Ossabaw Island’s South End Beach is a 12-mile, hour-long ride away from any semblance of civilization but well worth the difficulty of getting there. From the Main Road we veered onto Hell Hole Road, passing through some of the most ecologically significant mature maritime forests in Georgia.
When at last the beach was in sight we followed a short path to the dunes, punctuated by a stand of Cabbage-palms (Sabal palmetto) more reminiscent of Florida than Georgia.
The pristine shoreline here is an example of what all of Georgia’s beaches would have looked like before development.
When we arrived at South End, the tide was coming in, but the beach was nearly a mile wide at low tide.
