Top things to do near Savannah: Fort Pulaski National Monument and Tybee Island Light Station & Museum
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| Fort Pulaski National Monument, Savannah, Georgia |
Two years ago, my wife and I went on a West Coast/Southwest/Central South cross country road trip. On that trip, we visited incredible national parks, monuments, and landmarks. It is without a doubt what makes America great.
It is knowing that every American can enjoy them without needing to worry that someday they’ll be turned into condos, amusement parks, or retail establishments. Don’t we already have too many of these???
We experienced so much of what it means to live in this great country that is the United States of America. The places we visited were amazing, many of them otherworldly, and awe-inspiring to say the least. Places like Zion National Park and Death Valley National Park will live in our memories forever…
We really got into visiting these national treasures that particularly trip. Whereas in the past we would’ve stopped for not more than 30 minutes to take some photos at observation decks/overlooks, on that trip, we sometimes spent the entire day hiking the trails.
It’s amazing how much you appreciate a place when you actually hike the place. Seeing minute details, of say things like the local fauna and flora, or the smells of the place, is only possible when you’re hiking on it.
Thanks to that trip, when we were planning another road trip in December 2023 to the Southeast/Deep South/Central South, we knew we had to include national parks and/or monuments. My usual planning phase involves looking at a map of the area to determine if any national parks or monuments are en route, or at least within 2-3 hour driving distance.
We found Fort Pulaski National Monument, right near Savannah, which was awesome! When looking at the map of the city, I also noticed the nearby Tybee Island right next to the fort. Tybee Island is a popular destination for locals when they want to relax by the beach.
The island features over 3 miles of sandy beach, historic sites, and plenty of things to do including water sports, shopping and dining. With famous celebrities such as Sandra Bullock and John Mellencamp calling Tybee Island home, we had to check it out as well.
Here are two of our favorite top things to do near Savannah:
- Fort Pulaski National Monument
We arrived on a windy and cold morning in late December to the entrance station at the monument. We knew we wanted to visit various national parks/monuments again, so we purchased the “America the Beautiful” park pass which allows entrance to National Park Service managed locations for a period of 1 year.
We stopped by at the excellent visitor center to read all the displays as well as to watch a short film about the fort’s history. After our quick visit, we walked outside to actually walk the fort, both inside and outside.
We first walked around the inside, seeing the various rooms that were used for different purposes, like officer’s quarters, storage, meeting room, bunker, and soldiers’ quarters. There was a ranger led tour that was in one of the rooms, so we stopped by to listen in on what a daily life was like for soldiers stationed there.
After checking out the interior of the fort, we walked up to the top of the fort for a better look at the surroundings. Views were nice and open!
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After walking around the entire fort, we decided to walk one of the most popular trails at the park: Lighthouse Overlook Trail. At length of just around 1 mile, it was a perfect distance to get a nice sweat going.
We got out of the fort, trying to get our bearing, and found something that could be the trail marker near the wide open field of grass, facing East. We were right about the trail marker at the front of the fort. We started hiking.
We came upon a nice opening looking out towards the sea after about 5 minutes. We could never get enough of water views. After a quick stop to enjoy the views, and continued onward, going deeper into the trail surrounded by palm trees.
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| Deep inside the trail! |
After another 25 minutes or so, we finally got to the end of the trail with nice views of the lighthouse in the distance. We had made it! We sat down resting our legs at the bench there, while taking in the scenery and sniffing the brine saturated air everywhere.
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| The lighthouse! |
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| Near the end of the trail |
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| End of the trail, with overlook |
While we were resting, we got a bit ambitious and decided to hike another trail: North Pier Trail. At less than 1 mile in length, North Pier Trail starts at the front of the fort, and is easy to follow as the trail itself is paved with concrete. We headed towards the trail.
We were in a hiking mood that day and we were really pushing ourselves! We got back to the front of the fort and easily found the start to the trail. We passed by a remnant of an original construction village, on our right.
After another 5 minutes of walking, we came to the end of the trail, the historic North Pier. It was really windy there, so we stayed not more than couple of minutes before heading back to our car. What an awesome place full of history and amazing hiking trails!
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| View from the end of the North Pier |
- Tybee Island Light Station & Museum
We stopped at a Mexican restaurant Chamacos Tacos & Surf, serving bite sized tacos on the way over to the Tybee Island Light Station & Museum, a mere stone’s throw away. We ordered tasty chicken, fish & shrimp tacos, priced at $4 for chicken or $6 for fish or shrimp per taco.
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| Chamacos Tacos & Surf, Tybee Island, GA |
We weren’t super hungry, so we ended up ordering a combination of 4 of these tacos plus 2 soft drinks. After savoring our tacos and resting after a 3 mile hike back at the Fort Pulaski National Monument, we headed for the Light Station.
We saw the imposing lighthouse as we got closer to it, decked out in white & black. We arrived at the entrance to the lighthouse and parked our car in the large parking lot.
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| Tybee Island Light Station & Museum, Georgia |
We paid the very reasonable $12 per adult entrance fee then started our self guided tour of the lighthouse. As we approached the huge lighthouse made bigger standing directly under it, we saw several other visitors at the entrance to the lighthouse.
We started to climb the first of the 178 steps all the way to the top of the lighthouse. We saw people struggling to walk up, so we also took our time getting up there. Luckily, there were frequent landings to rest with views of the outside, getting better and better the higher we climbed.
The primary reason for climbing a lighthouse is for the views! Here are some of those views.
After couple of short breaks to see the views, we marched onwards, hoping the top of the lighthouse is near. It took maybe 5-7 minutes to climb to the top, but boy, was that worth it! For those who dare, there’s a very narrow walkway outside the lighthouse with views. Be aware: the wind is really strong out there. I almost lost my cell phone while taking photos.
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| View from the outside narrow walkway |
We spent not more than 2 minutes up there, as the space is really at a premium. With more visitors coming up, we needed to make room for new arrivals. Going down…
When we made our way all the way down to the bottom of the lighthouse, small crowds were gathering and starting to come up. We were glad we made our trek up there before the rush.
We continued to finish our tour of the light station grounds, complete with several well preserved buildings where the lighthouse keeper and his family resided. We saw many period furnishings and some personal items belonging to the family like their photos. Awesome!
The best part about the light station entrance fee is that it also includes admission to the Tybee Island Museum across the street, situated in the old Battery Garland. Inside the museum, there are artifacts spanning over 400 years.
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| Battery Garland |
After a quick tour of the museum, we walked up and out, to see the views from the top of the museum. Nice!
There are just so many neat things to do right by the light station. On top of that, there’s a nice beach right by the museum as well, called North Beach. Highly recommend this place.
In conclusion:
Fort Pulaski National Monument is an incredible place and we’re glad we added this as the first stop among our national parks/monuments/seashores tour through the South. We learned so much about its history and its importance in military history. On top of that, hiking trails proved to be awesome, featuring nice views of the area.
Tybee Island Light Station & Museum was a gem, with beautifully preserved lighthouse and buildings full of interesting artifacts. The museum across the street from the lighthouse was an added bonus, and they kept us busy for an hour or so. Although we didn’t get to tour the entire island, we’re sure we’ll get to visit them in our future.
If you happen to visit Savannah, please add these two places to your list of destinations to visit. Both are unique places full of history, beauty, and feature plenty of opportunities to get exercise for both your brain and your body, with things to learn and places to hike, respectively. We had a great time experiencing both places and we think you’ll enjoy them as well.
We thank you for reading and keep up with us on our continuing adventures traveling through the South! Happy trails!
Jake
Wandering Money Pig
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