The following Article is from Your GPB Digital Magazine. Click here to download the iPad App.

There are few locations where you can walk miles and miles along the Atlantic Ocean without seeing hotels, condos, or even another person. But I discovered such a place while shooting “Wild Cumberland,” the first episode of our new season. 

With more than seventeen miles of undisturbed beach outlining the eastern edge of Cumberland Island, one of its most defining features is the magnificent seashore that stretches as far as your eyes can see. Unmarked by tall buildings and metal towers, the sky opens to a palate that is mixed with every color the heavens have to offer.

Once host to Indians, soldiers, slaves and millionaires, today Cumberland Island is protected by the National Park Service, which limits park visitation to three hundred people each day.

You can get lost there, with a larger wilderness area and fifty miles of hiking trails that weave through maritime forests and salt marshes, wetlands and beach dunes. 

As we explored the island, we were rewarded with unforgettable Cumberland sights and moments. Perched along the dunes, there are weathered trees, at once beautiful and haunting, limbs reaching desperately for the ocean like gnarled fingers frozen in a silent plea. Each sunrise brought us a new experience, like seeing wild turkeys strolling through the dunes and horses coming to the beach to take a nap before sauntering off to the maritime forest. And on a cloudy night under a full moon, we witnessed Loggerhead turtles coming up to the long, empty beach to lay their eggs. 

To experience more of the beauty and history of Cumberland Island, I hope you’ll tune in for “Wild Cumberland” as Georgia Outdoors premieres its new season on Sunday, October 20 at 7:30 p.m.