Exploring Jekyll Island
Day trip to Jekyll Island, GA
July 21, 2022
If you ever find yourself on the Georgia coast, be sure to hop over to Jekyll Island to visit for the day. Jekyll Island is located just a little over 30 minutes from St. Simons Island and is its quiet, outdoorsy relative…but in a good way. I had only been to Jekyll a few times and there wasn’t much I remembered about it but after this trip I can say that I definitely thought there were some cool things to see and do there.
It only costs $8 to get a pass for the island and it’s totally worth it, in my opinion. My first stop was to the famous Driftwood Beach, which is located towards the north end of the island. Your entire family will have fun exploring the old trees and it’s a great spot for cool pictures.
There’s one main road that circles around the entire island, so I continued north and saw that they had a pretty good sized campground- if you’re looking for a camping option on the Georgia coast, this could be the place for you. There are some really nice bike/pedestrian paths that circle the island as well and they provide some wonderful views of the island. Next time I visit, I’ll be sure to bring a bike so I can get a different perspective.
My next stop of the day was to the Georgia Sea Turtle Center, which I was excited to visit. There’s a $10 admission fee for adults but the proceeds go towards the rehabilitation of sea turtles, which is great. The facility includes an area where you can do a self-guided educational tour to learn more about sea turtles and their journey to the Georgia coast. They also offer daily tours in the actual rehabilitation facility where you can see all of the turtles in action. Our tour guide taught us all about the rehab process, which I found to be one of the highlights of my day.
The historic district includes not only the Georgia Sea Turtle Center but also has a few other fun things to check out as well. Be sure to stop by Mosaic, the Jekyll Island Museum. While you’re there, you can purchase a ticket for a guided trolley tour of the historic district. It’s a great way to explore that part of the island and learn more about the history of Jekyll.
There are some other great beaches and areas of the island to explore and hang out but before I went home, I decided to visit the Wanderer Memory Trail, which is on the south end of the island. The trail provides a great history lesson along the way- one that I think everyone should read. At the end of the trail there’s an observation tower, which I really enjoyed sitting in for a while, just looking out at the water.
Some other things you can do while you’re at Jekyll Island include play golf or tennis, visit their water park called Summer Waves, play a round of putt-putt with the family, rent a kayak and take a guided tour or just relax on the beach. They do have a “main street” area near their convention center that has several restaurants and shops if you’re looking for a bite to eat. The island has some great hotels and I’ve heard that the Jekyll Island Club is a wonderful place to stay (I’ll add that to my bucket list). Keep in mind though that Jekyll Island overall isn’t too commercialized, but in a good way…so enjoy the outdoors and act like a kid again and take time to explore this unique place.
