Unplug and Unwind on Jekyll Island
Friday, February 29th, 2008
Would you rather surf the ocean or the World Wide Web? Watch a movie or a campfire? Which do you think your children would choose? A Nature Conservancy-funded study showed that many of us would likely choose the movie or the Web. We’re more removed from nature than we have ever been in history. As a nation, we’re becoming more “indoorsy”, and that’s not a good thing.
The study reports that visits to U.S. national parks have been declining since 1987, after having risen for the previous 50 years. Researchers said that video games, home movie rentals, going out to movies, Internet use, and rising fuel prices explained almost 98 percent of the decline. The drop in attendance comes as our use of electronic media has risen - something that researchers call “evidence of a fundamental shift away from people’s appreciation of nature.”
“When children choose TVs over trees, they lose touch with the physical world outside and the fundamental connection of those places to our daily lives,” said Steve McCormick, President and CEO of The nature Conservancy.
Jekyll Island is an ideal place for you and your family to reconnect with nature. It has been and always will be a place of natural beauty and conservation because 65% of the island will always be in its natural state. Everything you need to reawaken your inner Thoreau is here-nestled safely and conveniently on Jekyll Island.
“We demonstrate our values in the way we allocate our time,” said Patricia Zaradic, an ecologist with the Stroud Water Research Center who worked on the study. “Research indicates that children who experience nature with a mentor develop an appreciation of nature as adults.”
Children who are led by their parents to experience nature firsthand also learn habits that support a healthy lifestyle. Spending time engaged in the natural world is far preferable to spending time parked in front of a television screen.
So leave your laptops for another day. You need not give up your video games for good. But you can unplug from this 21st century world, and give your attention to the beautiful, great outdoors and the diverse creatures living within it. Jekyll Island promises something special for every member of your family, regardless of age or interests. How many video games can say that?
Come and see what’s outside on Jekyll Island!
With 10 miles of unspoiled beaches, beach lovers have plenty of space to sunbathe, swim, walk or search for shells. You’re sure to see many live creatures as well, including hermit crabs and sand dollars. Preserve the Island’s shoreline environment by leaving these interesting beach dwellers just as you find them and take only a few of your favorite shells.
As a barrier island, Jekyll Island’s beaches are unique and ever-changing.
For your convenience, public showers and restrooms are located at several sites and picnic areas.
Here is a bird lover’s paradise. A vast variety of birds make the island home. In addition to those, the island serves as a resting place in the spring and fall for migrating species on the Atlantic Flyway. The island has been designated an “Important Birding Area (IBA)” by the Georgia Audubon Societies. It is one of 18 sites along the Colonial Coast Birding Trail and boasts several significant birding sites: near the Welcome Center on the Jekyll Island Causeway; at Clam Creek on the northern side of the island; and at the “Glory” beach near the Jekyll Island Soccer Complex. New birding platforms are scheduled for construction at Driftwood Beach and the St. Andrews picnic area.
With 206 campsites available on 18 wooded acres, Jekyll Island has something for everybody– from tent sites to full hook-up to pull-through RV sites. The campground offers a long list of amenities, including restrooms, showers, pay phones, laundry and a full-service store with food, ice, bait, propane, supplies and bike rentals. Daily rates are available year round. For guests wishing to stay a bit longer, the campground offers a week-long special: stay six days and the seventh is free. Monthly stay rates are available November through March. Other times, a 14-day camping limit may apply.
The Georgia 4-H Tidelands Nature Center offers hands-on exhibits for the kids as well as guided nature walks and kayak or canoe tours. Guided activities include nature walks, Historic District Landscape Tours, and Turtle Walks (from the Georgia Sea Turtle Center), offered from May through August).
On a guided nature walk, you will spend a couple of hours to walking the beach, maritime forest or marsh with an experienced naturalist.
Explore the area by kayak or canoe on a three-hour guided tour of the local salt marshes and estuarial waters. Learn about wading birds, fiddler crabs, marsh grass and dolphins. There’s no better way to observe birds, fish and other coastal creatures in their native habitat.
Both canoe rentals and kayak tours are available March through October. Sea Kayaks, a more maneuverable and stable relative of the traditional kayak, also are available for saltwater excursions. Rentals, instruction and guided tours are available by calling (912) 635-5032.
Jekyll Island is perfectly suited for travel by bicycle. With more than 20 miles of paved trails, you can explore a broad range of scenery, from beaches to forests to Jekyll Island’s own Historic Landmark District and campgrounds. Free trail maps are available at the Jekyll Island Welcome Center.
Jekyll Wharf and Jekyll Harbor Marina are two points of access to the many water activities along coastal Georgia. Spend a day sightseeing, dolphin spotting or on a sailing tour.
For the fishermen, the island’s knowledgeable fishing captains know all of the best spots to catch a variety of fish, including Tarpon, Whiting, Red Drum, Sea Trout, Triple Tail, Spotted Sea Trout, Striped Mullet, Sheepshead, and Black Drum, just to name a few. Loggerhead sea turtles have found safe haven on Jekyll Island. Their nests, tucked among the dunes of Jekyll Island’s beaches, have made the island a major site for conservation and education. Sea turtle nests are marked and monitored by the Georgia Sea Turtle Center. From May through August, female loggerhead turtles swim ashore, dig their nests and lay their eggs.
The Georgia Sea Turtle Center, a $3 million center, includes a learning center, rehabilitation center and veterinary clinic, is the first of its kind in Georgia. The Center officially opened June 16, 2007. For more information about the Georgia Sea Turtle Center and related programs, visit www.georgiaseaturtlecenter.org
Jekyll Island has been a golf destination since 1898, when Jekyll Island Club members added the first course on the island near the present-day airport. Today, Jekyll Island boasts 63 holes of golf on three 18-hole courses and one 9-hole course, earning Jekyll Island the bragging rights as Georgia’s largest public golf resort. During course design of Pine Lakes Course, Clyde Johnston incorporated “Family Friendly” tee boxes, making this the only course in America that allows players of all ages to compete evenly.
Boasting 13 clay courts (seven of which are lighted), the Jekyll Island Tennis Center earned a spot among Tennis Magazine’s “25 Best Municipal Tennis Facilities” in the country. The Jekyll Island Tennis Center hosts six USTA-Sanctioned tournaments annually, as well as junior camps throughout the summer. Ongoing adult programs include clinics and round-robin tournaments, which are offered between October and March. The Center’s staff can arrange pick-up games for single players, as well as offer private and group lessons. Also available are rental racquets and ball machines, as well as equipment repair. Weekly, monthly and annual single-person and family memberships can be purchased as well.
For a totally different perspective, saddle up and experience Jekyll Island on horseback. Guided tours originate from the Clam Creek picnic area on the island’s north end, make their way though maritime forests and along the salt marshes, then return along beautiful Driftwood Beach. Reservations are required and can be made Monday through Saturday (weather permitting) at Victoria’s Carriages and Trail Rides at the Island History Center on Stable Road.
There are plenty of ways to unplug and unwind on Jekyll Island. If you need some ideas, just check out www.jekyllisland.com or our Welcome Center on the Jekyll Island causeway!
