St. Marys, Georgia — Submarine Museum, Historic Waterfront & the Gateway to Cumberland Island

Just across the state line to the north, the little Georgia port of St. Marys sits at the mouth of its namesake river, a shrimping town and Navy town that doubles as the mainland gateway to wild Cumberland Island. Laid out in 1787, its shaded, oak-lined historic district steps down to a working waterfront where the ferry departs for the barrier island's ruined mansions and feral horses. The day here stays on the mainland: it pairs the surprisingly deep story of the American submarine service at the St. Marys Submarine Museum with a stroll through the antebellum waterfront district and Orange Hall, then a visit to the National Park Service visitor center that interprets Cumberland Island's Carnegie-era history. It is an easy, low-key cultural day, all Spanish moss, tin-roofed cottages, and the smell of salt marsh.