This year we decided to take an all-new route back to the West Coast. For a variety of reasons, we’ve tended to travel mostly in the Pacific Northwest, the Southwest, and the South. We busted out of that easy, familiar, beautiful rut to explore the Southeast Coast, the Midwest, and the Plains. Truthfully, we thought we would get those states checked off our list and be done with them. Instead, we were captivated by the fascinating places we found—and we’re already planning to return.
One thing is for certain: Travel will root out your prejudices, even those you don’t know you have.
Our journey began in coastal Georgia, where we explored the largest freshwater swamp in North America and took a boat trip to a remote barrier island with an intriguing history.
Exploring the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge
Called the “Land of the Trembling Earth” by the native peoples, the Okefenokee is a 400,000-acre peat bog of floating islands, cypress hammocks, and wet prairies. Waterways meander through the swamp, inviting exploration by kayak or shallow-draft boats. With depths ranging from knee-deep to nine feet, the water is clear, but tannins from decaying leaves stain it the color of southern sweet tea.
Allegedly, the peat is so thick that you can walk on the swamp (the “trembling earth”). We did not try this. There are too many alligators here.
We biked the seven-and-a-half-mile trail through the wildlife refuge and walked boardwalks surrounded by trees wearing long beards of Spanish moss. Except for the orchestra of warblers and frogs serenading us, we were alone on the trails. Early spring is an excellent time to be in the swamp—the weather is pleasant, and the biting bugs have yet to hatch.
Biking along Swamp Island Drive and looking for birds and gators
Touring The Okefenokee Swamp By Boat
In the afternoon we took a boat tour with Okefenokee Adventures deep into the swamp. Joey, our captain, an eighth-generation swamper with an abiding love of the Okefenokee, pointed out birds, gators, and native plants along the way. “This is not Disneyland,” he said, only half joking. How true. It’s much, much better.
If I had to choose one word to describe the swamp, it would be “peaceful.” Probably not what you expected, right? Especially not when you see the big gator that invites you to the boat tour.
A big gator welcomes visitors to the Okefenokee Swamp
Joey, our boat tour captain, and swamp guide
No surprise, we saw gators on our tour of the Okefenokee. We’ve shown you plenty of gators on our blog. But there can never be too many photos of owls.
A sleepy Barred Owl watches us glide past
The bright green skin around the eye of the Great Egret is a sign of breeding plumage
Mirror images on the Okefenokee
A Day On Cumberland Island National Seashore
The largest of the barrier islands off the coast of Georgia, Cumberland Island has been through many incarnations: Spanish mission, British military fort, post-Revolutionary War plantation, the home of Lucy and Thomas Carnegie (the younger brother and business partner of industrial magnate Andrew Carnegie), and since 1972, a national seashore.
The only way to get to Cumberland Island National Seashore is by boat. Conveniently, the National Park Service operates a passenger ferry out of St. Mary’s, just down the road from the Visitor Center. It’s a 45-minute journey to the island, and the ferry makes the trip twice a day. We thought about bringing our bikes to ride the entire island but heard that the roads can be terrible (if the sand is soft, the biking is miserable).
The Cumberland Queen
Instead, we explored the south end of the island, which is easily accessible from the ferry landing. There’s plenty to do there for a day trip (but bring all of your food/snacks/beverages and anything else you might want, because there is nothing available on the island).
Once A Grand Mansion, Now Haunting Ruins
A 4.5-mile trail begins through a canopy of gnarled oak trees, setting the mood for the historic Dungeness ruins ahead. Built as a winter home for Thomas Carnegie and his wife Lucy in 1885, Thomas died just before the mansion was completed. Lucy, however, decided to make the island her primary home and raised their nine children there alone (with the help of a staff of 200).
On the trail through a forest of gnarled oaks and saw palmetto
Lucy died in 1916, and the mansion was abandoned during the Great Depression because it was too expensive to maintain, even for the Carnegie family. Dungeness met its end in 1959 when a poacher set fire to it. Wandering the grounds, it’s easy to imagine the many elaborate parties of the Gilded Age—and the demise of an era.
Ruins of the Dungeness mansion
Entrance to the once grand mansion
A stairway to memories of a distant past
The Serene Beaches Of Cumberland Island
The most beautiful part of the island lies across boardwalks over the sand dunes, where miles of undeveloped, pristine beach await. We’ve seen a lot of beaches in our travels, but there is something undeniably special about the beach on Cumberland Island. Maybe it’s the fact that only 300 visitors are allowed on the island at a time. Or perhaps it’s the contrast of the vast expanse of sand against blue sky and ocean.
Crossing the dunes on Cumberland Island
Miles of untouched beaches and solitude
Royal Terns resting on the beach
There is a great deal more to explore on Cumberland Island on the north end (including a mansion built for one of the Carnegie sons and a historic African American settlement). Next time, we’ll either sign up for a van tour of the north end or even better, bring our bikes if the sandy roads are in reasonable condition.
About The Campground
We stayed at Crooked River State Park in St. Mary’s, a great location for visiting both the Okefenokee Swamp and Cumberland Island. The sites are spacious, the setting is beautiful, and there are miles of hiking and biking trails throughout. While we were there, about half the campground was being upgraded to full-hookups and the bathhouses and laundry were undergoing renovation. It’s a very well-maintained park. Verizon is excellent.
Campsite Crooked River State Park
Beautiful. Did you find any sea glass?
Christine, we found plenty of beautiful shells, but no sea glass. I always love finding sea glass!
Love the photo of the Royal Terns.
How you manage not to tire from your nomadic life amazes me.
Thanks, Sheila—the terns are so beautiful, especially with their spiky hairdos in breeding plumage. I think we’re not tired of our nomadic life because there are so many interesting things to experience. We’ve made a significant effort to slow our travels, and that’s helping to keep us from burning out. Two months on Lopez helps, too. :-)
Nice story and images (as always), and GREAT timing – Viki and I will be visiting both Cumberland and the Okefenokee as part of a Southeast road trip next May! We just booked a couple of our accommodations yesterday. Happy 4th of July!
Dick, I’m so glad our post might be helpful for you and Viki. How fun that you’ll be visiting both Cumberland Island and the Okefenokee next spring! They are both so beautiful—we’re planning to return. Enjoy the 4th of July festivities in Ashland—we just arrived on Lopez. :-)
We are in the midst of planning our return route from Florida next spring. Is March too late to miss the bugs at Okefenokee? I saved the campground information as well, it sounds lovely. Wouldn’t have thought about visiting the island without your blog.
Sue, we were in the Okefenokee the last week of March, and it was perfect! No bugs at all. I think you’ll really enjoy the area—when we return, we’ll likely kayak in the swamp. But it was really fun and relaxing to do the boat tour with a guide. And Cumberland Island is wonderful, as well as Crooked River SP.
Such beautiful pictures of places I know and love. Glad you love them too. We stayed at the state park in Okefenokee for a week and never tired of it. We kayaked it every day. Water was low that year and gators were plentiful having all gathered together in what water there was. Gorgeous mirror picture of what looks like the canal leading out from the park docks. As for Cumberland, Read Strong Women, Wild Horses and you’ll want to spend way more time on Cumberland Island. Must be a new policy about bikes. Last time we were there you could not bring your own but had to rent them there. Rentals had no gears. Ugg! Hope you kayaked the river there at the campground. It was great. Kind of sorry to hear they are going to FHU since that will raise prices even higher for those of us who like to stay a week or two. You are there at the perfect time. April? Or early May?? Guess Sue didn’t read my tomes about Cumberland and Okefenokee and Crooked River. HA!
LOVE the check box to save the name etc. That’s an improvement for sure!!
Sherry, we wanted to kayak the river at the campground but we were only there three nights and chose to go to the Okefenokee and Cumberland Island. The weather was perfect the last week of March! We want to return to Cumberland Island next year, and I’m definitely going to read the book you recommended first. There’s a new policy that allows a limited number of bikes on the ferry, which sounds fun—if the roads are in decent condition.
It worked fine this time.
And I sure enjoy your going about and all over “Lifestyle”
Thanks again for your posting.
Thanks, Bob. Glad you were able to comment—not sure why you got an “error” message previously. We’re happy with our nomadic lifestyle—you certainly have a lot of adventures, too!
You two continue to inspire us! We have added these spots to our southeast list;-)
Bettina & Bob, we’re so happy to hear from you! We’re still hoping to cross paths with you in our travels. I think you’ll enjoy both the Okefenokee and Cumberland Island. Both are so peaceful, and there are lots of birds. Many more than we posted. :-)
The beaches on Cumberland Island are lovely and I definitely think they may be onto something by limiting the number of visitors. It’s rare to see that anywhere these days. I love the enforced solitude and calm of a place like that. The mansion ruins are haunting and sad. I’m actually surprised they’re still standing after such a destructive fire and so much time. Are visitors permitted to go inside the structure? I would assume not, but I don’t see any signs or barriers in your photos, so maybe?
Laura, I’m all for limiting visitors to the national parks…it makes an enormous difference. It was extraordinarily peaceful on Cumberland Island. You’re right, it’s interesting that Dungeness mansion is still standing. I read that the fire burned for three days! There were some unobtrusive signs posted prohibiting entry into the ruins. Probably a good thing or some people would be climbing all over them and posting ridiculous selfies.
Your swamp boat tour looks great. The beach picture was so peaceful. You described the place so well.
Debbie, the swamp boat tour was awesome! We thought about putting our kayak in, but are happy we chose the tour for our first experience of the swamp. Both the Okefenokee and Cumberland Island are peaceful and beautiful.
We visited the Okee the first year we were fulltiming. A friend was volunteering there and we shared Christmas dinner with her and the other volunteers. It’s a remarkable place … we will return to visit it in more depth someday … and I’ll add Cumberland Island to the list for that trip, too.
Erin, that sounds like a wonderful way to celebrate Christmas! After our introduction to the Okefenokee, we want to return—and we want to explore more of Cumberland Island, as well.
Wow, those photos of the Okefenokee Swamp with the blue sky above and reflection is so beautiful, what a special and unusual spot. Can’t you just imagine how it might have been years ago, the creatures that live there in peace? Did you see any armadillos, falcons, or hogs? The amazing ancient and huge, huge oak trees must be a sight to see.
Cumberland Island holds secrets from long ago, imagine living there with 200 servants and 9 children as Lucy Carnegie did. I read that she later built houses for her children including the Greyfield Inn, did you see it? I think without any local resources and stores it must have been a lonely place. Maybe you guys should go back and spend a night, ha, ha. I tried to research the cost for one night, but couldn’t find out.
The new layout of your Website is beautiful and lovely in its purple shades. Awesome job Laurel and gorgeous photos as usual from both you and Eric. You should be proud!!!
I’m so glad you like the new site, Peggy. :-) We’re planning to go back to Cumberland Island next year and explore the north end, which is where a couple of other Carnegie homes were built (including Greyfield). It would be fun to stay at Greyfield, but it costs about $600 a night. I think we’ll just go for the day!! More to explore in the Okefenokee, too—we saw gators and lots of birds, but no falcons. No wild hogs or armadillos, either. oxoxo
We’ve never visited this area. What fun you had! Love the boat tour of the swamp. That owl sighting is the best!! Your beach photo is spectacular. So open and all alone:) It’s always fun to take different routes traveling back and forth across the country. Every state and little town has something to offer. We have discovered so much in our various routes.
Pam, the Georgia Coast is a beautiful area, with so much to explore. It’s always a big puzzle figuring out routes back and forth across the country, isn’t it? So much to choose from! As you said, every state and little town has something to offer. It certainly keeps our travels interesting. The list grows ever longer, as you know! (P.S. The owl was for you. :-))
So glad you found that owl for me:) I’ve only seen two owls in the wild. One was at the park we stayed in Buffalo, WY. There was a creek and lots of tall pine trees. There was a resident Great Horned that had been there for a few years. Then, there were actually three owls living in the roof area of Casa Grande Ruins.
This is such a sweet peaceful area!! It’s been years since I was there and Mike has never been to Cumberland Island!! A place we have on our radar!! The state park looks like a great place to stay and visit both areas!!
The Dungeness Mansion looks like it was once a grand home!! In your pics it looked like it wanted to tell it’s many stories!!
Gerri, this really is a peaceful area, both the Okefenokee and Cumberland Island. As you said, the Dungeness mansion holds so many stories—if only the walls could talk! Crooked River SP is a beautiful park and a good place to use as a base for exploring the area.
Thanks for sharing the beauty of places that we too find ourselves avoiding ;) Your photos are stunning!
Haha, yeah, I had to overcome my fear of tornadoes and my dislike of heat and humidity AND my belief that nothing can compare with the beauty of the Pacific Northwest and the Southwest. But our route this year really proved to me how beautiful the Midwest and the Plains are. We also had great weather the whole way across. We followed spring all the way, and it was fabulous! (Fingers crossed we’ll never encounter a tornado…)
So glad you enjoyed the photos, Leah.
Grew up in the Midwest so tornados, heat, humidity don’t bother me. The swamps (literal and figurative) of the southeast are what freak me out ;)
Ohhhh…well, that makes sense! I’m freaked out by tornadoes, but hurricanes don’t bother me (I grew up in Florida).
I know what you mean about being wary of swamps (literally and figuratively) but honestly, our travels have shored up our faith in the goodness of people everywhere and have opened our eyes to the unique beauty that is everywhere. This has been an interesting journey, on so many levels!
Since you and Eric know us: we will admit to loving the Okefenokee swamp! Was not what we expected the first time there. Peaceful, quiet, a dark night sky (I think one of the darkest in Eastern US). Birds and bears and large snakes and gators. A very wild place and the state park is wonderful. The ‘ol Lark ventured the 17 miles into the park on 2 occasions. Worth the trips. We did land in St. Mary’s one year and yearned for the trip over to Cumberland Island, however, no place to leave The Lark with Eze in town for the day. Hope to return another time. So glad you were able to put us on your “return” trip to the NorthWest. I think Ohio held some surprises :)
Hope you put us on your agenda for birding again next year.
Love to you both
Ed and Diana and Eze
You guys were the primary reason we headed to Ohio—and what a glorious trip it was! It really opened our eyes to the beauty of a part of the country we had never experienced. And of course, we had the best hosts and traveling companions!
We’re already planning our return trip for next year—birding at Magee Marsh was extraordinary! And sharing it with you two made it even more special.
Hugs to you three! We miss you!
One of the things I most love about your blog is that you show us places that many do not explore. I have seen neither Cumberland Island nor the Okefenokee Swamp and not sure that we will ever get there, so I really appreciate that I get to see these places through your eyes. I am looking forward to your posts through the midwest. I must admit to being a bit jaded since I grew up in the midwest and most of both of our families live there. I feel certain you will show me much I have never seen.
Oh, thank you, LuAnn! I’m so glad we can share places with you that are a bit off-the-beaten-path. It will be interesting to see if we actually discovered anything in the Midwest that you don’t already know about—it was all so new for us, and we loved it! (We were surprised, too!:-))
A quote from Mark Twain, 1869 “Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one’s lifetime.”
JC, that has to be one of the most profound quotes ever. It’s what I often feel when we’re traveling—the interesting thing is that travel uncovers biases that I didn’t know I had. Thanks for the reminder—Mark Twain was brilliant (and so much better of a writer than me, haha!).
Peaceful beauty in a swamp. Who knew? Thanks for sharing.
Brenda, we’ve been to a few swamps in our travels, and surprisingly, we’ve found that they are beautiful and peaceful instead of scary and yukky. Then again, we don’t go in the height of bug season (that would be scary!).
Of course you posted while I was without Internet :-) Glad to get caught up with this beautiful stop. I so get what you mean about “travel rooting out prejudices….” I’ve had some self-aware moments myself. Like to think it’s making me a better person. Love the owl and the terns – and that wide open beach is magical. We would love the boat tour of the swamp.
Jodee, you understand exactly what I mean. And yes, I like to think that travel is making me a better person, too. I’ve always considered myself to be open-minded, but travel truly has been enlightening. You and Bill would love the boat tour of the Okefenokee!
So glad I found your blog! I also think I have gypsy blood, might have to do Ancestry DNA sometime! We will be visiting GA next spring, so looking forward to your future posts. Your pics are amazing.
Debbie, thanks for commenting! I’m so glad you enjoyed the photos…I have a couple more posts on coastal Georgia coming up that I hope you’ll find helpful. Cheers to our nomadic lives! :-)
Yep, that’s two of our favorites. I’ve been on Cumberland Island numerous times and have probably hiked every inch of it. You’re very lucky the bugs weren’t bad. I’ve been there at the end of March before and was eaten alive.
Loretta and I have paddled into the backcountry of the Okefenokee a couple of times to spend the night on the camping platforms. That’s a great experience.
Wonderful pics as usual!
Love the owl pic!
Henry, I remember when you hiked and camped on Cumberland Island…I’m thinking we might try to do that next year. But…that does NOT sound good if the bugs were bad, even at the end of March. :-( And camping in the Okefenokee—wow! What an experience that must have been! I’m scared of the gators.
For years we’d just shoot right by those areas on our way to Florida. Then we only had so much time and “the beach” was our only objective.
Now that we have more time we, too, enjoy ferreting out those interesting nuggets along the way.
Never too many owl pictures Laurel! I’m glad you commented on the green color on the egret. I would have just assumed it was the way it was photographed.
We love staying at Crooked River SP and always stop there when we’re moving south.
Sue, this was our first visit to Crooked River State Park, but it won’t be our last! We want to return for some kayaking and more exploring. Isn’t the green color surrounding the egret’s eye cool? Breeding plumage changes fascinate me.
Whoa, you just planned two of our activities this Fall. Now we know what to do while at Crooked River SP. We did get a note from them giving us priority of sites since construction has been completed.
I love the shot of the purple lady with the white sand as backdraft.
Oh good, glad we could give you some ideas, MonaLiza! You’ll enjoy the area, I’m sure. The campground was nice before, and it must be even better now.