Jykell Island – the one thing the gentleman told us to see when visiting this island, is drift wood beach. I looked on the satellite image from google maps and it looks like a few branches and such scattered along the beach. So I thought, maybe it will look better when walking on the beach. So off we went.

Jykell island has a lot of history of who founded the island and how it has changed over the years. It is known for the secret meeting of 6 men who decided they needed to change the federal reserve system.

The Meeting at Jekyll Island

November 20, 1910–November 30, 1910

The state of Georgia purchased Jekyll Island from the Jekyll Island Club through condemnation proceedings for $675,000. Then it was opened to the public as a State Park

Now one must pay a daily fee to enter the island. It is $10.00 a day now.

Drift wood beach is at the far end of the island and we drove there first. Parking all along the main stretch of road. We chose a spot with a short walk to the beach. At first glance as we got closer to the beach, it was beginning to look very interesting.

According to my research, photographers love showing up here at sunrise or sunset and you will see why on my next couple of post. We arrived mid morning as it was a long drive from our campground.

Scattered with the sun-bleached remains of gnarled and weathered trees, stepping onto Driftwood Beach in Jekyll Island, is like stepping into an alternate reality. It feels like what you’d imagine a post-apocalyptic world to feel like – signs of a life that once was intertwined with a life that now is, all under the watchful and commanding eye of Mother Nature.

Over the last 120+ years, erosion has claimed more than 1,000 feet (305 meters) of Jekyll Island’s coastline, the consequences of which are no more evident or more visually dramatic than they are on Driftwood Beach.

Due to the effects of decades of erosion, what was once a lush, maritime forest has become a boneyard for ancient oak trees and pine trees that have fallen victim to Mother Nature. Over time, as the ocean crept its way into the forest and strong winds and saltwater ate away at tree roots, the soil cover needed to keep it alive became stripped away.

This caused the trees to uproot or to die, some of which miraculously remain standing while others lay half-buried in the sand. And because the tides along this part of the coastline aren’t strong enough to sweep them out to sea, the trees remain. Together forming the hauntingly beautiful landscape that Driftwood Beach is known for today.

Jykell Island

Sandra J

Sandra J’s Photography & Fine Arts