff (10.5 miles). Along with the three wilderness sites there are 2 designated campsites at Sea camp (.5 miles) and Stafford Beach (3.5 miles). Sea camp has 18 sites that include bathrooms, drinking water, cold showers, fire ring and grill, picnic table, and food storage. Stafford Beach has 10 sites and includes bathrooms, non-drinkable water, and cold showers, and fire ring and grill. These are good sites if you are new to camping or with kids. The wilderness sites have no amenities. The only water is from nearby wells that needs to be treated before using the water. You also can’t have any fires.
One of the many things that make camping here so unique is that the only way onto the island is by boat, there is a ferry that you take from St Marys, GA. The ferry takes about 45 minutes to reach the island and is available a couple times a day. On the ferry you can see many beautiful things as you travel between Florida and Georgia to reach the island. You might even be able to see some of the wild horses as you travel to the island. Cumberland is known for their incredible wildlife, every time I have gone I have been able to see many wild horses.Once you reach the Island you check in at the Sea Camp Ranger Station and once you complete that you start your journey into the wilderness towards your site. Both times I camped here I have stayed at Yankee Paradise. The hike to the wilderness sites can be very difficult if you are not prepared for the hike, as you have to carry in all your gear. This time I brought my hammock to save weight and space. I was a little worried about the cold so I brought my rain fly to block wind and trap heat, my sleeping bag and silk liner, and warm clothes. As you hike deeper into the wilderness expect to find the trail to be over grown and to find trees blocking the way that you might have to duck under or climb over.
When we made it to our campsite we did not want to set up cause of how tired we were. But we knew we needed to as we would only get more tired. We had a hard time trying to find space for our hammocks due to other people already being there and their tents were in the way. We made it work though, I had to tie a piece of paracord to my tree huggers to be able to reach the two trees. After we set up the hammocks and everything it was starting to get dark and I was getting hungry so I got my lightweight camping stove to make these packets of pasta. All i had to do was boil water and milk (I used condensed milk so it didn’t need to be cold) then add the noodles, all of the sauce and cheese was all in the packet.
Once I was done eating I was ready to just lie down and relax. I got in my hammock and immediately fell asleep. I ended up waking up in a couple of hours to get in my sleeping back and silk liner cause I fell asleep right on top of everything. After I got in my sleeping bag I slept pretty good for the rest of the night although I did wake up a few more times throughout the night.
The next morning was very cold and we knew it was only going to get colder, so we decided to head back a day early. We packed everything up and started our 7.5 mile journey back. The hike back wasn’t too bad cause the temperature had gone down a bit and our bags also weighed less. The hike on Cumberland is always so beautiful.
We got back to the ferry about an hour before it left and were able to change our leave time. On the way back we had to sit on the outside of the boat, it was freezing and windy but we were able to watch the sunset out on the water.
If you are looking for somewhere to backpack or somewhere new to go I definitely recommend checking out Cumberland Island, it won’t disappoint you.