A Guide to the Best Jekyll Island Beaches, Including Driftwood Beach

LOOKING TO VISIT THE JEKYLL ISLAND BEACHES?

You have come to the right place. We have been exploring the beaches in the Southeast (USA) since 2010 and consider ourselves experts on what makes a beach worth visiting. We love the Jekyll Island beaches because of the great sand and nearby amenities.

Jekyll Island has 10 miles of beaches that are beautiful and unspoiled. Jekyll Island is the southernmost barrier island in Georgia’s beautiful Golden Isles. It is located just off the Georgia coast. Most of the Jekyll Island beaches have great amenities like picnic pavilions, restrooms, showers, and viewing towers. 

There were two public beaches that really stuck out to us. We got to watch the dolphins at Saint Andrew’s Beach and Driftwood Beach was a great place to take pictures and marvel at the large pieces of driftwood.

After those two beaches, there is not a big variety between the beaches, but they were all really pretty. There are some slight differences between the beaches, so we did our best to outline the differences to help you find the best beach for your vacation.

What is Jekyll Island Known For?

In the 1800s, Jekyll Island was an exclusive hunting club for people like the Rockefellers, Vanderbilts, Morgans, and Bakers. Today, the private club is now part of the historic Jekyll Island Club National Historic Landmark District.

It is a great family vacation destination if you are looking for a quieter island. There are a few hotels as well as a small downtown shopping area with restaurants. Jekyll Island is a great place to swim in the ocean and enjoy the beach like Driftwood Beach.

Beach and Ocean Conditions

One thing that makes Jekyll Island particularly great for swimming in the ocean for young families is the fact that there are almost no waves. Jekyll Island’s beaches are tide formed meaning the continental shelf goes far out into the ocean. This breaks up the waves before they reach the shoreline.

Something that does surprise visitors is the color of the water. The water on Jekyll Island has a brown color and is often referred to as dirty.

There are two rivers nearby that flow into the ocean near Jekyll Island. This churns up sediment from the swamps and marshes leaving the water a brown color. This water isn’t dirty; it is just filled with microscopic plant and animal life making the water murky.

Jekyll Island Beaches

Saint Andrews Beach

This is a must-visit Jekyll Island beach at sunset! Our trip to Saint Andrew’s Beach turned into one of those family vacation memories that we will remember forever. The sunset was beautiful, and the kids were having the best time playing in the water.

Then we saw the dolphins – the cherry on top! We watched the dolphins swimming for about 20 minutes. Rowen and Raven still talk about the time we saw the dolphins at the beach.

The beach is a short walk from Jekyll Point, the southernmost tip of the island. Along with dolphins, it is a great place to watch migratory birds and shells.

We visited this beach at high tide and there were not a lot of sandy beaches there. It was enough to play in but if you’re looking for wide-open sandy beaches, it would be best to visit here at low tide.

While visiting Saint Andrews Beach, make sure to check out the two-story wildlife viewing platform.

The Wanderer Memory Trail

Another highlight at Saint Andrew’s Beach is the Wanderer Memory Trail. The trail will teach you about the amazing history of Saint Andrews Beach.

It is an educational trail that outlines the history of America’s last known slave ship, the Wanderer. The ship illegally came to shore with more than 500 slaves. You will follow the story of Umwalla, an African child brought on the ship, through his journey to freedom.

Glory Beach on Jekyll Island

Glory Beach on Jekyll Island continues for as far as the eye can see. It is a very wide beach lined with sand dunes. After arriving, it is easy to see why portions of the 1989 civil war movie drama, Glory, were filmed on the boardwalk. It is beautiful.

You’ll find the Glory Boardwalk next to the soccer complex on the south end of the island. The beach is only accessed from the Jekyll Island Soccer Complex.

This confused us as we were looking for a beach but ended up at the soccer field. Park along the trees and then there’s a short walk to the boardwalk and Glory Beach on Jekyll Island.

Glory Beach is a sanctuary for resting and nesting birds so no dogs on this beach. The Jekyll Island beaches have so many beautiful animals to see.

South Dunes Beach Park

The South Dunes Beach Park has an elevated boardwalk crossing the 20-foot sand dunes. Along the boardwalk, there is an observation deck and freshwater pond. The view from the observation deck is beautiful.

Rowen and Raven had fun looking for animals in the pond as well.

There is a great picnic area with tables and grills as well as open-air and screen-in picnic pavilions. It is a heavily wooded area with plenty of shade. There is a short walk to the beach from the picnic area.

The beach is very wide and flat. We had a great time playing on the beach, but it was a little bit of a hike to get out there compared to some of the other beaches.

If you are planning on taking a lot of stuff to this beach it may be challenging. You will have to go up and down some stairs to get over the elevated boardwalk which isn’t ideal for wagons and strollers.

Corsair Beach Park

Corsair Beach Park is a beautiful Jekyll Island beach, found between Jekyll Ocean Club and Days Inn. It was nice to grab a bite to eat for dinner and then wander over to the beach. It was very easy to get to from the main center of town. Corsair Beach Park is a very nice and wide beach with fun waves.

There is an ADA-accessible restroom and changing area, picnic areas, and outdoor showers. Parking is pretty limited in Beach Village.

Great Dunes Beach Park

The Great Dunes Beach Park is a 20-acre beachfront park that is very popular with families. There are picnic areas, play areas, bocce ball, and volleyball courts. There are also public restrooms and showers available.

It is so nice to have these showers available. We can rinse the kids off as well as the sand toys and boogie boards to keep the sand out of the car.

The beach is located at the end of the Ben Forson Parkway on North Beachview Drive. There was plenty of parking. Just across the street, there is a miniature golf course and bike rentals.

If you’re wanting to stay in one spot for the day, this would be a great place because of the nearby beach and entertainment options.

There is an ADA accessibility point at crossover #32.

Oceanview Beach Park

Oceanview Beach Park is one of the great Jekyll Island beaches if you’re looking for ADA-accessible public beach access points, showers, and pavilion areas. The pavilion areas have picnic tables and grills. It is a quick and easy walk to the beach from the parking lot.

Driftwood Beach on Jekyll Island

Driftwood Beach in Jekyll Island Georgia is the most famous beach on the island. It is consistently voted as one of America’s most romantic beaches.

We got there about an hour before sunset, and it was dreamy. The sky was painted with sunset colors making the driftwood on the beach really stand out.

This driftwood is unique because it isn’t just logs. It is entire trees strewn across the beach, including the roots. Decades of erosion have created Driftwood Beach. The north end of Jekyll Island is slowly eroding and going to the south end of the island. The trees in the eroded soil fall and then decay over time.

Driftwood Beach is at the north end of the island. There are two access points for the beach. First, you can park at the Clam Creek Picnic Area and follow signs for the Wildlife Viewing Area.

Follow the walkway towards Clam Creek. After the bridge, there are two Driftwood Beach access points on the left.

There are also beach access points along North Beachview Drive. We parked in the designated parking area and had a short walk to the beach.

There are no facilities at this beach.

We had a lot of fun exploring Driftwood Beach on Jekyll Island, taking pictures, and collecting shells. If you’re only going to visit one Jekyll Island beach, this needs to be the one.

There are signs requesting that you don’t take pieces of driftwood from the beach. Leave the beautiful beach as is for others to enjoy. Some of the trees are over 500 years old.

Driftwood Beach is open for swimming. There are some rocky areas but overall, it is a fine beach for swimming.

Clam Creek Picnic Area

While not officially listed as a beach by Jekyll Island, there is sand to play in and a fun fishing boardwalk. My kids loved walking on the pier and checking out the catches of the day. It is right across the street from the Jekyll Island Campground, so we rode our bikes. The road to get to the picnic area is dreamy. It is lined with big oaks dripping in Spanish moss.

If you’re headed out for a beach day, I wouldn’t recommend this beach area. It smelled like fish. If anything, just drive down the road to the picnic area.

At Clam Creek Picnic Area there is lots of available parking, picnic areas, and restrooms. There is also a bike trail connecting Clam Creek Picnic Area with Driftwood Beach.

Map of Jekyll Island Beaches

How to Use This Map: Click on the icons on the map to get more information about each point of interest.

If you click the star next to the title of the map, this will be added to your Google Maps account. To view it on your phone or computer, open Google Maps. Then click on the menu button, go to “Your Place” and click on Maps. You will see this map added to your list.

If you’re looking for another quiet island to visit, we recommend a visit to Hunting Island in South Carolina.
Read More: Hunting Island State Park – Camping and Things to Do

Jekyll Island Beaches – Tips and FAQs

How much does it cost to get on Jekyll Island GA?

There is a $6.00 parking fee on Jekyll Island. There is a tollbooth when crossing onto the island. You can pay with cash or a card. Since we camped on the island, we got the available seven-day pass.

Tides on the Jekyll Island Beaches

Jekyll Island has two high tides and two low tides per day. You can check the tide schedule here but most days, there are about 12 hours and 25 minutes between high and low tide. There is a six to nine-foot difference between the tides. At high tide, some of the smaller beaches may be mostly underwater.

Practice Safe Beach Lighting

Jekyll Island is a popular nesting habitat for loggerhead sea turtles. During the warm summer, hundreds of loggerhead turtles come onto the beach each year. Bright lights from cars, streetlights, and flashlights on the beaches like Driftwood Beach can disorient the turtles and make it hard to find the dune’s edge where they lay their eggs.

Jekyll Island has a beach lighting ordinance to protect the turtles. It outlines no bonfires or campfires, no lanterns or flashlights, and no fireworks.

You can also substitute red light bulbs with a wavelength of 650 nm or so for the white ones that come in your flashlight.

Jekyll Island Beach Rules

The Jekyll Island beach rules are pretty common sense and help us all keep the beaches clean and beautiful.

• Take only empty shells and dead sand dollars.
• Fill in sandcastles and holes.
• Stay out of the dunes and do not disturb turtle nests or turtles.
• No motorized vehicles, fires, fireworks, or glass containers.
• No glass containers or metal detectors.
• Remove all trash and belongings from the beach.

Pets are allowed on the Jekyll Island beaches year-round except for the area between the South Dunes Picnic Area and 2,000 feet northeast of St. Andrews Picnic Area. Pets must be kept on a leash and owners must clean up after their pets.

Accessibility on the Jekyll Island Beaches

Jekyll Island has beach-going wheelchairs available at no cost. You can get a chair by calling 912.635.2368. They are first-come, first-serve basis. They will even deliver the chairs to one of the accessible sites between 9:00 am and 5:00 pm. Chairs are not available after 5:00 pm.

Accessible Beach Access Points
• Ocean Beach Park, crossover #26
• Great Dunes Park, crossover #32
• Beach Village, crossover #38
• St. Andrews Beach, crossover #67

Where to Stay on Jekyll Island

There is a variety of places to stay on Jekyll Island. We stayed at the campground on the island and had a great time. If you have an RV you can bring with you, that will be your most affordable option. It is near Clam Creek and Driftwood Beach. There are also tent sites available.

Full hook-up sites are $48 per day. Primitive tent sites are $33 per day.

Airbnb has a good amount of listings in the area. If you don’t find any that you like on Jekyll Island you can look at nearly Brunswick. Brunswick is about a 20-minute drive from Jekyll Island.

What to Bring to the Jekyll Island Beaches

✅ Umbrella: Give yourself some protection from the hot sun and make it easy for some rest and relaxation.

Check Prices for Umbrellas on Amazon Here!

✅ Beach Chair: This is a small compact chair that makes getting to the beach easy. If you’re visiting Jekyll Island with kids, be sure to bring a camp chair for them as well.

Check Prices for Beach Chairs on Amazon Here!

✅ Yeti Cooler: The yeti cooler is our favorite beach and RVing accessory. It works amazing, and the backpack straps make it easy to carry around. We cannot recommend this cooler enough. We use it every time we travel, and it has held up so well and works great.

Check Prices for Yeti Coolers on Amazon Here!

✅ Beach Toys: Our kids could play in the sand all day. They love making animal sand sculptures as well.

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✅ Spike Ball: This is a fun beach game for the older kids and adults at the beach.

Check Prices for Spikeball on Amazon Here!

We spent most of our time on Jekyll Island at the beach. Be prepared for what your family uses most at the beach. There are some nicer restaurants in town that you may want to bring something a little nicer but not very fancy by any means.

Jekyll Island Dolphin Tour

If you’re looking for some other things to do while you’re on Jekyll Island, we highly recommend going on a dolphin tour. We went out on this tour while we were there and had a wonderful time. We got to see lots of different dolphin pods as well as some of the fun sites along the Jekyll Island coast.

The tour is very family-friendly and my kids loved getting to see dolphins during our visit to Jekyll Island. Our tour guide also shared a lot of the fun history of Jekyll Island with us.

Book Your Jekyll Island Dolphin Tour Here!

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