And for food-with-a-waterfront-view, try The Wharf or Tortuga Jack’s Restaurant.įinally, be sure to visit one of the island’s most iconic attractions, Driftwood Beach, a stretch of sand lined with hundreds of twisted and gnarled trees. At the Driftwood Bistro you can sample low-country favorites such as fried green tomatoes, shrimp and grits and stuffed collard greens. For Victorian ambience and excellent seafood dishes, book a table in the Grand Dining Room at Jekyll Island Club Resort. Given its location, it’s not surprising that Jekyll Island is known for both exceptional seafood and for low-country dining (Low Country is a term used to describe a 200-mile stretch of coastal Georgia and South Carolina). Golfers can choose from among four championship courses, while families enjoy the Summer Waves Water Park. The island’s 10 miles of beaches are among the most unspoiled along the Atlantic seaboard, offering swimming and other water sports, while bikers can ride 22 miles of trails that wind beneath towering trees, around sand dunes, and past Jekyll Island historic sites. You’ll find many other recreational opportunities there as well. Favorite birding locations include the south end of Jekyll Island, which is home to a large population of shorebirds, and the bird sanctuary at Jekyll Island Campground. Herons, ibises, egrets, rails and the endangered wood stork thrive in its salt marshes its forests are home to songbirds, raptors and woodpeckers and its beaches attract sandpipers, plovers and turns. Thanks to its wide range of habitats and its location on the Atlantic Migratory Flyway, Jekyll Island is one of the top bird-watching spots in the nation. Another place to spot wildlife is Horton Pond, which has an ADA-accessible observation deck where you can often see alligators and turtles. At the center itself, you can make the acquaintance of coastal animals that include sea turtles, horseshoe crabs, snakes, alligators and various species of fish. The 4-H Tidelands Nature Center offers more ways to experience the outdoors, including, coastal ecology programs, nature walks and kayak tours through the island’s tidal creeks. And at the Georgia Sea Turtle Center, you can learn about the life cycle of these endangered animals and how the center rehabilitates injured and sick turtles before releasing them back into the wild. The waters that surround the island are home to one of the world’s largest populations of bottlenose dolphins, which can be seen on a 90-minute boat cruise offered by Jekyll Island Boat Tours. Only about a third of the island is developed, with the remaining land kept in its natural state of sand dunes, beaches, and maritime forest consisting primarily of live oaks, palmettos and yaupon holly.

For a special treat, visitors can sign up for a moonlight or sunset ride.įor many visitors, Jekyll Island’s natural wonders are its primary draw. Three Oaks Farm offers additional ways to tour the island, including narrated carriage tours and horse rides along its forest trails and ocean beaches. The museum also offers narrated tram rides through the historic district and a tour of Hollybourne Cottage, one of the island’s most distinctive dwellings.

The meeting, which was a closely guarded secret until the 1930s, led to the formation of the Federal Reserve System. In 1910, six men met at the Jekyll Island Club to reform the nation’s banking system. Its exhibits cover eras from the prehistoric to the present, including the island’s role in one of the most significant events in America’s financial history. To learn more about the island’s history, visit Mosaic, the Jekyll Island Museum, which is housed in a refurbished stable.

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