Jekyll Island beaches offer a wild and natural backdrop from which to enjoy Georgia’s beautiful Atlantic coast. The barrier island cozies up to Jekyll Island State Park to the east, St Simons Island to the north, and Cumberland National Seashore to the south. The geographical location alone promises some of the best views on one of the most lauded Golden Isles of Georgia. Pair scenery with an exceedingly wide, sandy coast dotted with gnarly trees, salt marshes, and sea grasses covering dunes and you’re in for a genuine Sea Islands experience.
Access Jekyll Island via the causeway at Brunswick, by ferry to the marina, or by plane. Though rainy season is between June and October, short rainfalls can be a blessing in disguise. The island is also a golf resort, with three 18-hole courses and one 9-hole course available and nine hotels in total.
Driftwood Beach
On the northern end of Jekyll Island Georgia is Driftwood Beach, beloved for a diverse landscape coalescing maritime forests, saltwater marshes breeding thousands of species, and light tan beaches. Many types of wildlife share the shores with visiting tourists. Graceful egrets, dolphins in the surf, herons, and more adorn the shoreline and immediate backdrop.
At Driftwood Beach, finding many things to do is easy; it’s choosing between them that’s the difficult task. With over ten miles of pristine beach, there are few people to argue over the best spot with. The beach is acclaimed for shell collecting, featuring a huge variety of unique shells that wash ashore, creating a landscape that begs to be scoured, and with many unique pieces of driftwood–hence the name–and plenty of hermit crabs. Birding is another popular pastime and with a surrounding maritime forest, sea birds are attracted in droves. The beach here is an ever-changing landscape swallowed by the ocean at high tide, making it accessible only during low tide.
Driftwood Beach is home to the Jekyll Harbor Marina. Here, visitors can enjoy surf fishing and deep sea charters with common catches including sea trout and sheepshead. Horseback riding is another great way to explore the ins and outs of the area. Off the beach there are museums, historic sites, and plenty of restaurants and shops to peruse.
Glory Beach
Named for the 1989 film Glory, shot on Jekyll Island at then-named Glory Boardwalk, Glory Beach is a glorious place indeed and the most popular family beach here. Though the whole coast is one perpetual sandy shoreline, Glory Beach is distinguished by its location and comprises both St Andrews Beach and South Dunes Beach. Arriving at the island’s Soccer Complex, visitors can walk out along the boardwalk to an exceptional wildlife viewing platform, one of the top highlights of all Jekyll Island beaches. Travel through many sea dune zones including the verdant forest filled with buckthorn, live oaks, and willow at either early morning or evening, which are when many animals come out of hiding.
If the beach is your sole focus, you won’t be disappointed. This part of Jekyll Island Georgia is a stretch of three beaches, all flat and very wide, giving way to a surf that is gentle, ideal for the kids to splash around in. There are also public restrooms and showers open by the boardwalk. Beyond the bend ahead of Glory Beach is St Andrews Beach, which is really the same beach distinctive only because of the now-famous film location. It is a renowned birders haunt home to thousands of sea birds.
