Little St. George - The Deserted Beach - Part 1

If you Google “desolate beaches in Florida” one of the first results is St. George Island. A few years ago Orbitz called St. George Island one of the 7 Florida beaches that locals want to keep secret. I couldn’t agree more!

However, there is a beach that is even more of a secret that makes a great day trip for visitors to St. George Island. Little St. George is just across Bob Sikes Cut from the western end of St. George Island. Are you an adventurer that likes hiking or having a whole island all to yourself that is only accessible by boat? Then Little St. George is the place for you! The only thing inhabiting Little St. George is this little guy!

In December, on a trip to take pictures of the beauty of St. George Island with Adam Bixby of Adam Bixby Photography, Adam and I decided to take a trip over to Little St. George. The Beigles have been going to St. George Island for ~15 years, but we’ve never made the trip over to Little St. George. I’ve thought about swimming across the Cut to Little St. George, but I’m so glad I didn’t after I heard that sharks like swimming there too! Adam and I have been on a couple of camping/canoeing trips in the Algonquin Provincial Forest in Ontario, Canada with our church, so if there is someone I knew would be up for an adventure, it would be Adam!

Adam and I drove to Journey’s of St. George Island (where we have negotiated an exclusive discount for our renters at Sea Dunes, Sand Dollar, and Serene Dream), and picked up a canoe and some paddles in the back. We strapped that thing to the top of our little compact rental car and took off for Bob Sikes Cut, praying that the canoe didn’t end up sliding off the car onto Gulf Beach Drive!

We pulled up to The Cut, unstrapped the canoe and headed to the water. There is a strong current through the Cut as water rushes from the gulf to the bay (another good reason not to swim across!). We planned ahead by checking the tide charts and paddled across fairly easily. As soon as we pulled the canoe onto the deserted island, we turned back to the water and saw a dolphin swimming near the rocks. SGI is always a great place to see dolphins, and it was amazing to be super close to this one!

After checking out the trail map at the kiosk near The Cut, we began walking up to the beginning of Sike’s Cut Trail. This would begin our hike around the eastern portion of Little St George.