Part 2: Skidaway Island State Park and Service Brewing Company in Savannah
In late September, Jesse and I took a nice break from work and hit the road with our two dogs and camper. We headed down south to Hunting Island State Park in South Carolina and Skidaway Island State Park near Savannah. This article is part 2 of 2. If you haven’t already, go back and read our first article about Hunting Island here!
We visited Skidaway Island State Park on the second half of our two-state camping trip. We stayed for two nights, Wednesday through Friday. Skidaway Island is located in Savannah. It is not at the beach, but on the Skidaway Narrows which is a part of the Intracoastal Waterway. I had always wanted to camp here but I was not sure what to expect. This campground did not disappoint!
Camping at Skidaway State Park is like camping in a jungle
We arrived, right at check-in, on Wednesday. It was only an hour and forty-five-minute drive from Hunting Island. There are a variety of camping options at Skidaway – cabins, campsites, pioneer camping, and yurts. There are 87 campsites with electricity. The campground is pretty large. There are no campsites on the water – they are all in the maritime forest that is characteristic of the Georgia and South Carolina coast. I think it is like camping in a jungle. We went in the last week of September. It was hot but extremely humid. Luckily most of the campground is in the shade. Pines, oaks, and palmettos give a much-needed canopy to the campground.
We stayed at campsite 22. The online description says it is a back-in site; however we were able to pull through. This campsite was huge! We had a nice flat area with a concrete pad and picnic table. But between the picnic table and the woods, we had lots of room. This was great for the dogs to walk around (on leashes of course!). We did have a close neighbor, but we had enough space between each other that it wasn’t a problem. We were also a short walk from the bathhouse. This was kept clean throughout the trip. It is also a great place to look for geckos and cool bugs at night!
This campground is very large, so it is perfect for bike riding. There are 5 trails at this park. We decided to try something different and bike a trail. We took on the Big Ferry Trail, which winds around through the maritime forest and gives great views of the marsh. This is a two-mile loop. It is mostly flat and it was a fairly easy bike ride. There were some very rooty and sandy spots that did make biking difficult. Note that I only have a beach cruiser bike, so my bike isn’t necessarily made for trails. I think it was more challenging dealing with the humidity.
We finished the loop biking through the area that has alligator ponds
There was a point on the trail where a boardwalk led into the marsh to an observation tower. Unfortunately, the tower was closed for repair. But we did see a bald eagle flying over this part of the marsh, which was so cool! We finished the loop biking through the area that has alligator ponds. They are freshwater ponds on both sides of the trail. We looked all over for an alligator, but this time we missed them.
At this park there is an awesome visitors center. There is a replica of a prehistoric giant ground sloth. Bones of the ground sloth were found on Skidaway Island. There are also several tanks exhibiting some of the local wildlife, including snakes and terrapins. Behind the visitor center is the mile-long Sandpiper Loop trail, which takes you on boardwalks through the marsh. We did this after we biked the Big Ferry Trail, so we did not do the entire loop. We did enjoy the boardwalks though and we spotted an osprey there.
This time we went to Service Brewing Company, located near the end of River Street…