Driftwood Beach

Barrier islands like Jekyll are always shifting, their sand carried by currents and reshaped by storms. At Driftwood Beach, the natural drift of sand has been steadily eroding the island's northern end, pulling the beach back and exposing the roots of the maritime forest that once grew there.

As the sand washed away, the great live oaks and pines were undermined and toppled, and the constant wash of salt water and sun bleached and polished their trunks into the pale, sculptural forms seen today. The process continues, so the beach is never quite the same twice, an ever-changing record of the island reshaping itself.

Jekyll Island has a long human history, from the Native peoples of the Georgia coast to a plantation era and, most famously, its decades as a private winter retreat for some of the wealthiest families in America. In the early twentieth century the Jekyll Island Club drew industrialists and financiers who built grand cottages in what is now the island's historic district.

The state of Georgia acquired the island in the mid-twentieth century and preserved it as a public state park, balancing recreation with strict limits on development. That protection is why so much of the island remains natural marsh, forest, and beach, including the wild northern shore where Driftwood Beach lies.

The beach and the surrounding island are rich with coastal life. Shorebirds probe the wet sand, pelicans and gulls work the surf, and dolphins are often seen offshore. The nearby marshes teem with fiddler crabs, wading birds, and the fish and shrimp that feed them.

Jekyll is also important nesting habitat for sea turtles, which come ashore in the warm months to lay their eggs, and the island runs a well-known sea turtle center that rescues and rehabilitates injured turtles. Visitors are asked to protect the fragile beach and its wildlife by treading lightly and leaving the trees and dunes undisturbed.

Spring and fall are the most pleasant seasons on the Georgia coast, mild and comfortable for walking the beach and exploring the island. Summer is hot and humid, busy with beachgoers, and the season when sea turtles nest and hatch.

Winter is quiet and cool, when the beach can feel wonderfully empty and the low sun makes the driftwood especially photogenic. In any season, early morning is the magic hour here, when the rising sun sets the weathered trees aglow and the crowds have yet to arrive.

The closest Boutel™ stays, so you can turn this stop into an overnight. Each is an independently owned, editorially selected place to stay.