Little St. George - The Deserted Beach - Part 2
If you missed Part 1 of our Little St. George blog, you can check it out here.
Once we walked up and over the dunes that border the east side of Little St. George, we were surprised at what we saw. The eastern part of the remote island is actually pretty barren with pine trees all over the place that look like the whole island has been through a controlled burn.
We started by walking to the two remote campsites on the bay side of Little St. George. From there we connected with the Sikes Cut trail which is nearly a 2 mile hike around the eastern side of the island. It’s a very easy hike through pines, palms and sand. (Note: If you decide to hike on Little St. George, don’t forget to bring closed-toe shoes. The burrs around the island can be painful to step on!) While many of the pines were bare, the palms covered the island. It was really quite amazing!
After you make the loop around Sikes Cut Trail, you arrive at the beautiful, white sandy beaches of Little St. George. It really looks like no one has ever walked these beaches before. The sand is so nice (it's almost pink in color), and there are shells everywhere!
As we began to walk back toward the eastern end of Little St. George, two palms clearly stood out on the beach. On these palms, prior adventurers have placed shells on the trunk of the tree. It is a really unique way to leave your mark on the desolate island.
As we made our way down the pristine beach to our canoe, sea gulls lined the beach. There must have been nearly 500 birds gathered on the beach. Displaying his inner 10-year-old self, Adam ran toward the birds and they began to take off. It was a remarkable sight!
After running off all of the birds on the island, we finished our trip by paddling back to “the big island.” I mentioned last time that we planned our departure to Little St. George well by keeping an eye on the tide charts…we did not do the same for the way back. While I paddled, Adam was in the back taking pictures. By the time Adam figured out how far down toward the Bay we’d drifted, we had a much more difficult time getting back to the launch area at the Cut. We made it safely though and got a good workout too!
There is so much more of the island to explore. There are another 3.5 miles of trails in the central and western parts of the island, and the location of the original two sites of the lighthouse on St. George Island from the 1800s! You can learn more about the history of the lighthouse at the lighthouse museum on St. George Island and in our future two-part blog on this piece of history. Have you ever been to Little St. George? If so, leave us a comment below and tell us your story!
