Jekyll Island is located off the coast of the state of Georgia. It is one of the Sea Islands and one of the Golden Isles of Georgia barrier islands. The island is owned by the State of Georgia and run by a self-sustaining, self-governing body.
In the late 1800s, Jekyll Island became an exclusive hunting club for families with names like Rockefeller, Morgan, Vanderbilt, Pulitzer, and Baker. The once private retreat is now part of The Jekyll Island Club National Historic Landmark District, one of the largest preservation projects in the southeast.
Every Christmas the Island is decorated with hundreds of thousands of lights and you can do a self drive through the Island Historical District and see the homes that were once owned by the families of America’s Glided Age lite up for the holidays. Covered in over 35,000 lights, the Great Tree has more lights per square foot than the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree in New York City. Along Shell road, visitors can glimpse the Twelve Days of Christmas light displays from the Great Dunes Beach Park to the Historic District.
The entire island is covered in Christmas lights during the holidays. The holidays are wonderful here- carriage rides, trolley tours, a free museum & history movie. Not really “shopping’ on Jekyll, but on St Simons there are lots of quaint shops (about 20 min). No wonder the Vanderbilts & Rockefellers lived here all winter! Check www.jekyll.com frequently. There is a great, updated events calendar well in advance. Enjoy! Extremely quiet, laid-back, more residential with history on one side, and then beach places on the other. But the entire island is a national park, so there are no go cart rides or normal beach “strip” type of things. Upscale & wonderful place.
Enjoy the beautiful ancient trees covered in lights and Spanish moss, then head to the hotel for hot chocolate and pastries is the way to end a December evening on Jekyll .
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