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April 21, 2021

Georgia’s Jekyll Island: An Essential Guide to Visiting the Most Breathtaking Places in One Weekend

Location: Jeykll Island, Georgia

One of Georgia’s four barrier islands known as the Golden Isles, Jekyll Island offers visitors 10 miles of unspoiled shoreline.  With wide flat beaches, tidal marshlands, ample wildlife, and a charming historic district shaded by a canopy of live oaks, Jekyll Island is an island filled with stunning beauty.  From the famed Driftwood Beach to the historic Jekyll Island Club Hotel, we provide a list of the most breathtaking places essential to your island visit.  With our help, you can experience the best that Georgia’s Jekyll Island has to offer in just one weekend.

One of Georgia’s four barrier islands known as the Golden Isles, Jekyll Island offers visitors 10 miles of unspoiled shoreline. With wide flat beaches, tidal marshlands, ample wildlife, and a charming historic district shaded by a canopy of life oaks, Jekyll Island is an island filled with stunning beauty. From the famed Driftwood Beach to the historic Jekyll Island Club Hotel, we provide a list of the most breathtaking places essential to your island visit. With our help, you can experience the best that Jekyll Island has to offer in just one weekend.

Contents hide
1 Jekyll Island in One Weekend
2 Driftwood Beach
3 St Andrews Beach
4 Great Dunes Beach Park
5 Jekyll Island Historic District
6 Georgia Sea Turtle Center
7 Enjoy This Post? Pin It!

Jekyll Island in One Weekend

Jekyll Island is perfect for a weekend getaway.   It’s easily accessible from the Georgia mainland.   At only 7 miles long by 1.5 miles wide, it’s straightforward to navigate by car, bike or even foot.  And with a well-preserved historic district and undeveloped beaches and natural spaces, it offers some of the most beautiful scenery along the Southern Atlantic coast.  While you could certainly spend a week enjoying the island, a weekend should also suffice.  As detailed in this post, our essential guides are not a run-down of “Top Attractions”, but an assemblage of places that we found essential to getting the most from our experience.  Here we outline our picks for the most breathtaking places to visit if you are spending just one weekend on Jekyll Island.

Driftwood Beach

Jekyll Island’s most stunning spot is often considered to be Driftwood Beach.  Located on the northwestern shore of the island, the beach is appropriately named for the abundance of driftwood trees and logs.  The weathered trees are especially picturesque during the magic hours surrounding dawn and dusk.  Our first visit was around sunset when the sky was just beginning to change hues.

  • Driftwood tree on Jekyll Island's Driftwood Beach at dusk.
  • Driftwood tree on Jekyll Island's Driftwood Beach at dusk.
  • Driftwood tree on Jekyll Island's Driftwood Beach at dusk.
  • Driftwood
  • Driftwood tree roots
  • Driftwood trees on Jekyll Island's Driftwood Beach at dusk.

 

As you can see from photos, the beach is a perfect spot for kids or anyone young at heart.  From exploring tide pools to climbing upon driftwood trees, the beach is like a giant playground. 

  • Young girl standing on Driftwood Beach at sunset.
  • Boy doing a yoga pose on Driftwood Beach at sunset.
  • Girl playing in a tide pool at Driftwood Beach at dusk.
  • Young girl and boy playing in a tide pool at Driftwood Beach at dusk.
  • Selfie of a couple on Jekyll Island's Driftwood Beach at dusk.

 

We enjoyed our visit at dusk so much that we returned at sunrise the next day. Driftwood Beach is a popular place to visit at any time of day, but it is particularly busy during the early morning and late evening.  That said, the beach has numerous access points from N Beach View Dr, with plenty of parking options.  We found sunrise to be slightly busier than sunset, mostly because of photographers waiting to capture the magical moment the sun emerges over the Atlantic Ocean.  Nonetheless, the vibe was very calm and quiet.

  • Pathway to Jekyll Island's Driftwood Beach at sunrise.
  • Driftwood tree on Jekyll Island's Driftwood Beach at sunrise.
  • Driftwood tree on Jekyll Island's Driftwood Beach at sunrise.
  • Driftwood tree on Jekyll Island's Driftwood Beach at sunrise.
  • Boy walking along path at Driftwood Beach.
  • Mom and son at the beach at sunrise.
  • Sunrise light hitting the trees lining Driftwood Beach.

 

If you are spending a weekend on Jekyll Island, we highly recommend visiting Driftwood Beach at both sunrise and sunset.  You won’t regret it!  Just be sure to check the weather forecast for the clearest day.

St Andrews Beach

Wrapping around the southern tip of Jekyll Island, St Andrews Beach is expansive! The western portion of the beach faces Jekyll Sound. While the beach here isn’t quite as wide as on the other side of the island, it offers plenty of interest from driftwood trees, to hiking trails, and a two-story wildlife viewing platform. This section of the beach has ample shaded parking, along with picnic areas, public restrooms and showers.

  • Kids walking through trees to reach St Andrew's Beach West
  • Children walking under trees along Jekyll Island's St Andrew's Beach West.
  • Driftwood tree on Jekyll Island's St Andrew's Beach West.
  • Young girl climbing on a driftwood tree on St Andrew's Beach West.
  • Five kids climbing on a driftwood tree on St Andrew's Beach West.
  • Boy and girl playing in the sane on Jekyll Island's St Andrew's Beach West.
  • Three boys climbing on a driftwood tree on St Andrew's Beach West.

 

The eastern portion of St Andrews Beach offers much broader beaches. This section is accessible by parking lots at Camp Jekyll or the Jekyll Island Soccer Complex. However, amenities such as public restrooms and showers are not available here. That said, if you enjoy wide, empty beaches with plenty of space to walk, play and relax, the eastern shores of St Andrews Beach are for you!

  • View of St Andrews Beach East from the wooden walkway.
  • View of empty St Andrews Beach East on Jekyll Island.
  • Girl dipping her toe in the water at St Andrews Beach East on Jekyll Island.
  • Kids playing in the surf on Jekyll Island's St Andrews Beach East.
  • Beach umbrella
  • Two young kids walking on St Andrews Beach East.
  • Two young kids walking on the wooden walkway toward St Andrews Beach East.
  • Girl walking on an empty St Andrews Beach East.

 

Great Dunes Beach Park

If you are looking for a beach with some amenities, look no further than Jekyll Island’s Great Dunes Beach Park. This 20-acre beach located along the island’s eastern shores has picnic pavilions, grills, restrooms, showers, bicycle racks and ample parking.

  • Two boys playing in the surf at Jekyll Island's Great Dunes Beach Park.
  • Kids walking up to Jekyll Island's Great Dunes Beach Park Pavilion.
  • Dune grass and fence along Jekyll Island's Great Dunes Beach Park.
  • Three young kids playing in the sand at Jekyll Island's Great Dunes Beach Park.
  • Young girl digging in the sand at Jekyll Island's Great Dunes Beach Park.

 

While the beach is one of Jekyll Island’s most popular, we found it to be much less crowded on a weekday, especially during the early morning hours or around dusk.

Jekyll Island Historic District

One particular aspect that makes Georgia’s Jekyll Island so unique is the historic district. Approximately 240 acres of land along the island’s eastern side comprise the Jekyll Island Club National Historic District. This property includes a number of buildings constructed during the era of the Jekyll Island Club. Built in the late 1800s and early 1900s as a winter retreat for America’s wealthy elite, a stroll through the historic district leads past the Jekyll Island Club Hotel, the Faith Chapel, and a number of cottages.

  • Jekyll Island Faith Chapel
  • Jekyll Island Dubignon Cottage
  • Jekyll Island Club Hotel

 

Adjacent to the hotel is the island’s wharf.

  • Pathway lined by live oak trees in Jekyll Island's Historic District.
  • Four children walking on a path in Jekyll Island's Historic District.
  • Live oak tree in Jekyll Island's Historic District.
  • Family of six looking out at the water from the Jekyll Island Wharf.

 

While tours of the historic district, as well as many of the cottages, can be booked through Jekyll Island’s website, a simple stroll through past the historic buildings, under the live oaks trees is an activity in and of itself.

Georgia Sea Turtle Center

No trip to Jekyll Island would be complete without a visit to the Georgia Sea Turtle Center. Located in the Jekyll Island Historic District, the sea turtle learning center is housed in the island’s old power plant. Built in the early1900’s, the plant brought electricity to Jekyll Island. The brick building now serves to educate visitors about the challenges sea turtles face in today’s world. The center has a number of interactive exhibits focused on various phases of a sea turtle’s life, from nesting, migration, conservation, survival and rehabilitation. Although relatively small, our family spent quite a bit of time in the learning center. The hands-on displays, in particular, were a hit with the kids.

  • Boy standing next to an exhibit showing sea turtle sizes at Georgia Sea Turtle Center.
  • Looking down upon a boy playing a game in an exhibit at the Georgia Sea Turtle Center.

 

A large window allows visitors to view inside the sea turtle operating room, where staff treat the sea turtles in rehabilitation.

Boys watching turtles being cared for in the rehabilitation facility at the Georgia Sea Turtle Center.

In a building behind the learning center, the rehabilitation center is located. Here you can observe turtles in long-term rehabilitation at the center.

Three boys standing in the rehabilitation facility at the Georgia Sea Turtle Center.

If you have an hour or two, you won’t regret visiting the Georgia Sea Turtle Center!

 

Enjoy This Post?  Pin It!

 

One of Georgia’s four barrier islands known as the Golden Isles, Jekyll Island offers visitors 10 miles of unspoiled shoreline. With wide flat beaches, tidal marshlands, ample wildlife, and a charming historic district shaded by a canopy of life oaks, Jekyll Island is an island filled with stunning beauty. From the famed Driftwood Beach to the historic Jekyll Island Club Hotel, we provide a list of the most breathtaking places essential to your island visit. With our help, you can experience the best that Jekyll Island has to offer in just one weekend.

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