AUGUST 2022

Golden Isles

Where: coastal Georgia

Directions: US 17 off I-95

Good to Know:

* The Georgia mainland is completely protected by a chain of barrier islands that march down the coastline. So the mainland is comprised of salt marshes and the beaches are on the barrier islands. Several of the islands are wildlife refuges. The northernmost, Tybee Island, is the playground for Savannah and dogs aren’t allowed there. The southernmost, Cumberland Island, is a national seashore reached only by passenger ferry. No dogs allowed there either.

For dog owners that leaves only one target in the Peach State - the Golden Isles (http://www.bgivb.com/).  

Why so good:   

The Golden Isles are four barrier islands centered around the historic port town of Brunswick. They are easily differentiated for the visiting dog owner. There is no land access to Little St. Simons Island. Sea Island is private and also has no access.

THE BEACHES.

Most dog lovers visiting the Golden Isles will want to head straight for the fourth barrier isle, Jekyll Island, billed as “Georgia’s jewel.” First developed in the late 1800s as a hunting club for America’s riches families, today the entire island, including 11 miles of Atlantic Ocean beach, is a state park. With a couple of exceptions to protect wildlife, dogs are allowed on all the beaches anytime.

The beaches around Jekyll Point at the south end are undeveloped and you can hike with your dog for hours beside natural wind-sculpted dunes. At the north end is Driftwood Beach where the forests come right down to the beach. Here the sands are harder and the surf gentler; a great beach for strolling with your dog - one of the best your dog will ever trot as it swings around the northwest corner of Jekyll Island. The photo ops every few yards with the wooden skeletons left on shore could make this a lengthy outing.

St. Simons Island is heavily residential with a sandy beach that swings around its southern tip. The beach is backed by small dunes, beach houses and high rises. Dogs are allowed to trot the beach anytime except during the high season from Memorial Day to Labor Day. In the summer you can hike the beach with your dog before 9:00 a.m. and after 6:00 p.m.

THE LIGHTHOUSE.

The first structure to illuminate this slice of coastal Georgia began on St. Simon Island in 1807 and was built of tabby, a common Southern coastal building material of lime and crushed oyster shells. The original octagonal tower was steadily improved but destroyed by Confederate troops during the Civil War to prevent its use by Union troops. A 104-foot replacement rose in 1872 and is still in use today. The lighthouse and adjoining Victorian keeper’s house (the light was automated in 1954) are now a museum. The sandy beach in front of the St. Simons Light, hard by the downtown area, welcomes dogs and the easy waves of the sound make it a fine place for a doggie dip.

THE HISTORY.

The dog waste stations at the entrance to the Fort Frederica National Monument (https://www.nps.gov/fofr/index.htm) on St. Simons Island tell you right off that this is a National Park Service property that welcomes your dog. This was the southernmost reaches of the British Empire on the North American continent in the 1700s and General James Edward Oglethorpe set out to protect it. The most immediate predator was the Spanish in Florida who the British had maintained a beef with for the better part of 200 years. Oglethorpe had only founded Georgia three years be- fore and the fortifications on St. Simons were his top priority. He need- ed to include a town to make the defensive position more formidable and he enclosed it all in a tabby wall. Other outposts were constructed further south. The inevitable clash came when the War of Jenkins’ Ear was declared in 1739. Oglethorpe struck first, sailing to St. Augustine but failing to capture the city. Two years later the Spanish arrived with 36 ships and 2,000 men. They penetrated the outer defenses but were repelled at Fort Frederica. The Spanish would never again raise arms on Georgia soil. After peace was declared the garrison was disbanded and only the town’s tabby ruins were left to tell the tale of the clash of colonial empires in the New World. The ruins live on in a park-like setting that makes for a superlative hike with your dog.

On Jekyll Island you can walk your dog through the 240-acre historic district anchored by the opulent Jeykll Island Club. You will wander on carriage roads around fantastic cottages built by the Vanderbilts, Morgans, Rockefellers, Goodyears, Pulitzers - enough titans of industry that it was once estimated that one-sixth of all the world’s wealth was represented on Jekyll Island.

PAVED PATHS.

There is no true trail hiking with your dog in the Golden Isles but you can walk for hours on the paved paths. On Jekyll Island the maze of paths penetrate the jungle-like interior of the island. The St. Simons Island paths travel under Spanish-moss draped live oaks linking attractions that include a couple of off-leash dog parks.