Cumberland Island
Where wildness meets the sea.
Cumberland Island is a place where wild horses roam beneath live oaks, winding paths lead through maritime forest, and an uninterrupted coastline stretches along the edge of the island. For many visitors, the journey begins with a ferry ride from the mainland—backpacks packed, bikes ready, camping gear in tow, crossing the St. Mary’s River.
Once on the island, the pace changes. Live oaks and palm fronds line the paths, trails wind toward the ruins of another time, and the beach opens wide beyond the trees. There is a sense of being removed from the ordinary—a place to wander, explore, and take in wild beauty at every turn.
Cumberland invites you to slow down and be present. To leave the noise behind, even if only for a little while, and to experience a landscape that feels wonderfully untamed. For children and families, there is something especially memorable about entering a place where discovery is part of the journey—and where the landscape itself becomes the adventure.
what makes this place special
Once you ferry over, Cumberland waits to be explored. Whether day-tripping with a picnic and bike in hand, joining a formal tour of the island, or setting up camp for several days and simply letting the days unfold, Cumberland feels almost like entering another time.
There is something remarkable about camping here—pitching a tent, unpacking your things, and establishing a little home on the island for a few days. The experience asks you to settle in rather than simply pass through.
And once settled, there are so many invitations to explore. Discover the coastline and its treasures, watch for roaming wild horses, wander the grounds of Dungeness, or visit Plum Orchard. Yet Cumberland is not a place that needs to be filled with activity. So much of what makes it special is simply being present—having the time and space to explore at your own pace, and to discover a place together with the people you came with.
Cumberland holds so much in its landscape, but perhaps just as much in what the island makes possible: adventure, discovery, and the chance to connect with one another in a place that feels wonderfully removed from the ordinary.
what to notice
Stepping off the ferry truly feels like reaching a destination—and yet, somehow, it also feels like the continuation of an adventure that has already begun. Gather your belongings, load down a wagon—often packed to the brim—and begin to immerse yourself in the island’s beauty.
It is a beauty that contains and shelters. Palm fronds line the paths. Live oaks stretch and wind above and around you. The sounds of nature seem to form their own symphony, joined by the sounds of children, families, and other travelers settling in and beginning to explore.
Dungeness and Plum Orchard offer a chance to connect with Cumberland through time, imagining pieces of island life from years past. But some of the most remarkable experiences are found simply in the landscape itself. Bike down one island path after another, with beauty on every side. Watch your children have that same experience—nothing to do but pedal, explore, and take it all in. For a little while, you are simply a family of explorers.
Near Sea Camp, the live oaks seem to take on a life of their own. Some stretch low enough to invite climbing, becoming a whole world of adventure for a child. Follow the paths beneath their branches and eventually cross the boardwalk, where the landscape opens again. Wander over the dunes, feel the ocean air, and let the expansive shoreline unfold before you.
And then there are the wild horses. Whether they appear along an island path or beside the Atlantic, the sight is stunning—a glimpse of wildness that feels completely untamed.
slow & wonder
Someone once asked what we would do all day on Cumberland Island. The beauty of the question is that there doesn't have to be an answer. You can pedal, wander, explore, sit beneath the live oaks, watch the horses, or simply see where the day takes you. There is something freeing about a place where the day doesn't need to be filled.
Perhaps that is part of what makes Cumberland so special. The usual pull of schedules, screens, and the next thing to do seems to soften. There is time to be present—to notice the landscape, to linger a little longer, and to let children decide what comes next.
One of our favorite details was getting up to watch the sunrise over the Atlantic. Greeting the day with every color vibrant across the sky, a warm cup of coffee in hand and sleepy kids in tow. It was a small moment, but one that felt like a gift simply because we had made room for it.
Even among the families and travelers, there is a sense of collective friendliness. Taking turns at the community sink, washing dishes, exchanging stories about where everyone is from, settling into the rhythms of island life. There is something about Cumberland that makes you slow down enough to notice not only the landscape, but the people sharing it with you.
Cumberland reminds us that a day doesn't have to be full to be full of wonder.
A place to carry with you.
Cumberland Island has a way of staying with you—the wild horses along the path, the live oaks stretching toward the sky, the long walk to the shore, the feeling of being a little removed from the ordinary. These are the places and moments that become part of the stories we tell and the memories we carry.
At Mountain Shore Books, we believe those places are worth remembering. Worth returning to, sharing with the people we love, and holding onto long after we have gone home.