Cumberland Island National Seashore

Cumberland Island National Seashore
Off the southeastern coast of Georgia established in 1972

Oak trees draped with heavy Spanish moss, bands of wild horses, and unspoiled ocean beaches attract vacationers to Cumberland Island National Seashore. Visitors come by ferry from park headquarters on the Georgia mainland, and they come prepared to walk. The only cars on this windswept barrier island belong to the handful of people who live there.

Boats dock on the western side of the island, which is 18 miles (29 kilometers) long and only 4 miles (6.4 kilometers) across at its widest point. Broad tidal marshes fringe the shore here, and birds and hermit crabs scurry over the mudflats at low tide. Most visitors head inland. Here, ferns sprout from oak branches, and Spanish moss hangs in cascades. Miles of wooded trails lead through the forest, past freshwater ponds where alligators lurk.

Visitors who walk directly across the island reach Sea Camp Beach on the eastern shore.

Cumberland Island was once a resort for the wealthy. A few mansions still stand, along with a chapel and other buildings constructed by African-American settlers in the 1800's. About 50 people live on the island today. So do about 200 wild horses, descendants of stock left by Spanish soldiers hundreds of years ago.
Though the roaming bands of horses are beautiful to see, they pose a threat to the island's fragile plant life.

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