We had an entire week at this wonderful state park near Savannah surrounded by marshes, cabbage-palmettos, birds, and deer. We hiked with friends and visited three nearby state parks and historic sites.
The campsites were spacious and private. Our first campsite (#30) was an extra long pull through.
For the second half of the week, our secluded campsite (#52) overlooked the marsh.
Our smallest grandchild was a great traveling companion. He enjoyed the playground, strolls in the wagon, hanging out at the campsite, and going on adventures.
We attended two of the ranger programs on snakes.
Our friends, Nell and Randy, had highly recommended this park. During our hike through the Sandpiper, Avian, and Big Ferry trails, they served as our naturalists and guides based on their experience as campground hosts here for ten years.
It was interesting to hear about Randy’s experiences building many of the walkways and structures we encountered on the trails.
Photos don’t do the breathtaking view at the Skidaway Narrows justice.
We paused at the picnic table to enjoy the view and check out the little snails clinging to stumps at the waters edge.
Nell and Randy brought their Lectric 3.0 bikes for us to try out. Foldable electric bikes will increase our camping fun if we can figure out if they will fit in the 4 Runner along with other essentials.
We enjoyed a campfire every morning and night, cooking and eating outside. Our little buddy had his own chair and table to eat and play on.
Wormsloe Historic Site
Georgia’s oldest plantation is named after Noble Jones, an English colonist who came to Georgia with James Oglethorpe, was granted 500 acres of land formerly inhabited by indigenous Muscogee tribes for thousands of years. Eight generations of the family expanded and maintained Wormsloe from a fortified tabby house to protect against Spanish attack to a plantation house with cropland farmed by slaves, to ultimately a 822-acre historic site interpreting colonial history that was acquired by the state in 1973.
Wormsloe’s grand masonry arch entrance, erected in 1913, served as the official entrance to the property until frequent traffic harmed the oaks.
A tram driver serpentined down the one and a half mile lane to the tabby ruins so we could photograph the scenic avenue lined by 400 oaks planted in 1891.
The walk through the grounds was peaceful and beautiful, but I wondered how it would be in the days during buggy, hot days, particularly before the modern conveniences made it more bearable. William Bartram, whose markers are scattered all over Georgia, Florida, and the Carolinas, spent a year exploring the Wormsloe/Savannah area in 1773.
Noble Jones’s fortified tabby house on the banks of strategically located Jones Narrows was completed in 1745. It is the only standing architecture remaining from the founding of Savannah. Jones’ gravesite is nearby.
Fort McAllistar State Park
The park features the best-preserved earthwork fortification of the Confederacy nestled among giant live oaks and Spanish moss on the banks of the Ogeechee River. We watched the film in the museum and explored the scenic grounds, including cannons, bombproof barracks, and palisades.
The earthworks survived numerous attacks from Union ironclads. but eventually succumbed in 1864 when General William T. Sherman’s “March to the Sea” concluded here.
The observation tower is a dramatic overlooks on the Ogeechee River
Many of the campsites border tidal Redbird Creek. The camp host said this was his favorite state park. We were also impressed.
Fort Morris Historic Site
This historic preserves the remains of various forts occupying the site. The original 1741 fort defended a nearby plantation in the war of Jenkins Ear and a 1756 fort protected locals during a Creek Indian uprising in the French and Indian War. Fort Morris defended the Medway River and the town of Sunbury at the outset of the American Revolution (when it was temporarily known as Fort Defiance), the War of 1812, and the American Civil War. The earthworks define the fairly small footprint of the site of the forts.
Although the visitor center was closed on the day we visited, we watched the website’s film on our phone and learned about the once-prosperous, now vanished community of Sunbury once located in the area. We thought about the ebbs and flows of the Sunbury community as we walked the grounds circling the fort site.
We paused our short walk at a picnic table to enjoy the view overlooking the Medway River.
It was a perfect spot for an impromptu photo shoot of this happy guy.
Even though we packed a lot into the week-long trip, there is plenty left to do when we return. For instance, we did not make it to the waterfront or squares in Savannah, or the nearby Pin Point community museum, and we were a bit early to see the rare Painted Buntings. We will be sure to return to the picnic table overlooking the Skidaway Narrows and soak in the beauty one more time.