The Barrier Islands

Eight clusters of 13 barrier islands stretch from the Savannah to the St. Marys Rivers, forming nearly 100 miles of Georgia's coastline. Barrier islands buffer the mainland coastal zone from the forces of storms and hurricanes and are consistently reshaped over time by wind, currents, and tides.

Barrier islands are known for their popular ocean-facing recreational beaches and pristine mainland-facing tidal marshes. These wetlands, filled with grasses and silt, provide habitat for a variety of plants and animals and are among the most biologically productive natural systems on earth.

Georgia's barrier islands are separated from the mainland coastal plain by one-half million acres of lush salt marshes along the state's 100 miles of coastline.

Officially opened in 1888, the historic Jekyll Island Club hotel and resort, has been a retreat of “splendid isolation” for some of America’s wealthiest families and the site of historic events like the first transcontinental phone call to President Woodrow Wilson in 1915.​

One of the most unique attractions in the area, Driftwood Beach on the north end of Jekyll Island has slowly succumbed to erosion, undermining the trees that once thrived there and leaving behind decaying remnants that give a ghostly impression.​

Thousands of visitors flock to Georgia's barriers islands every year to enjoy the beach. Here at Tybee Island, the average year-round temperature is 74 degrees.

St. Simons and Tybee are Georgia's two most densely populated and developed islands, both home to a thriving tourism industry enhanced by communities of year-round residents.

Rebuilt several times, the historic lighthouse at Tybee Island was most recently reconstructed in 1916, after retreating Confederate forces destroyed the structure in 1862.​ A similar light station exists on St. Simons Island.

This majestic, double row of trees marks the Avenue of Oaks at the former Retreat Plantation. The oaks were planted nearly 200 years ago by a landowner who inherited the property in 1826.​​

The ruins of Fort Frederica lie on the north end of St. Simons Island. The fort was built in 1736 to defend the town of Frederica against incursions from St. Augustine troops in Spanish Florida.

Cumberland Island is home to roaming wild horses, thought to be descended from animals left there by Spanish explorers in the 1500s.​