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Plum Orchard Plantation (Cumberland Island)

Location: Brickhill River
Mile Marker: Mile 703
Lat / Lon: N 30° 51.317' / W 081° 28.050'
Depth: 9-20 Feet
Description:
Anchor just north of the Plum Orchard Plantation dock. Plum Orchard, one of the Carnegie family estates, was built in 1898. The area where the Brickhill River meets Cumberland Dividings is subject to shoaling. Enter the Brickhill River slowly, and watch the depth sounder.
NOTE: PER GA HB 833 DO NOT ANCHOR WITHIN 150 FEET OF A MARINE STRUCTURE SUCH AS A PRIVATE DOCK OR 300 FEET OF A MARINA, OR WITHIN 500 FEET OF APPROVED COMMERCIAL SHELLFISH GROWING AREAS.

4.57

(7)

4.57 out of 5 stars

Holding:

4.86

Excellent, Sand

Wind Protection:

3.71

Exposed to West

Current Flow:

2.86

Wake Protection:

4.57

Exposed to West

Scenic Beauty:

4.86

You can walk among huge live oaks draped with Spanish moss and view of the well-preserved mansion. If you are fortunate, you may encounter a family of wild horses grazing on the lawn or alligators swimming in the anchorage. (No swimming!)

Ease of Shopping:

1.00

Shore Access:

4.43

Pet Friendly:

4.50

Cell Service:

4.00

WiFi:

2.00

Review for Plum Orchard Plantation (Cumberland Island)

Reviewed by: Scott Gregory, My Happiness, on Sep 10, 2024
Vessel Type: Power
LOA: 42'
Draft: 4.0'

Overall Rating:

4

Holding:

5

Wind Protection:

4

Current Flow:

3

Wake Protection:

4

Scenic Beauty:

5

Ease of Shopping:

1

Shore Access:

4

Pet Friendly:

4

Cell Service:

4

WiFi:

4

This was a great little location to anchor at on April 1, 24. We didn't go all the way up to where the anchorages are located but stopped be the bend in the river at 29°11'47.5"N 81°00'16.9"W. There were crab pots all over and we had to move one pot from the center of the river to the edge lined up with the other pots. It was beautiful here and we were the only boat on the river. To use the dinghy dock you need a National Park pass. There was a current but it didn't cause any issues. The dock was great for taking the dog for a walk. Easy to walk around and took a tour of the mansion. We would anchor here again.

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Review for Plum Orchard Plantation (Cumberland Island)

Reviewed by: Bev Hewitt, Blue Odyssey, on Apr 14, 2024
Vessel Type: Power
LOA: 39'
Draft: 3.5'

Overall Rating:

5

Holding:

5

Wind Protection:

5

Current Flow:

5

Wake Protection:

5

Scenic Beauty:

5

Ease of Shopping:

1

Shore Access:

5

Pet Friendly:

5

Cell Service:

4

Beautiful anchorage. We were there with a buddy boat but no one else. Easy access to the dinghy dock...need National Park pass as it is a paid area. Saw horses on our arrival and on the grounds - also saw armadillos and alligators!! Large one swimming in water near the dock in the am! Grounds are beautiful and walking thru the huge oak trees draped with Spanish moss is not to be missed.
Approach was good - a little shallower at the mouth but not below 10 that we saw.
Would definitely stay again...hopefully for a few more days so we could walk to beach.

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Review for Plum Orchard Plantation (Cumberland Island)

Reviewed by: James Debaun, 2nd Mortgage, on Jan 12, 2024
Vessel Type: Power
LOA: 46'
Draft: 5.0'

Overall Rating:

5

Holding:

4

Wind Protection:

3

Current Flow:

2

Wake Protection:

4

Scenic Beauty:

4

Shore Access:

4

Pet Friendly:

4

Cell Service:

4

WiFi:

1

great all around anchorage, mixture of mud & sand. Holding was great but you will swing with the swift 2 knot current. Shore access is great. we arrived too late for the mansion tour. The mansion is beautiful. Great for pets except in the grassy areas infont of the mansion, the cockaburs were terrible & got in our GSD's paw pads so keep pets on the dirt path. but the grassy area off the dock was ok! Lots of horse poo but we didnt see any horses but we did see 2 armadillos! great quiet & enjoyable! We will stay again. Get there early for the tour!

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Review for Plum Orchard Plantation (Cumberland Island)

Reviewed by: Capt Maria Langer, Do It Now, on Dec 2, 2023
Vessel Type: Power
LOA: 32'
Draft: 2.5'

Overall Rating:

5

Holding:

5

Wind Protection:

4

Current Flow:

4

Wake Protection:

4

Scenic Beauty:

5

Shore Access:

5

Pet Friendly:

5

Cell Service:

4

After an extremely difficult crossing of St. Andrews Sound, we were glad to pull into the dead calm north end of Brickhill River and follow it down to the Plum Island anchorage on Cumberland Island. Plenty of depth all the way and it gave us a chance to see other anchoring options. We dropped anchor in about 10 feet of water with just one other boat there. (Hi, Scout!) The sky opened up and it proceeded to rain for the rest of the day and into the night. There's a floating dock suitable for dinghy parking. We got a chance to hike on shore the next day when the weather was better, although we were too early for the tour of the mansion. No one else was around. We walked about 4 miles round trip on wide, wooded trails where bikes are not permitted. (Unfortunately, we brought two ticks back to the boat; one bite found the next day required a trip to an urgent care clinic for removal; check yourself and your dogs carefully after any hike.) A great stop overall. Peaceful, dark at night, easy shore access with pets, and hardly any other boat traffic. And did I mention the Spoonbills we saw up in the trees on shore or the Bald Eagles flying the next morning? I would stay here again.

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Review for Plum Orchard Plantation (Cumberland Island)

Reviewed by: Patricia And Steven Stanley on Mar 24, 2022
Vessel Type: Power
LOA: 46'
Draft: 4.5'

Overall Rating:

4

Holding:

5

Wind Protection:

3

Current Flow:

1

Wake Protection:

5

Scenic Beauty:

5

Shore Access:

5

Pet Friendly:

5

Cell Service:

4

Beautiful anchorage! We stayed here for 2 nights. The first night we had the entire anchorage all to ourselves. On the second day we encouraged other Loopers to join us and we had 5 boats total. The channel is narrow and our water depth ranged from 17 to 30 feet. The wind was always from the North and the tides changed so we swung 180 degrees. We put out 120 feet of chain and had no problems.

We took our dinghy to the dock, walked around the island and took the free guided tour of the Plum Orchard mansion. It was wonderful and we encourage others to do the same.

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Review for Plum Orchard Plantation (Cumberland Island)

Reviewed by: Bill Kight, Cookie, on Mar 7, 2022
Vessel Type: Power
LOA: 27'
Draft: 2.2'

Overall Rating:

5

Holding:

5

Wind Protection:

3

Current Flow:

3

Wake Protection:

5

Scenic Beauty:

5

Ease of Shopping:

1

Shore Access:

5

Cell Service:

3

WiFi:

1

As best I am able to determine from reconciling the online Georgia DNR map with a current Aqua Maps chart, this anchorage is NOT in a shellfish restricted anchoring area. Just stay 150' from the Plum Orchard dock per another Georgia anchoring restriction. Our Rocna anchor held well during the overnight tidal swings and came up clean.

The Plum Orchard dock is for vessels 25' and less and overnight docking is not allowed. I did tie up my Ranger Tug 27 to the outside face dock for a few hours during an off-season visit. I was the only vessel in the anchorage. The inside dock space was taken up by two large vehicle ferry pontoons. I asked a National Park resident volunteer who resides in an apartment at the nearby Plum Orchard Mansion about my boat length and he responded, "I don't carry a tape measure."

Resident National Park volunteers conduct hour-long tours of the Plum Orchard Mansion three times daily. I highly recommend taking the tour. Our volunteer guide was knowledgeable and gave a great tour with lots of background and history.

After the tour, we walked the 2 1/2 mile trail to the beach on the Atlantic side of the island. It is a well-marked, easy trail. An advantage of visiting this part of the island is that the tourist hordes disgorged from the ferries at the south end of the island rarely get this far north unless they have bikes. Even then, the trail is not bike friendly. We had a wide section of beach to ourselves. We saw only a few other people.

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Review for Plum Orchard Plantation (Cumberland Island)

Reviewed by: Mark on May 23, 2017
Vessel Type: Sail
LOA: 40'
Draft: 5.5'

Overall Rating:

4

Holding:

5

Wind Protection:

4

Current Flow:

2

Wake Protection:

5

Scenic Beauty:

5

Ease of Shopping:

1

Shore Access:

3

Pet Friendly:

4

Cell Service:

5

Beautiful spot off the Crooked River. Sandy bottom in the middle of the river just north of the plantation dock. Enter the river dead center. Steer clear of shoaling along the southern edge. Be mindful of the tide as it drops about 1.5ft/h.

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