Feral horses can be found all around Cumberland Island National Seashore. (Larry Vaught Photo)
Cumberland Island National Seashore features 18 miles of beaches, sand dunes, 50 miles of trails, marshes, wild horses, turkeys, primitive camping, and a lot more. We spent the day there Wednesday after a delightful afternoon and night in St. Mary’s, Ga., on Tuesday.
The National Park System restricts access to 300 people on the island on any day and campers cannot stay more than seven nights — if they can make it that long with no hot water, ice or supplies because there are none on the island. Whether you visit for a day or week, you bring what you need and carry off all trash that you might have.
The island is only accessible by boat. The Cumberland Queen ferry runs three times a day from March 1 through September 30 and twice a day from December through February. You can bring a bike on the ferry or rent one at Sea Camp Dock on the island.
The only amenities on the island are restrooms and water fountains to refill water bottles.
But guess what? I loved it and hope to go back.
Obviously, the wild horses were a big hit with this Kentuckian. There are over 100 feral horses on the island today. Spanish settlers abandoned horses on the island about 500 years ago. We saw three almost immediately after getting off the ferry and constantly saw horses during our five hours on the island, including all around the ruins of the former Carnegie mansion.
I also saw about 50 turkeys and loved when they took off running across an open field. First time I had really seen that many turkeys run full speed at the same time.
I walked about six miles, including nearly two miles on a beach that was basically isolated. It was also full of shells, so obviously I had to collect a bag full to bring home.
Kentucky fans Josie Whetstone and Candace Coad, who both live in St. Augustine, had told us about the island and the horses. It’s a terrific way to spend a day and my only regret is that we did not stay a few more days in historic St. Mary’s.
