14 Things to Do on Jekyll Island with Kids

Travel dates: April 1-8, 2018

Update 1/19/2020: We went to Jekyll Island again and found even MORE things to do! Check that post out after you finish this one.

You can hear me talking more about Jekyll Island on the RV Atlas Podcast.

Thanks to the Jekyll Island Authority for providing passes to some of the attractions mentioned below. I was not otherwise compensated, and all opinions are my own! 

Even though Jekyll Island is only 350 miles away, I haven’t been there since an 8th grade class trip a long time ago. We’d been trying to get a reservation at the Jekyll Island Campground pretty much ever since we got our trailer, but we struck out every time no matter how far in advance we called. It turns out the secret was to give up our dreams of winter camping and book spring break instead, when the snowbirds have left and the bugs have arrived. But even with the bugs, we had a fabulous trip. And–bonus–going during Spring Break meant we got to meet up with Dave’s sister, Amy, and her family (my BIL, Craig, and their two boys, Benjamin and Louis. And even Craig’s parents. We had a big group). We’ve already rebooked for next spring and are dreaming of spending winters on Jekyll when Dave retires, like the Gilded Age Robber Barons of the early 20th century.

Jekyll Island is one of Georgia’s “Golden Isles,” and it sits just off the mainland, connected by a causeway. Jekyll’s human history goes back thousands of years, starting with settlement by Native Americans who were part of the Guale Chiefdom and including pre-Revolutionary Spanish and English occupations and a long stint as a plantation owned by the Du Bignon family.

It’s most well-known, though, for the relatively brief period during the late 19th and early 20th centuries when it was a winter retreat for many of the richest people in the world. John Eugene du Bignon sold Jekyll for $125,000 to a group of millionaire investors in 1886 so they could start a fancy, private millionaire club for doing fancy millionaire things like hunting and playing golf and having parties and avoiding northern winters. The millionaires included people like J.P. Morgan, Cornelius Vanderbilt II, William Rockefeller, and Joseph Pulitzer. They built a big, beautiful hotel and a number of private “cottages” (one example of these modest and unpretentious homes, Crane Cottage, has 20 bedrooms and 13 bathrooms).

And the millionaires hung out there every winter, being rich, until pesky events like the Depression and World War II came along and spoiled all their fun.

The Jekyll Island Club had already fallen quite a bit from its glory days when the state of Georgia came in after the war and bought the island back to be used as a state park for commoners.

And that’s how things remain today: the land is owned by the state and operated by the Jekyll Island Authority. There are some private homes and businesses on Jekyll through lease agreements with the JIA, but many of the amenities (including the campground) are still operated by the JIA and 65% of the island is protected from development under state law. All of this makes for a spring break destination with tons of natural areas to explore (a mix of marsh, maritime forest, and beach), enough manmade historical and present day sights and activities to keep you busy, and a relative lack of crowds.

We pretty much loved it and can’t wait to go back.

I was a little worried that there wouldn’t be enough to keep us busy for a full week on Jekyll, but this was silly of me. We only went off the island one day (more on that in another post), and we had more than enough to do and a fair number of things we wanted to try but ran out of time for. Here are fourteen ideas for great, family-friendly things to do on Jekyll.

Driftwood Beach

There are plenty of beaches to choose from on Jekyll, and we didn’t make it to all of them. But we did make it–several times–to the coolest one: Driftwood Beach. The “driftwood” isn’t actually driftwood at all, but the skeletons of old oak tress being reclaimed by the ocean as the north side of the island loses land (and the south side gains it).

So it’s like a big old playground and a beach in one! Bonus!

Driftwood Beach is an easy walk or bike ride from the campground. If you’re not staying there, there’s some parking along the road or you can park at the Clam Creek Picnic Area (where there’s ample parking plus a small gift/snack shop and restrooms) and walk along the beach there until you see the trees.

The water was a little chilly in early April, but really not bad at all. My kids didn’t hesitate to get all the way in.

A couple of notes about Jekyll beaches:

*the sand is very hard packed at low tide; you can ride bikes on some of the beaches

*there are lots of jellyfish. Watch out!

…and, less frighteningly, crabs:

Ari and I went one night at sunset to get some pictures with nice light. Driftwood Beach is very popular with photographers and with people who are getting married, we found.

And then we went for one final trip our last morning, because the dogs hadn’t seen the beach yet:

Biking

This may have been my favorite thing about Jekyll. There are bike paths that go all the island, and we used them a lot. We made the eight mile round trip to the Historic District twice, as well as lots of shorter rides. Abe used his Adams Trail a Bike (affiliate link; if you buy something after following my link, I get a small commission, but you don’t pay any extra) for the first time and loved it. Last year he was still too short and was in a bike seat; this way was way more fun for him. We’ve had the same one sitting in our garage since Gus was little; I’m really glad we hung onto it!

If you don’t have or can’t bring your own bikes, there are several rental options on the island.

Miniature Golf

There’s a basic, retro-feeling mini golf place mid-island, and the kids had a great time there one afternoon. There are two different courses: the older kids tackled the more challenging one, while Abe and Dave did the easier one. Prices are $6.50 for adults, $5 for kids 6-10, and free for 5 and under (nice!). There’s also a large playground and a pizza place at the same site.

Passport to the Century Tram Tour

I was surprised at just how much I enjoyed this tour of the historic district AND of how tolerant of it all the kids (even the five year old) were. The narrated tour takes you past all the remaining cottages, the Jekyll Island Club Hotel, and a bunch of other historic stuff. There are stops to go into two of the houses, and entry to Faith Chapel is also included in your ticket if you want to see it another time. Our tour guide was knowledgeable and amusing, and we learned a whole lot about fancy millionaire life on Jekyll in the early 20th century. There are some other tours offered, like the Rockefeller Experience, and I’d love to get do another one on our next visit. Prices are $16 for adults, $7 for kids 7-15, and free for kids under 7 (nice again!). The 90 minutes tours are offered several times a day.

While you’re in the historic district, you should also stop by the Plantation Oak, thought to be about 375 years old, for some climbing:

Georgia Sea Turtle Center

Opened in 2007, the Georgia Sea Turtle Center is one of the newer additions to the line up of stuff to see and do on Jekyll. It’s a working hospital whose primary mission is rehabilitating and releasing injured sea turtles, but it also has an exhibit gallery and a line-up of public educational programs.

I would say that it’s a great rainy day destination, but it’s one of the few rainy day destinations on the island, so we found it be VERY crowded when we went there on a day when bad weather was in the forecast. So maybe during the off season it’s a great rainy day destination and during more crowded times of year you should go on a nice weather day and stay at the campground and play board games when it rains. Or put on your rain jacket and go for a walk on the beach.

They have a cool activity where kids can go around with this paper and stamp it at different stations to find out what their life as a sea turtle would be like:

Trash turtle! I think this is supposed to teach you about not throwing trash in the ocean or whatever:

The sea turtles are in these tanks, but it’s hard to take pictures of them. Maybe you get better pictures if you do the behind the scenes tour, but Abe wasn’t old enough for that:

Admission is $8 for adults and $6 for kids 4-12.

Gatorology 101

Gatorology 101 is a program offered by the Georgia Sea Turtle Center at Horton Pond. While you’re waiting for your program to start, you might catch a glimpse of one of Horton Pond’s resident wild alligators. We learned a ton about alligators, including basic biological facts (alligators can kill deer. Then they store the rotting carcasses and keep going back to eat off of them for months. Fun facts!), safety, and the program they have to tag and track alligators on Jekyll. We also learned a lot about box turtles, because one of the guys in the program with us was very fixated on them and kept asking questions about them, like “what would a Georgia box turtle do if I kidnapped it and took it back to Pennsylvania? Not that I would ever do that!” Gatorology is $15 per person and includes admission to the sea turtle center. Ours was full, so make sure you book in advance.

The best part of Gatorology 101 is when they bring out Tiny, the 4 year old alligator, at the end and everyone gets to pet her. There’s ample time for photographs, too. (“If you’re not completely satisfied with your Tiny experience, I’ll stay at the end so you can have pictures taken with her”)

Geocaching

We only had time to hunt for one geocache while we were on Jekyll, but we could have stayed busy for a long time with them if we’d wanted to. The one we did track down was near the Clam Creek Picnic Area and was quite the bushwhacking adventure to get to.

Horton House

The pre-revolutionary ruins of the home of Major William Horton are very close to the campground. The du Bignon cemetery and some nice views of the marsh are across the street.

The kids thought this was a great place to pose for album cover photos:

Eat

We found a number of good restaurants on Jekyll, despite the small size. There’s a lot of seafood, as you might expect, but we also ate at Tortuga Jack’s (a beachfront Mexican restaurant), got barbecue at Love Shack BBQ inside Jekyll Market, and checked out Jekyll’s Irish Pub, Wee Pub Beach.  On the seafood side of things, we enjoyed The Wharf:

….those are the main things we did while we were on Jekyll, but I’ve got a few bonus suggestions now for things we wanted to do but didn’t have time for.

4H Tidelands Nature Center

The nature center has a small exhibit area and also offers a number of public programs like guided nature walks and kayak tours.

Dolphin Tours

We waited too long to book a dolphin tour, and the times that would have worked for us were all sold out. Sad face. Don’t let that happen to you, because dolphins are awesome.

Shark Tooth Beach

Dave picked up this tip from a local mom he chatted with at the playground. There’s a beach at the south end of the island that’s a great place to hunt for shark teeth at low tide….but it requires a half hour hike to get out there, and we never managed to find the time/motivation.

Summer Waves Water Park

Summer Waves wasn’t open for the season yet when we were there, but if you’re visiting in the summer, you’ll definitely want somewhere to cool off.

Horseback Riding and Carriage Rides

We saw some people going for a group horseback ride on the beach, and my kids all immediately wanted to put it on our list for our next trip. The minimum age is only 5, so even Abe could come along. The same place also offers carriage tours of the historic district.

 

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