An Afternoon At Driftwood Beach

At around 5:30 PM, I arrive at my very first stop on my solo journey: Driftwood Beach, Jekyll Island, GA. I had heard about the large pieces of driftwood that rested on the beach and needed to see them for myself. What was once a maritime forest, is now a sandy shoreline with weathered branches and fallen trees.

You can visit the official Jekyll Island website, here.

Getting There

Since I was heading north from Florida, I took the exit off of 95. Making your way from the exit to Jekyll Island can make you question yourself as there is no sprawling town around and it feels is if you are going to strand yourself in the middle of nowhere. Upon finally arriving at the entrance, it may be about a 10-minute drive until you finally reach the ticket entrance. A daily parking pass will cost $8 and can last until midnight. Once you get in…alas civilization! There is a whole town on that island with a gas station, restaurants, resorts, and residential homes. I’m sure there’s more to the island but I can only attest to what I saw. I came with the sole purpose to see Driftwood Beach.

While there aren’t any real signs of Driftwood Beach, you will need to drive to the northern part of the island. Your Google Maps will give you an idea of where to go. The main giveaway is that when you get near, you will see cars parked off the side of the road. Just park by them and there should be a sandy path nearby leading to the beach. Where I parked, you wouldn’t really be able to tell if there was a driftwood beach behind all those trees, but just walk down a path and you will find what you’ve been searching for!

Driftwood Beach

As I remerged from the sandy, tree-covered path, I finally laid eyes on the beach. Driftwood Beach definitely lives up to its name as the long shoreline was lined with huge pieces of driftwood. Another observation was the water. I didn’t really see anyone in the water when I got there. I’m unsure if the currents were strong that day or the fact that the water was BROWN! It’s definitely no Florida Gulf beach. After a little walking, I found a beautiful spot by a large fallen over driftwood tree with not too many people around so that I could set up my camera and tripod. I think the couple nearby noticed I was at the beach solo but I just remained aware of my surroundings. I took some pictures using my SONY RX100 VII’s timer. At this point, I felt proud of myself for conquering my first destination solo.

As I was wrapping things up to leave, I struck up a conversation with a professional photographer that was waiting for a client. She was the first stranger that I encountered on my journey. I politely asked if she could take a picture for me on my camera and while she took some, she offered to take a picture with her ginormous lens and camera. So that’s how I ended up getting free pictures from a professional photographer! You never know who you’ll meet on a journey. You just have to be open and start a friendly conversation.