More than 400 years ago, Spanish explorers colonized the barrier islands that lie between Jacksonville Fla and Savannah Ga. The Golden Isles are a full day’s drive north of tropical South Florida, so that means a hit from sassy cold fronts once a month or so in winter. It also means winter is the savings season with lower prices and no crowds.
Winter is also the dry season with low humidity and long, sunny stretches between cold snaps. Walk Atlantic beaches. Hike nature trails filled with Low Country flora and fauna. Explore historic sites. Fish, play golf on championship courses.
Georgia’s Golden Isles are named for seas of reeds that glow golden in the low sun of early morning and late afternoon. The islands are so small that from almost anywhere you can wake up to an Atlantic sunrise and have cocktails while watching a brassy sun sink into gilded grasses.
Meandering fingers of water thread through the marshes, forming silent streams to canoe or kayak. Deeper, wider channels on the islands’ west side are part of the Intracoastal Waterway. If you arrive by boat, leave it in one of the full-service marinas or live onboard through the season.
The islands’ high ground is covered with wind-sculpted oaks. Lowlands buzz with wildlife. On the Atlantic side, the islands are edged with unbroken miles of satin sands. Surf-cast into Atlantic combers. Hunt for seashells. Feed grateful gulls and, on warm days, take bracing swims in the briny.
The group known as Georgia’s Golden Isles consists of Cumberland, Little St. Simons, Sea Island, St. Simons, and Jekyll Island. The first two cannot be reached by road but their nature preserves are open for day visits. Here’s what to see and where to stay.
Cumberland Island National Seashore is reached by ferry from St. Marys Ga. Make it a day trip for a picnic or bring gear for primitive camping overnight. The wildlife show, from raccoons and foxes to wild horses, goes on nonstop. Stroll pristine beaches dotted with dunes strewn with sea oats or just relax and read under centuries-old live oaks draped in Spanish moss.
The island’s historic sites range from pre-Columbian midden mounds to later structures including the African-American Church where John F. Kennedy, Jr. was married in 1996. The little chapel is now maintained by the park service.
Bring everything you need including drinking water. Nothing is available except well water, which must be boiled on a camp stove. Campfires aren’t permitted. Plan ahead because reservations are required and the number of visitors is tightly controlled to protect fragile resources. (912-822-4336, nps.gov/cuis/)
In a separate area of Cumberland Island is Greyfield Inn, an historic B&B reached by private ferry out of Fernandina Beach Fla. Reservations are essential, (greyfieldinn.com, 866-401-8581)
Jekyll Island is the home of a funky, Victorian-era hotel. It’s not on the beach, but has a heated swimming pool. Accommodations range from hotel rooms to luxury suites. Modern resorts and condos, some of them available for monthly or seasonal rental, line the seashore and there’s also a full-service campground inland.
Jekyll offers the widest choice of accommodations plus canoe and kayak rental, fishing guides, restaurants, nature walks, tennis and 63 holes of golf. Tour a neighbourhood of restored mansions that once belonged to millionaires who arrived by yacht for the winter hunting season. Take the trolley tour; rates include admission to the mansions. The present-day hotel was the millionaires’ “clubhouse,” where meals were prepared by famous New York chefs.
Little St. Simons Island was also a popular hunting ground for wealthy northerners. Reached by boat from St. Simons, the 10,000-acre nature preserve can accommodate only 30 visitors at a time.
Sea Island, home of the ultra-exclusive, five-star The Cloister, has hosted the rich and famous for generations. For travellers who want the finest accommodations, dining, trap and skeet shooting sports, tennis, horseback riding, sailing, golf and spa, this is a place to see and be seen. Choose from a variety of rooms and suites in The Cloister, The Lodge or magnificent “cottages,” some with private pool.
St. Simons Island is the site of the 800-acre, three-star Sea Palms Golf and Tennis Resort plus several chain motels. It offers championship golf, a fishing pier, water sports, shopping and nature tours. See the 104-foot-high lighthouse and restored light keeper’s quarters. Fort Frederica, now a mossy ruin under a canopy of live oaks, dates to 1736.
If you go: For more information about the Golden Isles (excluding Cumberland; see contact information above), call 912-265-0620 or go to bgivb.com/.
Janet Groene is a professional travel writer and author of books including Great Eastern RV Trips, which describes road trips in the eastern U.S. and Canada.
