Jekyll Island Campground

Jekyll Island Campground is located on Jekyll Island, one of Georgia’s Coastal Barrier Islands.

Jekyll Island Campground is about 18 acres of natural land that can accommodate both primitive tent camping and destination RV camping. It is located approximately an hour and a half from Savannah and is close to the towns of Brunswick and St. Simons.

Jekyll Island was developed in 1886 as a vacation destination for some of the wealthiest families of the gilded era- the Rockefellers, The Morgans, the Vanderbilts and others. Many of them built “cottages” in the immediate vicinity. Some of these cottages now make up the Jekyll Island Club Resort.

The entire area is impeccably kept, including gardens, beaches, lawns, etc.

Site Review:

• Jekyll Island Campground is a private campground.
• The sites are nicely spaced apart. It is not to the standard of state and provincial park site spacing but certainly better than a lot of private campgrounds I have seen. 
• In the colder months, Jekyll Island Campground caters primarily to the “snowbirds” (those campers that flock from their cold northerly homes to winter here). The place is basically booked solid for the winter. In the summer the campers are more transient- typically staying for shorter periods of time. You need to book in advance- reservations are definitely required.
• The campground is shaded by a canopy of Live Oak trees, but there is very little privacy between sites.
• The campground offers full hook-ups as well as more rustic sites for tents.
• The sites are fairly large and can accommodate big rigs. 
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• Jekyll Island Campground has some amenities like a common meeting building used for gatherings like bingo night etc. This is more for in the winter- there was nothing organized when we visited in the summer. There is a small camp store and some on-site laundry facilities.

The main attraction is the surrounding area immediately outside the campground- that being Jekyll Island itself.

Activities:

Biking:

Biking is a very popular activity, and there are various places where you can rent a bicycle. There are over 20 miles of well maintained flat multi-use paths that encircle the island and cut across it at various points. 

Cycling is one of the best ways to take in many of the sites the island has to offer including:

The Horton House Historic Site

The Clam Creek Picnic Area

Driftwood Beach

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And other beach areas including:

• Glory Beach
• St. Andrews Beach
• Great Dunes Beach
• South Dunes Beach.

You can even bike on the beach when the tide is out. I logged 158 kms of easy biking during our 6-day visit. The only downfall is that everyone is biking and at times the paths did become congested (particularly near the hotels on the beach side of the island). I liked to bike early in the morning when the winds were calm and the paths were mostly empty.

There is access via a fairly established kilometre long dirt path (the entrance is located near the Summer Waves water park) to Shark Tooth Beach which is a beach entirely composed of shells- mostly oyster shells but some others as well and of course if you are lucky maybe some shark teeth.

Golf:

Jekyll Island has been a renowned golf destination since 1898 when Jekyll Island Club members developed the island’s original course. There are now a total of 4 golf courses to choose from.

Miniature Golf:

There is an 18 hole miniature golf course that you can also enjoy.

Tours:

The Jekyll Island Historic District has 34 historic structures including Faith Chapel and the Jekyll Island Club Resort. There are various tours you can take, as well as a small museum for an in-depth background of the entire area. A tram-guided tour costs about $16pp. You can also tour the area by horse drawn carriage.

Nature:

There are various nature-based activities to partake in: 

•  dolphin boat tours. (Though not to put down this tour since I didn’t partake in it, but it is easy to spot dolphins from shore all around the island. I saw them numerous times from the fishing pier at Clam Creek, from St. Andrews Beach and from the boat launch dock as well- which is where the above picture of the dolphin tour boat was taken).
• The 4-H Tidelands Nature Center is a small hands-on marine exploration centre featuring touch tanks and nature walks.
• There is a Gatorology Tour offered a couple times a week in the summer. If you are looking to see an alligator the most reliable spot is at Horton Pond.
• The Georgia Sea Turtle Center is an education and rehabilitation facility. It offers the public a chance to learn about sea turtles and see rehabilitation in action. During June and July, the Center offers night-time walking tours to observe nesting females. In 2016 there were 170 nests on Jekyll Island. Check the website calendar for the turtle release weekend. Admission is $7pp.
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Sports:

• There are tennis courts located at the Jekyll Island Tennis Center.
• Kayaking is available at the 4-H Tidelands Nature Center.
• In the summer, there is the Summer Waves Water Park.

Fishing:

There are various charter trips that can be arranged at the marina. Note: Near the marina there is a freshwater outlet that the manatee like to hang out around. They can often be seen there especially between April and October.

You can fish directly from the pier at Clam Creek and anywhere else you want to drop a line.The only place where I saw that you can not fish is at Horton Pond.

Horseback Riding:

Guided horseback riding tours can be arranged at Clam Creek.

Things to Know:

Getting around Jekyll Island is easy on a bicycle, but not always practical. It’s hard to haul your golf clubs to the course on your bicycle. We are in a motorhome without a tow vehicle (yet)- so unhooking from our full-service site is what we would have to do every time we wanted to venture out. Jekyll Island, however, does have a solution to this predicament:

Red Bug Motors

At Red Bug Motors you can rent the “Little Red Bug” and use it to travel around the Island. They are available in 2,4 or 6 passenger size and are battery-powered. There are various charging spots throughout the Island.

You can rent them from the Jekyll Island Airport which is about 3km from Jekyll Island Riverside Campground.

Off-Island Attractions:

There is so much to do in this area of Georgia especially once you venture off the Island. I can’t do it justice and review it properly. I will, however, mention a couple off-island activities that we enjoyed:

St. Augustine

We took a day trip to St. Augustine, Florida. It is less than 2 hours away. It was interesting and the old town was very picturesque.

The Savannah National Wildlife Refuge

It’s a bit of a detour- about 9 miles off of I-95, just as you cross the state line into South Carolina (It is well signed). There is no fee.

I really wanted to see an alligator the first time we visited, and while there are alligators on Jekyll Island (up to 124 of them actually!) I didn’t see one- and I really looked!

So I convinced John to make the detour. He said I only had an hour. I was scanning the marshes on one side as well as the canal on the other. There were a lot of lovely birds, if that’s your thing, but I wasn’t interested in no stinking birds! I wanted to see a ‘gator’. Time was running out and we were almost to the end of the 4-mile drive. Then suddenly I spotted one floating in the canal- success! We ultimately saw 15 of them, all during the last 500m of the drive.

It took a bit longer than an hour by the time we got back on the Interstate, but I was happy to be able to cross off “seeing an alligator” from my bucket list.

IMO:

I loved Jekyll Island. I loved the relaxed pace and the vast assortment of things to do. It was touristy but not tacky. I could see spending more time here- you just can’t do it all in a week! I recommend Jekyll Island as an RV Place to Go.