Hi, I'm Eric.

I’m an avid world traveler, photographer, software developer, and digital storyteller.

I help implement the Content Authenticity Initiative at Adobe.

ericscouten.com

Subscribe / Follow · Now

ericscouten.com

Subscribe / Follow · Now

Search Results

Southeastern US Day 15: Jekyll Island

1 April 2023 • 157 km / 98 mi (map)

  • Added to Eric Scouten :: Travel on 2 April 2023
  • Georgia 9

From yesterday’s farm stay on the coast near Townsend, I drove down to Jekyll Island.

But first … good morning from the coast!

east of Townsend, Georgia
A coastal salt marsh at sunrise, with the sun low on the horizon casting orange light across a pale blue sky above winding tidal creeks and expanses of marsh grass. Silhouetted tree branches frame the upper left and foreground, and a distant tree line runs along the horizon under faint contrails.
east of Townsend, Georgia

Once on Jekyll Island, I first went to the state park on the north end of the island.

A narrow paved road winds through a coastal forest of live oaks draped with Spanish moss, their gnarled branches arching overhead against a bright blue sky dotted with clouds. Saw palmetto and other green undergrowth line both sides of the sun-dappled road.
Jekyll Island State Park, Jekyll Island, Georgia
Looking straight up into the canopy of live oak trees draped with wispy strands of Spanish moss, their green leaves and dark branches framing a bright blue sky dotted with a few white clouds.
Jekyll Island State Park, Jekyll Island, Georgia
A rocky, oyster-strewn shoreline curving along a calm coastal inlet under a bright blue sky dotted with puffy white clouds. Across the water lies a sandy beach with a few distant people and a fringe of trees, while a rip-rap breakwater and grassy shrubland edge the near shore.
Jekyll Island State Park, Jekyll Island, Georgia

While some parts of the beach were well-occupied, I was able to enjoy some parts largely to myself once I got out a bit further:

A wide, empty sandy beach stretches into the distance under a bright sky filled with puffy white clouds. Calm water lies to the left, a distant tree-lined shoreline is visible across the water, and a dense stand of maritime forest with pines edges the dunes on the right.
Jekyll Island State Park, Jekyll Island, Georgia
A coastal dune landscape with white sand and low green vegetation in the foreground, giving way to a stand of live oaks and pines draped with Spanish moss, including gnarled bare branches, beneath a hazy, cloudy sky.
Jekyll Island State Park, Jekyll Island, Georgia
A cluster of thin dry sticks and reeds fanned out across pale white beach sand, surrounded by scattered footprints and small pockmarks in the rippled sand.
Jekyll Island State Park, Jekyll Island, Georgia

Later, I toured the Jekyll Island Historic District, once known as the Jekyll Island Club, a summer resort and hunting club for some of the country’s most famous elites. Today it has been restored and serves as a public resort and historic district.

Jekyll Island Historic District, Jekyll Island, Georgia
Jekyll Island Historic District, Jekyll Island, Georgia
Jekyll Island Historic District, Jekyll Island, Georgia
A sprawling live oak with thick, low-reaching horizontal branches draped in Spanish moss, growing over a mulched clearing dappled with sunlight and shadow. Beyond the tree is a sunlit green lawn with a path, a lamppost, and buildings partly visible among other trees.
Jekyll Island Historic District, Jekyll Island, Georgia
Jekyll Island Historic District, Jekyll Island, Georgia

In the afternoon, I returned to the farm stay and was treated to a late afternoon thunderstorm. I moved many years ago from the Midwest to Washington state. One of the sacrifices from that move was that I rarely experience a good thunderstorm any more. I was happy to have one here.

east of Townsend, Georgia
east of Townsend, Georgia
Townsend to Jekyll Island, Georgia, and back · 157 km / 98 mi
(Mouse over or tap on the markers to see the photos there. Use the button to adjust the map’s position and zoom.)

If you’ve enjoyed this …

Subscribe to my free and occasional (never more than weekly) e-mail newsletter with my latest travel and other stories:

Or follow me on one or more of the socials: