5 Best Sights in Sapelo Island, The Coastal Isles and the Okefenokee

Just north of Nanny Goat Beach, Cabretta Beach stretches along Sapelo's eastern shore, with its northern terminus at the outflow of Blackbeard Creek. This remote expanse of hard-packed sand is sometimes visited by fishermen or kayakers on their way to Blackbeard Island, and it's also the site of the Cabretta Campground, a group wilderness campsite that can be reserved via Georgia's Department of Natural Resources. Amenities: none. Best for: solitude; sunrise; walking.

Rice, not cotton, dominated Georgia's coast in the antebellum years, and the Hofwyl-Broadfield Plantation is the last remaining example of a way of life that fueled an agricultural empire. The main farmhouse, in use since the 1850s when the original house burned, is now a museum with family heirlooms accumulated over five generations, including extensive collections of silver and Canton china. A guide gives an insightful talk on rural plantation life. Though grown over, some of the original dike works and rice fields remain, as do some of the slave quarters. A brief film at the visitor center complements exhibits on rice technology and cultivation, linking them to Sierra Leone, the country from which many slaves were taken because of their expertise in growing rice.

This small settlement near the southern end of Sapelo Island is one of the few remaining Gullah/Geechee communities on the south Atlantic Coast. The Saltwater Geechee people, Georgia's sea-island equivalent to the Gullah of South Carolina, are descendants of slaves who worked the island's plantations during the 19th century. Hog Hammock's roughly 50 residents still maintain their distinct language and customs, which share many characteristics with their West African origins.

On the southeastern edge of the island, this beach sits at the heart of the rich ecological zones for which the island is known and protected. Naturalists with the Sapelo Island National Estuarine Research Reserve use this beach as an outdoor classroom, sometimes bringing groups here for beach walks. Visitors can hunt for sand dollars and whelk shells along nearly 2 miles of sandy shore; bird sightings include blue herons, egrets, ospreys, bald eagles, and the occasional plain chachalaca. A 1-mile trail connects this beach with the historic R. J. Reynolds House, crossing five ecological zones along the way. Amenities: toilets. Best for: solitude; walking.

Start your visit here, on the mainland near the Sapelo Island ferry docks, where you can view exhibits on the island's history, culture, and ecology, and get helpful trip planning tips from knowledgeable staff. Check in advance to see if they are offering a bus tour of the island on the day of your visit. The sights that make up the bus tour vary, but generally include the old sugar mill, the airfield, the cemetery, Nanny Goat Beach, and the 80-foot-tall Sapelo Lighthouse. Built in 1820, it's a symbol of the thriving cotton and lumber industry once based out of Darien. You may also book a tour with one of the residents on Sapelo Island—staff can assist. To get to the visitor center and Meridian ferry dock from downtown Darien, go north on Georgia State Route 99 for 8 miles, following signs for the Sapelo Island National Estuarine Research Reserve. Turn right on to Landing Road at the Elm Grove Baptist Church in Meridian. The visitor center is about ½ mile down the road.