See the Backcountry Camping web page for information on campground rules and regulation and how to make reservations.
The Brickhill Bluff Campsite in Cumberland Island National Seashore is located about 10.5 miles from the Sea Camp dock, though your mileage will vary depending on the route you take. Due to the distance, and because it is located right on the Brickhill River, a branch of the Cumberland River, many campers at Brickhill Bluff get there from the mainland by private motorboat, kayak, or canoe.
For those walking or biking, the easiest way to get to the campsite is to take Grand Avenue to the Brickhill Bluff Trail. While many of the trails north of Plum Orchard are overgrown, this one is kept cleared.
The Brickhill Bluff camping area begins just 500 feet down the trail from its southern trailhead on Grand Avenue. However, if you came to camp at Brickhill Bluff, you’ll want to be on the Brickhill River, so keep on hiking until you get to the water. The campground boundaries are marked with signs, and the area in between is huge. Only four groups of campers are allowed at a time, and all four could easily pitch their tents out of sight from one another.
While the Brickhill Bluff Campsite is beautiful, it is also near the marsh, and it can get really buggy from March through October. During one mid-March visit I didn’t see a bug on the entire Cumberland Island (except for ticks). During another mid-March visit, I was returning from The Settlement on the Lands and Legacies Tour when a group of college kids came out of the woods and flagged down the van. At the time, the tour was still run by the National Park Service, so a Ranger was on board. The guys said that the gnats were so bad that it was impossible to camp and requested a new campground. The Ranger radioed the Sea Camp Ranger Station and confirmed that there was a spot open at Stafford Beach. Thus, the guys hiked ten miles to Brickhill Bluff and were now willing to hike an additional seven miles south, that’s how bad the gnats were.
A Ranger told me that the only guaranteed bug free months are December, January, and February, so those are the only months I would consider camping at Brickhill Bluff. There are probably bug-free days during the fall and spring, but you can’t predict the gnats because the temperature is warm enough for them, so all depends on whether or not there is a breeze. I wouldn’t camp at Brickhill Bluff in the summer if I was promised a pot of gold when I got there (in fact, I wouldn’t camp anywhere on Cumberland Island in the summer).
A water source is at the campsite. This water must be treated.
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Last updated on July 19, 2024