See the Beaches web page for an interactive location map.
Stafford Beach is located next to the Stafford Campground. It is the most northern beach on Cumberland Island that is still viable for most day trippers to visit, but only for those who have a bike. On foot it is a 3.8-mile hike via the Parallel and Pratts Trails, but on bike you can get there in less than an hour. Travel up Grand Avenue and take a right on Stafford Beach Road. Taking this route adds roughly .6 mile to the journey as compared to the trails.
At the campground, a narrow, sandy trail leads over the dunes and to the beach. It was slightly overgrown when I visited, which just shows that the farther you get from Sea Camp the less people who use the area. Being on the beach, the last thing you may be thinking about is picking up a tick, but they do live in the grasses on the sand dunes. Once you get to the beach be sure to check yourself for the pests.
I visited a number of beaches on Cumberland Island National Seashore, and they all looked the same to me. However, I did run into some people who felt that the farther north you go the less grass you will find washed up or growing in the sand. I did not notice this, but I did notice that the farther you venture from Sea Camp the less people you will run into. However, considering that only about 300 people per day visit Cumberland Island, even if everyone went to the same beach, the crowds would still be sparse compared to a mainland Florida beach in the summer. Thus, there really isn’t much reason to justify the effort required to reach the beaches farther north of Sea Camp unless you happen to be camping for multiple days.
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.
Stafford Beach Road does not end at the beach path, but instead curves to the left and continues north. The road eventually connects to a private road that connects back to Grand Avenue, but on the way there is another beach entrance which I will name North Stafford Beach. I did not visit this beach, but due to its short distance from Stafford Beach I cannot imagine that the scenery is any different.
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Last updated on July 30, 2024