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| St. Marys is the gateway to Cumberland Island National Seashore. It is a small coastal village in southeast GA. It remains one of Georgia's best kept secrets, rich in history, natural beauty and Southern hospitality. |
| Cumberland Island |
 Cumberland Island is the largest and southernmost barrier island in Georgia, offering guests over 17 miles of secluded white, sandy beaches. Wild horses and other island wildlife roam freely throughout the ruins and along the beach.
The island is a complex ecological system of interdependent animal and plant communities. A system of foredunes protects the interdune meadow and shrub thickets.
A canopy of live oak trees stretches out beyond the back dunes that provide protection from salt spray.
In the island's central and northern sections, pine trees tower over mixed hardwood forests. On the western side, saltwater marshes pulse with the tidal flow.
The saltwater marshes support large populations of fish, shellfish, plants, and bird life. They also act as nurseries for the variety of vegetation found on the island.
Cradled in the branches of the maritime forest, resurrection ferns spring up above the draped Spanish moss to comfort the lives of such birds as painted buntings, summer tanagers, cardinals, woodpeckers, yellow-throated warblers, and Carolina wrens. Deeper in the forests you may catch a glimpse of the island's numerous whitetail deer, raccoons, bull alligators and armadillos.
Check out more info on Cumberland Island here. Also see how you can get to Cumberland Island. |
| St. Marys Attractions |
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Crooked River State Park - 6222 Charlie Smith Sr. Hwy, St. Marys, Georgia 31558
Phone (923) 882-5256 at 8 am - 10 pm except Thurs. at 8 am - 5 pm
Park Days and Hours - 7 am - 10 pm
- $5 Parking Fee
Located on Georgia's Coast, this park offers cozy facilities in a beautiful setting.
Campsites are surrounded by Spanish moss-draped oaks, while cottages are set near the river. A nature trail winds through maritime forest and salt marsh, and hikers may see gopher tortoises, fiddler crabs, herons and other coastal birds. The park's nature center features fish, snakes, turtles and other animals native to this part of Georgia. A boat ramp is popular with anglers who often take to the water before sunrise. Birding enthusiasts will enjoy the large bird blind that provides close views of painted buntings, redwing black birds and other species. Visitors may venture to the nearby ruins of the tabby "McIntosh Sugar Works" mill, built around 1825 and later used as a starch factory during the Civil War. Nearby is the ferry and visitor center for famous Cumberland Island National Seashore known for wild horses and mansion ruins. |
Cumberland Island National Seashore Museum - The new facility is located on Osborne Street, two blocks from the waterfront. The museum houses a collection of artifacts from Cumberland Island and includes an exhibit area open to the public. The exhibition uses pieces from the collection to highlight the people of the island. The lives of Native Americans, African Americans, the Carnegie family as well as others who lived on the island in the 19th and 20th centuries are seen in the island environment.
Phone: 912-882-4336 ext. 229 - Address: 129 Osborne St., St. Marys, Georgia 31558 |
Cumberland Island Ferry - This is your connection to "America's Most Beautiful Wilderness Beach." The 45 minutes ferry ride to Cumberland Island gives you just enough time to immerse yourself in that euphoric feeling of being on with the great outdoors.
Phone: 912-882-4335 or 888-817-3421 - Location: St. Marys Street, St. Marys, Georgia |
Dungeness Ruins - Revolutionary War Hero General Nathanial Greene purchased land on Cumberland Island in 1783. Following his death, his widow Catherine Greene, constructed a four-story tabby home that she named Dungeness. Thomas Carnegie and his wife Lucy began building another Dungeness on the original foundation in 1884. The Carnegie’s Dungeness burned in 1959 and today only the ruins remain on the site.
Located on Cumberland Island - Phone: 912-882-4335 or 888-817-3421 |
First African Baptist Church - Maintained by the National Park Service, this simple one-room frame structure, with 11 handmade pews, and three windows on each side, was built in 1937 to replace a cruder 1893 structure. In the 1890’s, The Settlement was established for African American workers. The First African Baptist Church was established in 1893 and rebuilt in 1930’s. It was the site of the September 1996 wedding of John F. Kennedy, Jr. and Carolyn Bessette.
Phone: 912-882-4335 or 888-817-3421 - Located on Cumberland Island, Georgia 31558 |
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| First Presbyterian Church was built in 1808 and is the second oldest church in Georgia. Other 19th century churches in historic St. Marys include Our Lady Star of the Sea Chapel (1847), Christ Episcopal (1880), and St. Marys Methodist Chapel (1858). Oak Grove Cemetery, here you will find much of the history of Camden County recorded under the huge oak trees sheltering this historic cemetery. The earliest marked grave is from 1801. Graves of veterans representing every war, except the Persian Gulf, are found in Oak Grove Cemetery. |
| George Bancroft SSBN-643 Sail Exhibit - The sail of this decommissioned submarine is on display outside the Kings Bay Subase Franklin Security Gate and is mounted on top of a simulated hull, at full scale, depicting a submarine surfacing. The sail stores the persicopes and atennas. Exhibit is open to the public. USS George Bancroft was one of the original '41 For Freedom' boomer submarines from the 1960s till 2000. Previously stationed here at Kings Bay Subase. Phone: 912-882-2782 - Location Kings Bay Subase Franklin Gate - Hwy Spur 40 Main Gate, St. Marys, Georgia 31558 - Directions I-95, Exit 3 Hwy 40. St. Marys |
| Gilligan's Island - Gilligan's Island is one of Camden County's best kept secrets! This 57-acre park features trails through the native & pristine Georgia habitat, as well as a cool, spring-fed lake ideal for swimming, canoeing, or kayaking. This 57-acre park features trails through the native & pristine Georgia habitat, as well as a cool, spring-fed lake ideal for swimming, canoeing, or kayaking. It is includes a lake complete with an island. Phase I of the park is open, which includes a boat launch for non-gasoline powered boats, picnic tables, an open pavilion, a screened-in pavilion with a nearby grill, and the start of our nature trail. With further development, we hope to add a dog park, continue the nature trail all the way around the pond, have a camp site and horse trails, and complete restroom facilities. Phone: 912-729-5600 - Located: St. Mary's right across from Hippo Storage, St. Marys, Georgia |
Historic District Braille Trail - There are braille markers on 18 historic sights in St. Marys
Phone: 912-882-4000 or Toll Free 800-868-8687 - Located Downtown St. Marys, Georgia 31558 Directions I-95, Exit 3 to Hwy 40. St. Marys |
| Howard Gilman Memorial Park - The newest addition in St. Marys, the park officially opened on June 30, 2001 but it wasn't until 4 days later the park would see its first real guests. On July 4th it was standing room only as thousands of area residents packed the newly opened waterfront park to catch a glimpse at the 33rd annual fireworks display. What better way to celebrate the Nations Birth and the opening of a waterfront park than a spectacular display of color and beauty. Phone: 912-882-4000 or toll free 800-868-8687- Address: St. Marys Street, St. Marys, Georgia 31558 - Directions: I-95, Exit 3 turn left on Hwy 40 east about 9 miles. |
| McIntosh Sugar Mill Ruins - These ruins are believed to have been built in the late 1820's. It is a tabby structure with very thick walls. At the time the sugarhouse was constructed, it is believed that thick-walled buildings such as this tabby one built by McIntosh were essential to insure the warmth needed for Superior production of sugar. Amenities: Parking and Accessibility for mobility-impaired. Open daily sunrise to sunset. Located Spur 40 (Charlie Smith Sr., Hwy.), Downtown St. Marys Directions I-95, Exit 3 to Hwy 40, St. Marys Georgia 31558 |
| Oak Grove Cemetery - Here, you will find much of the history of Camden County recorded under the huge oak trees sheltering this historic cemetery. The earliest marked grave is from 1801. A Soldier from every War is buried in Oak Grove Cemetery. Phone: 912-882-4000 or Toll Free 800-868-8687 - Located Downtown St. Marys, GA Directions I-95, Exit 3 to Hwy 40. St. Marys |
| Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge - In southern Georgia and northern Florida there is a very special place, one of the oldest and best preserved freshwater systems in America. Timucuan Indians called it Okefenoka, meaning “Land of the Trembling Earth”. Now this place, where earth, air, fire and water continuously reform the landscape, is preserved within the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge, created in 1936 to protect wildlife and for you to explore. |
Orange Hall House Museum & Welcome Center is found the architectural pearl of historic St. Marys, Georgia. The home takes its name Orange Hall from the “extensive hedges and the large sour orange grove at the rear of the house.” This is a showcase of antebellum life in the Greek Revival style. Orange Hall was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973.
Phone: 912-576-3644 - Address: 311 Osborne St., St. Marys, Georgia 31558 |
| St. Marys - Our Lady Star of the Sea Catholic Church - The Chapel began as a bank in 1840; however, the bank failed after seven years. Mrs. Marie Ponce Defour and her husband Lewis purchased the Chapel for their church as they had no formal place of worship. |
| St. Marys Submarine Museum surfacing in a converted historic movie theater on the St. Marys waterfront, the Museum is one attraction not to be missed! Get ready to see firsthand a working periscope, models of torpedoes, and many displays made from actual submarines. See a deep-sea diving suit and submarine uniforms, command plaques, photographs and models of submarines, an area for watching movies on submarines, working sonar panels, a history of submarines, a reading area, a reference area, gift shop and a display dedicated to the eight submariners who received the Medals of Honor. Walls and walls of memorabilia track the history of the submarine. |
| Toonerville Trolley - "See You In The Funny Papers!" This saying originated by Roy Crane in his 1935 "Wash Tubbs & Easy" comic strip. The strip featured the many local personalities who used this railcar to commute from St. Marys to Kingsland in the late 1920s. |
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 Georgia Coast and Islands National Parks
Georgia Coast - Islands
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