Sea Camp Beach at Cumberland Island National Seashore

The entire Atlantic coast of Cumberland Island is beach, and you are welcome to swim and walk on every foot that lies within the National Seashore boundary. All beaches are pristine without any development on them. Access to the beach through the sand dunes is allowed only via paths at certain locations. There are no lifeguards on duty.

Beach access point through the sand dunes at Cumberland Island

Once on the beach, if you take a walk along the shoreline, keep in mind that you can only cross the sand dunes at paths marked with black-and-while posts. These were installed by the National Park Service to keep people from getting lost; be on the lookout for them. Any paths through the dunes without a marker are on private property.

Dune crossing marker at Dungeness Beach on Cumberland Island National Seashore

The Cumberland Island beaches are not soft, sandy beaches, unless you get far from the water and sit right along the start of the dunes. The sand is hard packed, suitable for driving on—permanent residents with permits can do so. They are also not very good for shelling, with small shells, many broken, making up the bulk of what you will find. You are welcome to take empty shells and shark teeth home with you.

Two of the beaches are accessed at Sea Camp Campground and Stafford Campground. Restrooms at these locations are available to everyone, not just those camping. There are no restroom facilities located near any other beach access points.

Only the beaches near Sea Camp and Dungeness are within reasonable walking distance for those on day trips. If you have a bike, you can make it to Stafford Beach and back in time to catch the 4:45 PM ferry. All other beaches are much too far away to make the trek worthwhile for day trippers, bike or no bike. Yes, you could ride as far north as the Duck House Trail and hike to the beach and get back in time, but you would only have two hours to spend on the beach at most. There is no possibility for day trippers to get to any other beaches farther north.

The quality of the beaches is consistent for the entire island, so the only reason to visit the beaches farther from the ferry docks is to avoid the crowds. However, when you realize that only 300 people a day can come to the island on the ferry, even if everyone ended up on the same beach you would still have a small crowd compared to a typical mainland beach. If your purpose for visiting Cumberland Island is to go to the beach, make it easy on yourself and visit the closest one.

There is no swimming access to the Cumberland River and Cumberland Sound other than near the ferry docks. Once you go north of Greyfield, the western shore of the island is all marsh. Alligators live there, making it another reason why nobody swims in these locations.

The following is a list of beach access points and distances from Sea Camp. Other than Sea Camp Beach, Dungeness Beach, Little Greyfield Beach, and Stafford Beach, the beach names I use are made up based on the trail or other landmark near the access point—there are no official names that I am aware of. Beaches are listed from south to north. A few have links to other National Park Planner web pages that provide more information.

SOUTH END BEACH

South End Beach on Cumberland Island National Seashore

There is no road or trail from the ferry dock to South End Beach, so to get there you must reach Dungeness Beach and walk south for two miles. That’s about a 7-mile round trip hike, certainly not very feasible for a day tripper on foot who wants to spend time swimming and sunbathing.

DUNGENESS BEACH

If you want to visit Dungeness Beach, be sure to get off the ferry at the Dungeness dock, the first stop. It is about 1.5 miles to the beach from this point. It is important that you know the easiest way to get there, so visit the Dungeness Beach web page for additional information.

SEA CAMP BEACH

If you want to visit Sea Camp Beach, be sure to get off the ferry at the Sea Camp dock, which is the second stop. It is about .8 mile to the beach from this point. This is the closest beach from either of the two docks. See the Sea Camp Beach web page for additional information.

GOATS WAY BEACH

This beach is located at the end of a private road.

GREYFIELD BEACH

This beach is located at the end of a private road.

LITTLE GREYFIELD BEACH

Little Greyfield Beach is approximately 2 miles from Sea Camp, though actual mileage will vary depending on the route you take. This is a feasible distance to cover for day trippers with or without a bike. See the Little Greyfield Beach web page for additional information.

STAFFORD BEACH

There are a number of ways to reach Stafford Beach. On foot it is 3.8 miles via the Parallel and Pratts Trails. Obviously, this is not very feasible for day trippers on foot, but perfectly doable for those with a bike. Take Grand Avenue—the main road through the park—for 3.6 miles to the turnoff for Stafford Beach (half hour ride). Ride down this road for another three-quarters of a mile to the campground, then hike an additional quarter mile to the beach. See the Stafford Beach web page for additional information.

NORTH STAFFORD BEACH

There is another beach access point just north of the Stafford Beach. Follow the same directions given to reach Stafford Campground, then continue north along the road for less than a half mile to the access point.

WILLOW POND BEACH

Under normal circumstances, Willow Pond Beach is reached by hiking Willow Pond Trail, which starts 5.8 miles up Grand Avenue from Sea Camp. The trail itself is a little over two miles long. However, it is often underwater or covered in deep mud. I attempted to reach the beach this way but could not. An alternate route would be to take the Parallel Trail from Sea Camp. This ends at the midway point on Willow Pond Trail, but I can’t say for sure if it comes out far enough to the east to avoid the mud. I highly suggest asking a park Ranger about trail conditions before starting off for this beach.

DUCK HOUSE BEACH

Duck House Beach on Cumberland Island

Duck House beach is located at the end of Duck House Trail. It is 7.5 miles up Grand Avenue from Sea Camp to the trailhead and a 2-mile walk to the beach. Bikes are not allowed on the trail. On foot, this is too far for day trippers. If you have a bike, it is a one-hour ride with no stops to the trail and a one-hour hike to the beach (double that for return trip considerations). This leaves you with about two hours to spend on the beach. As would be expected, there are no crowds here. Other than that, beach is beach, and the effort to reach Duck House Beach is simply not warranted for day trippers.

SOUTH CUT BEACH

South Cut Beach is located at the end of South Cut Trail, an approximately 1.5-mile dirt roads located 10 miles up Grand Avenue from Sea Camp. I did not visit this beach or hike the trail.

NORTH CUT BEACH

North Cut Beach is at the end of North Cut Road. There are numerous ways to get there, but at a minimum plan to travel at least 14 miles, one way.

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