For generations, the unspoiled islands along the coast of Georgia have been a treasured getaway.
Today, they are setting the bar for cultural and natural preservation.
Lindsey Harris Shorter
TheGeorgia coastlineis not a clear boundary between land and sea.
Yet the islands have never been conquered by mass tourism.
Thats partly because some of them remained, until recently, retreats for the heirs of those privileged families.
Only four can be accessed by road; the rest are reachable only by boat.
Apart from several small campgrounds, Greyfield is the only place to stay.
(Day visitors and campers can board a commercial ferry from St. Marys, Georgia.)
During the 45-minute cruise, Ferguson regaled us with stories of the inns past.
Before long, we arrived atGreyfield.
The 15 rooms in the Colonial Revivalstyle manor are decorated with antiques and four-poster beds.
Greyfield evokes a different time: evening meals are sit-down affairs, with jackets required for men.
There is no Wi-Fi, and wild horses graze on the lawn.
The only creature we met on the pristine beach was a fawn gazing at us from the dunes.
(The church is where JFK Jr. and Carolyn Bessette held their wedding ceremony.)
(It was Staffords heirs who, in the 1880s, sold much of the island to Carnegie.)
One of the guests asked, Who decides which buildings to preserve and which not to?
(Doubles at Greyfield Inn from $745.)
Preserving those spaces is just as important as preserving the plantation houses.
Sapelo is unique because its the only barrier island in Georgia where the Gullah-Geechee community has lived continuously.
Families were entitled to 40 acres each.
There are families living there that can trace their roots on the island back 10 generations.
Each cottage also comes with a golf cart the only way to get around the island.
They recently turned a former candy store into two guest suites.
Palms and Spanish moss-covered trees grow over a pathway on Little St. Simons Island, in Georgia.Credit:Lindsey Harris Shorter
The property is managed by the state of Georgia and can only be reserved for large groups.
The Birdhouses, too, were conceived to help the local economy.
(Doubles at Sapelo Island Birdhouses from $255.)
From left: Wild horses grazing on Cumberland Island; a stretch of Cumberland’s sand dunes.Lindsey Harris Shorter
Coffins improvements included theCloister at Sea Island Resort, which today remains one of the countrys most elegant getaways.
Its also on one of the few barrier islands you’re free to drive to.
Multi-bedroom cottages are also available.)
Evening drinks on the Greyfield Inn’s porch.Lindsey Harris Shorter
In 2004, it was the site of the G8 Summit.
One morning, my children and I went on a patrol for loggerhead turtles with a naturalist.
We learned that global warming is causing more female turtles to be born than males.
From left: The ferry to Cumberland Island; the lounge at Greyfield Inn.Lindsey Harris Shorter
(Doubles at the Cloister at Sea Island Resort from $609.)
With only 16 rooms in the original lodge, plus six cottages, the atmosphere is intimate and relaxed.
Anall-inclusive resort, a stay at the lodge includes two daily adventures with the knowledgeable naturalists and all meals.
From left: St. Luke Baptist Church in Hog Hammock, a Gullah-Geechee community on Sapelo Island; a statue in the fountain at Reynold’s Mansion, on Sapelo.Lindsey Harris Shorter
(My favorite was local trout with chimichurri sauce.)
Little St. Simons is an important stopover for migrating birds some 250 species are regularly spotted there.
We huddled together on the sand to wait.
The Sapelo Island lighthouse, built in 1820.Lindsey Harris Shorter
Soon, it began.
(Doubles at theLodge at Little St. Simonsfrom $675, all-inclusive.)
From left: A sailboat at the dock on Sapelo Island; Sharron Grovner, a Sapelo Island tour guide.Lindsey Harris Shorter
The Cloister at Sea Island, one of the country’s most storied retreats, has hosted more than six U.S. presidents.Lindsey Harris Shorter
From left: Spanish-style architecture at the resort; the solarium at the Cloister at Sea Island Resort.Lindsey Harris Shorter
From left: The entrance to the spa at the Cloister at Sea Island; a quiet moment in the solarium.Lindsey Harris Shorter
Seagulls fly over the island’s beach on Little St. Simons Island.Lindsey Harris Shorter
From left: A guest room at the Lodge at Little St. Simons Island; the Hunting Lodge at Little St. Simons was built in 1917.Lindsey Harris Shorter
From left: The dock on Little St. Simons Island; a rabbit near a walkway to a wildlife-watching blind on Little St. Simons.Lindsey Harris Shorter
