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Encompassing the vast majority of Cumberland Island, this 36,347-acre preserve has pristine forests and marshes marbled with wooded nature trails, 18 miles of undeveloped beaches, and opportunities for fishing, bird-watching, and viewing the ruins of Thomas Carnegie's great estate,
A must-see on Jekyll Island, this is one of the few sea turtle centers in the country. This center aims to increase awareness of habitat and wildlife conservation challenges for endangered coastal turtles—loggerheads, green, Kemp's ridley, and diamondback terrapin—through turtle rehabilitation, research, and education programs. The center includes educational exhibits and a "hospital," where visitors can view rescued turtles and read their stories. Sea turtles lay their eggs along Jekyll Island beaches from May through August. Several hundred rehabilitated turtles have been released into the wild since the center opened.
This 240-acre historic district encapsulates the village that once comprised the winter retreat and seasonal residences for America's wealthiest—Morgan, Pulitzer, Goodyear, Rockefeller, and Vanderbilt among them. Today, the original cottages still stand amid the historic grounds, with the Jekyll Island Club Hotel, founded in 1886, as the crown jewel. Nearby is
Reopened in spring 2019 after a massive renovation, the museum is housed in the island's former stables and offers guests a glimpse into Jekyll's rich history. A wide array of exhibits, interactive tools, and audio and visual effects tell the stories of the barrier island---from the life of original natives and the landing of one of the last slave ships at the south end to the golden age of the island, when America's rich and famous wintered here. Tram tours ($20) depart daily at 11, 1, and 3, weather permitting. The 60-minute tour covers the National Historic Landmark District and includes entry into a restored cottage and Faith Chapel.
Just north of Nanny Goat Beach, Cabretta Beach stretches along Sapelo's eastern shore, with its northern terminus at the outflow of Blackbeard Creek. This remote expanse of hard-packed sand is sometimes visited by fishermen or kayakers on their way to Blackbeard Island, and it's also the site of the Cabretta Campground, a group wilderness campsite that can be reserved via Georgia's Department of Natural Resources.
Surrounded by moss-draped live oaks, dogwoods, and azaleas, this picturesque white-frame, Gothic-style church was built by shipwrights and consecrated in 1884 following an earlier structure's desecration by Union troops. The interior has beautiful stained-glass windows and several handmade pews. The congregation itself dates back to 1808 and is the second oldest Episcopal Church in the diocese of Georgia. In the adjacent cemetery grounds, you'll find the final resting place for Golden Isles historical fiction writer Eugenia Price.
For a firsthand look at the stunning effects of erosion on barrier islands, head at low tide to this oceanfront boneyard on North Beach, where live oaks and pines are being consumed by the sea at an alarming rate. The snarl of trunks and limbs and the dramatic, massive root systems of upturned trees are an eerie and intriguing tableau of nature's slow and steady power. It's been estimated that nearly 1,000 feet of Jekyll's beach have been lost since the early 1900s.
Bring your camera; the photo opportunities are terrific, and this is the best place to shoot the St. Simons Lighthouse. The snarling branches of submerged trees can make this a dangerous place to swim, however, so use caution in the water.
Restrooms and other facilities are at the Clam Creek Picnic Area.
parking (no fee); showers; toilets.
solitude; sunrise.
From the Dungeness ferry dock to the southern tip of the island, Dungeness Beach covers nearly 2 miles of pristine, remote coast. This wild stretch of sand attracts beachcombers (shark teeth are a sought-after find) and fishermen, who cast for redfish and flounder at the southernmost point, called Pelican Flats. Trails lead to Thomas Carnegie's historic estate, Dungeness, and this is also a good area to spot Cumberland's famed wild horses that roam the beach and inland areas here.
The most expansive stretch of public beach on St. Simons is also one of the most popular in all of the Golden Isles. Entrances sit on either end of the beach: at the Coast Guard Station on 1st Street to the north and Massengale Park on Oak Street to the south. Between the two entrances, this ½-mile stretch of hard-packed white sand is vacation central, with calm, shallow water perfect for swimming, boogie boarding, or windsurfing. Plenty of parking is available, lifeguards watch the waves all summer, and drinking is allowed in plastic containers (no glass bottles).
Built by English troops in the mid-1730s, Fort Frederica was constructed to protect the southern flank of the new Georgia colony against a Spanish invasion from Florida. At its peak in the 1740s, it was the most elaborate British fortification in North America. Around the fort today are the foundations of homes and shops and the partial ruins of the tabby barracks and magazine. Start your visit at the National Park Service Visitors Center, which has a film and displays.
Starting just north of the entrance road on South Beachview Drive, this 20-acre stretch of beach runs alongside Main Street and the convention center to South Dunes Beach at Glory Boardwalk (built when the final battle scene of the film Glory was shot here), next to the soccer complex. This is one of the most accessible beaches on the island, with parking at both ends and good shower-restroom facilities. The white-sand beach is backed by dunes, which are protected wildlife areas, while calm, shallow water, and a mild shore break make this a good spot to swim and play in the surf. It's the most popular beach for families on the island.
A newer addition to Jekyll Island's beach facilities is this centrally located park next to the newly renovated convention center on South Beachview Drive. A beach deck and multiple dune crossovers provide access to the hard-packed beach, and a boardwalk offers beachfront bike parking. Facilities include ample parking, restrooms and changing areas, and a pavilion for local events and festivals. Amenities: parking; showers; toilets. Best for: swimming.
Rice, not cotton, dominated Georgia's coast in the antebellum years, and the Hofwyl-Broadfield Plantation is the last remaining example of a way of life that fueled an agricultural empire. The main farmhouse, in use since the 1850s when the original house burned, is now a museum with family heirlooms accumulated over five generations, including extensive collections of silver and Canton china. A guide gives an insightful talk on rural plantation life. Though grown over, some of the original dike works and rice fields remain, as do some of the slave quarters. A brief film at the visitor center complements exhibits on rice technology and cultivation, linking them to Sierra Leone, the country from which many slaves were taken because of their expertise in growing rice.
This small settlement near the southern end of Sapelo Island is one of the few remaining Gullah/Geechee communities on the south Atlantic Coast. The Saltwater Geechee people, Georgia's sea-island equivalent to the Gullah of South Carolina, are descendants of slaves who worked the island's plantations during the 19th century. Hog Hammock's roughly 50 residents still maintain their distinct language and customs, which share many characteristics with their West African origins.
On the southeastern edge of the island, this beach sits at the heart of the rich ecological zones for which the island is known and protected. Naturalists with the Sapelo Island National Estuarine Research Reserve use this beach as an outdoor classroom, sometimes bringing groups here for beach walks. Visitors can hunt for sand dollars and whelk shells along nearly 2 miles of sandy shore; bird sightings include blue herons, egrets, ospreys, bald eagles, and the occasional plain chachalaca. A 1-mile trail connects this beach with the historic R. J. Reynolds House, crossing five ecological zones along the way.
Named after Neptune Small, a former slave who owned property where the park is now located, this lovely waterfront park is located near Pier Village on the island's south end. The expansive park boasts a picturesque oak canopy and picnic tables amid a sprawling lawn, beach access, and a large recreation area perfect for families. The Neptune Park Fun Zone has a free playground, a swimming pool ($8 per person) that opens in the warmer months, and a year-round miniature golf course ($8 per round). Also newly renovated, the adjacent pier is good for fishing or watching ships roll in. Public restrooms are outside the library.
This privately owned and operated park serves as the northern entrance to the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge, offering live animal exhibits and orientation programs for the entire family. The park has observation areas, wilderness walkways, an outdoor museum of pioneer life, and boat tours into the swamp that reveal its unique ecology. The 90-foot-tall observation tower is an excellent place to glimpse cruising gators and birds. A 1½-mile train tour (included in the admission price) passes by a Seminole village and stops at Pioneer Island, a re-created pioneer homestead, for a 15-minute walking tour.
Start your visit here, on the mainland near the Sapelo Island ferry docks, where you can view exhibits on the island's history, culture, and ecology, and get helpful trip planning tips from knowledgeable staff. Check in advance to see if they are offering a bus tour of the island on the day of your visit. The sights that make up the bus tour vary, but generally include the old sugar mill, the airfield, the cemetery, Nanny Goat Beach, and the 80-foot-tall
Proximity to the ferry makes this beach fronting the Sea Camp campground the most popular beach among day-trippers, though with only 300 visitors allowed on the island daily, it's never very crowded. Hard-pack trails and a boardwalk allow short nature walks, and the beach has good beachcombing.
Stretching south of Glory Boardwalk to the St. Andrews Picnic Area at the very southern end of the island, this narrow beach backs up to dense maritime forest, making it a quiet, secluded bit of coast and a great spot for wildlife viewing or beachcombing. At the picnic area, a short trail leads to a viewing platform overlooking the outflow of Jekyll Creek—keep an eye out for dolphins cruising near the shoreline. A memorial and memory trail honors the landing of one of the last American slave ships, The Wanderer.
If the heat has you, and the kids are itching to get wet, head to this full-service water park on the mainland, where you can get an inner tube and relax floating down the Oasis lazy river, hurtle down Splash Mountain, or corkscrew yourself silly sliding down the Orange Crush.
One of only five surviving lighthouses in Georgia, the St. Simons Lighthouse has become a symbol of the island. It's been in use since 1872; a predecessor was blown up to prevent its capture by Union troops in the Civil War. The
Named for the songwriter who penned "Swanee River," this 120-acre island park is the southwestern entrance to the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge and offers trips to the headwaters of the Suwannee River, Billy's Island—site of an ancient Indian village—and a turn-of-the-20th-century town built to support logging efforts in the swamp. The park is home to hundreds of species of birds and a large cypress-and-black-gum forest, a majestic backdrop for one of the thickest growths of vegetation in the southeastern United States.
At this 11-acre park more than a million gallons of water are used in the 18,000-square-foot wave pool, waterslides, children's activity pool with two slides, splash zone, and circular river for tubing and rafting. Inner tubes and life vests are provided at no extra charge.
Extensive open areas at the core of the refuge—like the Chesser, Grand, and Mizell Prairies—branch off the man-made Suwannee Canal, accessed via the main entrance to the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge, and contain small natural lakes and gator holes. The prairies are excellent spots for sportfishing and birding, and it's possible to take guided boat tours of the area leaving from the Okefenokee Adventures concession, near the visitor center. The concession also has equipment rentals, and food is available at the Camp Cornelia Cafe. The visitor center has a film, exhibits, and a mechanized mannequin that tells stories about life in the Okefenokee (it sounds hokey, but it's surprisingly informative). A boardwalk takes you over the water to a 50-foot observation tower. Hikers, bicyclists, and private motor vehicles are welcome on Swamp Island Drive; several interpretive walking trails may be taken along the way. Picnicking is permitted.
This small, one-room church on the north end of Cumberland Island was rebuilt in 1937 to replace a cruder 1893 structure used by former slaves from the High Point–Half Moon Bluff community. Constructed of whitewashed logs, it's simply adorned with a cross made of sticks tied together with string and 11 handmade pews seating 40 people. John F. Kennedy Jr. and Carolyn Bessette were married here on September 21, 1996. The Kennedy–Bessette wedding party stayed at the Greyfield Inn, built on the south end of the island in 1900 by the Carnegie family.
Set in a restored 1936 Coast Guard station and renovated in 2017, this museum—geared as much to kids as adults—features the life of a "Coastie" in the early 1940s, told through personal accounts of the WWII history of St. Simons Island. Exhibits explore how small communities like St. Simons came close to conflict due to the threat of German U-boats just offshore, and how the military shipbuilding industry sprung up in nearby Brunswick. The museum demonstrates how Georgia's Golden Isles were transformed during and after the Second World War and the important role civilians played on the home front.
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