Cannon's Point Preserve

Cannons Point Preserve is a beautiful and peaceful spot on the island, perfect for nature lovers and history enthusiasts alike. We initially planned to explore the longer 4+ mile trail but opted for the shorter route instead, which led us to a unique squirrel’s-view lookout tower with a great vantage point. The preserve is full of towering live oaks, wildlife, and scenic marsh views, making it a great place to disconnect and enjoy the outdoors. Next time, we’ll definitely bring our bikes to fully experience the longer trail. Highly recommend for a quiet, off-the-beaten-path adventure!

Absolutely breathtaking views. Hiking trails, ruins of plantation home, educational pavilion with volunteers. OPEN Saturday, Sunday, and Monday 9-3. No animals allowed. Keep in mind it takes a couple hours to walk to the ruins and back

Excellent time of year for this trail. Get out there during these winter months. So the trail is basically a straight path totaling 4 miles out and back. HOWEVER, what makes it longer are all the side spurs that lead to historic ruins or overlooks. So with all of those side trails, you can add as many miles as you want. We explored all but maybe 2 side trails. Video to come on YouTube. Search “PFAM5.” Plenty of cool sights and an observation tower that overlooks the ruins of big house. You can Google the preserve and download a map from online.

This is such a beautiful and historic site. The volunteers gave us so much information and were a joy to speak with. This communities efforts to keep this historic is truly a treasure.

The trail back to the ruins was closed. The preserve was open but the vast majority of the trails were closed. No one could tell us what “limited access” means. The welcome center encouraged us to visit and check out ruins. Very poor communication Georgia😔

Visited on the early afternoon of May sixteenth. It was a pleasant day, nice breeze, warm weather. Were only rode out to Cannon point to see the ruins and the came back. We made no excursions down any of the numerous side trails Our bikes are cross overs which are fine on paved roads but not so suitable for the Cannon point road. The road surface is natural soil usually compacted but sometimes soft with patches of exposed tree roots. The tree roots can be really jarring if your bike doesn't have large soft tires or some sort of suspension. Were rode out and back with no problem but didn't spend as much time as we'd hope to as the deer flies were numerous and ravenous. Things were fine until we stopped at Cannon point where they decended on us in great numbers. Note that this isn't a criticism as deer flies are just part off the natural landscape but a warning to those uninitiated to the true nature of the wild landscape of barrier islands. Coming at a different season you would have a different experience. If we're ever in the area again we're sure to come back.

If you are in the area go. Even If you don't want to hike far the fish camp loop and observation tower near the parking lot is a beautiful place to spend an hour or have a picnic under some beautiful live oaks. Beyond that is miles of trails. I spent 6 hours exploring and only saw about 40% The mosquitoes are thick so come strapped but its worth it to walk around in one of the most amazing forest on the east coast. Also its free.

sign in at wooden sign kiosk and enjoy miles of biking or walking trails through old plantation property with some relics remaining.

Cannon's Point Preserve is one of the holdings of St. Simons Land Trust. It is a large preserve on the northern end of SSI. The main attraction here is to do the long hike to the ruins at the northernmost tip of the preserve. I was never given a clear answer about how many miles the hike is, I was just told it would probably take an hour each way to hike it, and they do not allow anyone access to attempt the hike past 1pm, to assure they've returned before close. You may bike it, something I wasn't told. That would've gone a lot faster and I'd have made it with my toddler! Next time. I did do a large portion of the trail, but I skipped the side trails in my attempt to reach the ruins. When I finally gave up, I did take a side path to a hammock of live oaks, and it was such a beautiful canopy! Like an arboreal cathedral! I posted a video of the birdsong here, OMG, it is crazy! Birds friggin' love this place! My dogs had fun exploring, but I don't think there was a lot of wildlife other than birds, because my dogs will usually get excited for anything and they didn't do that the whole walk. The bush here is so thick, I guess the fauna kept well hidden. This is a beautiful sanctuary, which is wonderful on the very built up island of SSI. Thank God for St Simons Trust!

Great park located on the north end of St Simons Island. Bike or walk through history!