Side Trip to Jekyll Island, Georgia.

We took a day trip to Jekyll Island, GA when we were at Ft. Clinch State Park, Florida. The island is a Georgia state park even though there are a lot of private homes and businesses present.  A great day trip or spend a few days there.  Plenty to see and do.  Great golf course, beaches, hotels, campground, museum, sea turtle center, etc.

We drove in from I-95.  If you come from Brunswick down Hwy 17 you get to cross the Sydney Lanier Bridge.

The first stop we made was at the Great Dune Park.  

 

 Very nice pavilions and boardwalks to.....



....the beach.   Not much beach right now.  High tide.

While driving north we ran across the Horton House ruin.  Once an elegant plantation home of Major William Horton, second in command of General James Oglethorpe.  The house was built around 1740 and made of "tabby", a mixture of sand, water and lime obtained from burning oyster shells.

A bridge crossing a marshy area on the N. Loop Trail, a paved bicycle loop around the island.

More of the marsh land around the north end.

 

Moving along we came to the island campground. A large shady RV/tent campground with full hook-ups, camp store, playgrounds, etc.  A world of difference than the many high-end resorts and hotels on the island.  While nice, we like the camping way to go these days.

Across from the entrance to the campground is the road to Driftwood Beach and Jekyll Fishing Center.   There is a little park with pavilions, picnic benches and a bridge to fish the marsh river. 

There is also a huge fishing pier and boat ramp to enable fishing in deeper waters.

The pier offers a good view of the bridge to Brunswick.

Adjacent to the fishing pier is Driftwood beach.

Cross the bridge and walk the beach or take the Driftwood Beach Trail by foot or bike for a long venture into the woods and marsh on the north side of the island.

More specimens of driftwood on the beach.

 On the south end of the island is St. Andrews picnic area and beach. A very nice beach park and picnic area to spend the day.  Parking, pavilions, picnic tables, etc.



A bar and grill, restaurant, pier fishing, and marina adjacent to the Historic District.



 Along with the Jekyll Island Club, there are some very nice homes transformed into shoppes, galleries, etc, along with the Georgia Sea Turtle Center and Jekyll Island Museum.

Besides he Historic District more shopping can be found at the newer shopping complex near the convention center.  A wide variety of retailers. 

On the way to Jekyll Island we stopped off at the King's Bay Submarine Base.  Due to the recent Paris terrorist attacks, the base was closed and no tours scheduled.  Bummer.

And finally, an unashamed plug for this restaurant at the Great Dunes Park.  Great Mexican food, dine indoors or out overlooking the dunes.  

Good food, nice folks.