Wormsloe State Historic Site

Most visitors to the historic Wormsloe Plantation only explore the iconic tree-lined Oak Avenue and the historic areas – but they also miss out on a larger portion of the historic site. A 3.2-mile loop explores the park’s popular and historic areas before ending at a Civil War-era Confederate earthworks "fort" on the Battery Trail.

The tour begins at the park’s entrance, a stone arch raised in 1913. Through the arch, the route stops at a small historic cottage to purchase entry passes to the site before driving the iconic Oak Avenue toward the ruins.

Four hundred Southern Live Oak trees make up Oak Avenue, their Spanish Moss-covered branches are what most think of when they plan to see Savannah. The trees were planted in the late 19th century.

The drive through Oak Avenue ends at a white fence, and the hike begins after parking at the museum. Leaving the museum trailhead, the hike follows Oak Avenue’s southernmost stretch to the plantation’s historic ruins. The estate of Noble Jones, which was completed in 1745, was a fortified tabby house constructed here on the Isle of Hope near Skidaway Island, eight miles south of Savannah.

The original Jones home rose a story and a half and boasted five rooms – a Mansion at the time. Today, the home’s ruins are mainly foundation of the original home, now thought to be the oldest remains in the Savannah area.

Departing the ruins, the hike makes a short loop to visit the family’s former gravesite (they’ve been since moved to Savannah’s historic Bonaventure Cemetery) before continuing on to the marshes of Jones Narrows. The hike offers views of the marshy grassland framed by old,and storm wrapped trees and a basin of shells left by prehistoric Native Americans.

heading further west on the trail, the hike catches views of the marshland and passes reconstructed examples of colonial life in coastal Georgia. The hike then moves into a palm and oak forest on the orange-blazed Battery Trail at .6 mile.

The Battery Trail hikes southbound on level trail, with more occasional views of the nearby marshes. 

The trail finds  Fort Wymberly at 1.8 miles, the site of 20-foot-high Confederate earthworks built in 1861. The mounds were constructed to protect against an attack on Savannah in the Civil War.

The hike then continues on until reaching back to the parking lot where one started the trek.