Two departures, two returns, 45 minutes each way. That is the entire fall timetable between St. Marys and Cumberland Island: 9:00 and 11:45 from the mainland, 10:15 and 16:45 back, every day from October 1 through November 30, 2026. From December 1 the times stay the same but the boat stops running on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, and the extra 14:45 return only comes back on March 1.
$44 plus $15. An adult round trip on the ferry costs $44 and is sold by the concession company. The $15 entrance fee for Cumberland Island National Seashore is a separate National Park Service charge, paid by card or online, never in cash. Children under 16 pay no park fee; on the boat, ages 6 to 15 travel at the child fare and those 5 and under ride free.
No cars, no pets, no shops. The boat is passenger-only, the island sells nothing, and the whole trip is organized around the ferry. Farther up the same Atlantic coast, the county's contracted boat to Daufuskie Island in South Carolina and Savannah's free Belles ferry across the Savannah River are the nearest other island and harbor crossings on this site.
Two sailings each way this fall, and a Tuesday–Wednesday gap all winter
Fall: October 1 – November 30, 2026, every day
| From St. Marys ferry dock | From Dungeness Dock, Cumberland Island |
|---|---|
| 09:00 | 10:15 |
| 11:45 | 16:45 |
Winter: December 1, 2026 – February 28, 2027, Thursday to Monday
| From St. Marys ferry dock | From Dungeness Dock, Cumberland Island |
|---|---|
| 09:00 | 10:15 |
| 11:45 | 16:45 |
Spring and summer: from March 1, Monday to Saturday
| From St. Marys ferry dock | From Dungeness Dock, Cumberland Island |
|---|---|
| 09:00 | 10:15 |
| 11:45 | 14:45 |
| 16:45 |
Spring and summer: from March 1, Sunday
| From St. Marys ferry dock | From Dungeness Dock, Cumberland Island |
|---|---|
| 09:00 | 10:15 |
| 11:45 | 16:45 |
Seasonal timetable published by Cumberland Island Ferry and by the National Park Service, identical on both, read October 1, 2026. The fall pattern runs October 1–November 30, 2026, and the winter pattern December 1, 2026–February 28, 2027. Cumberland Island Ferry — Ferry Schedule · 2026-10-01
Forty-four dollars to the boat, fifteen to the Park Service
Two different organizations take your money, and they do not share a till. The ferry company charges for the boat, booked online in advance as a round trip. The National Park Service charges the entrance fee: $15 per person aged 16 and over, valid for seven days, paid online or at the Mainland Visitor Center before boarding — and the park does not accept cash.
An America the Beautiful pass covers the entrance fee for the holder and three other adults, but not the ferry. The same goes for the Park Service's fee-free days; the two left in 2026 are October 27 and November 11.
| Adult, 16–61 | $ 44 |
| Senior, 62 and older | $ 42 |
| Child, 6–15 | $ 34 |
| Child, 5 and under | Free |
| Your own bicycle | $ 10 |
| 7-day pass, per person 16 and over | $ 15 |
| Under 16 | Free |
| NPS visitor lot, day or overnight | Free |
Ferry fares from the operator's website and booking system, and the entrance fee from the National Park Service, all read on October 1, 2026 Cumberland Island Ferry — Pricing Round Trip; NPS — Fees & Passes · 2026-10-01
From a blue visitor center in St. Marys to two docks on the sound
Check in at the Mainland Visitor Center an hour before sailing; on the island, pick the dock that suits your plan for the return.
St. Marys ferry dock
Everything starts at the Park Service's Mainland Visitor Center, a blue building on St. Marys Street in the historic district, with the ferry dock alongside. Check-in is here, the entrance fee is paid here if you have not bought it online, and a short safety talk is held fifteen minutes before each departure.
Parking is free, one block west in the tree-shaded lot between Wheeler and Seagrove Streets, with overnight parking for campers in the same place and buses and RVs on Seagrove Street. Put the street address, not the park's name, into a GPS: the Park Service warns that "Cumberland Island National Seashore" tends to route drivers to Crooked River State Park instead.
Dungeness Dock, Cumberland Island
The ferry serves two docks on the island's western, sound-side shore. Dungeness Dock is the southern one, beside the Carnegie-era Ice House, now a small museum with restrooms and drinking water, and a short walk from the Dungeness ruins.
Sea Camp Dock lies about three-quarters of a mile to the north, at the Sea Camp Ranger Station. It is the stop for the beach and for Sea Camp Campground, half a mile inland, and it is where campers catch the boat home. The ferry's small stock of ice, firewood, chips and drinks is sold only while it is tied up there.
Down the St. Marys River and up Cumberland Sound
The boat leaves the St. Marys waterfront, runs east down the St. Marys River — with Camden County, Georgia, on one bank and Nassau County, Florida, across the water — and turns north into Cumberland Sound, following the island's marsh-fringed western shore. The USGS topographic map traces this passenger-ferry line past Dungeness to Sea Camp. In a straight line the town dock and Dungeness Dock are about five miles apart; the route by water is longer.
Cumberland is Georgia's largest and southernmost barrier island, with more than 50 miles of trails and roads and 18 miles of undeveloped beach, so the ferry lands you at one corner of a very big place. Bicycles help; the Park Service caps personal bikes brought over plus rental bikes at 100 a day under its new visitor plan.
Booking Cumberland Island in the right order
- Camping first, ferry second
Campsites are reserved through Recreation.gov up to six months ahead. Secure the site, then book the ferry; Sea Camp campers must return on the 10:15.
- Arrive an hour early
Check-in at the Visitor Center starts 60 minutes before departure, and unclaimed seats are released to walk-up passengers shortly before the boat leaves.
- No cash for the park
The $15 entrance fee is card or online only. Pay it through Pay.gov in advance to save time, and bring ID to check-in.
- Nothing for sale once you land
Beyond restrooms and water fountains there are no services. Carry food and water, and carry every scrap of trash back out.
- Hunt dates close the wilderness
The park runs managed hunts through the fall and winter, including November 3–5 and December 1–3, 2026. During hunts only registered hunters may camp, and the wilderness area and Plum Orchard are off-limits to other campers.
A daily limit set in 1984, and the plan that replaces it
Seats have always been scarce here by design. Cumberland's 1984 general management plan set a visitation ceiling of 300 people a day, and the Park Service still warns that ferry trips regularly sell out in advance.
That is now changing on paper. In late August 2026 the Park Service signed the decision document for a new Visitor Use Management Plan. It replaces the fixed ceiling with visitor capacities for sensitive areas and estimates the ferry could eventually deliver about 600 people a day to Dungeness and Sea Camp combined, plus some 100 more to Plum Orchard if a service to that northern dock is set up. The increase is meant to be gradual and monitored, and any change to the ferry has to go through the Park Service's concession process first — so for the 2026 fall and winter timetable above, nothing has moved yet.
Before you book the boat to Cumberland Island
Is the $15 park fee included in the Cumberland Island ferry ticket?
No. The ferry company sells the boat ticket ($44 round trip for an adult). The $15 entrance fee, for everyone 16 and over, is paid separately to the National Park Service, online or at the Mainland Visitor Center, and the park does not take cash.
In October, which sailing is the last back to St. Marys?
The 16:45 from the island, arriving in St. Marys at 17:30. The 14:45 return runs only from March 1 to September 30, Monday to Saturday.
Can I visit Cumberland Island on a Tuesday in January?
Not by the public ferry. From December 1 to February 28 it runs Thursday to Monday only, with no sailings on Tuesdays or Wednesdays.
Which dock should I get off at?
Dungeness Dock for the Dungeness ruins and the Ice House museum; Sea Camp Dock for the beach, Sea Camp Campground and the ranger station. Campers at Sea Camp return from Sea Camp Dock on the 10:15.
Are dogs or kayaks allowed on the Cumberland Island boat?
No. Only service animals under ADA Titles II and III may board, and the ferry does not carry kayaks or cars. Bicycles are allowed for $10.
Has the daily visitor limit changed?
The Park Service approved a new visitor plan in August 2026 that could allow roughly 600 ferry passengers a day to Dungeness and Sea Camp, up from the 300-a-day ceiling set in 1984. It is to be introduced gradually, and no change to the ferry schedule had been announced by October 1, 2026.