Jekyll Island Biking

The entry fee to Georgia's Jekyll Island is $3 (called a parking fee) and the proceeds go to the coastal parking areas, the picnic and park areas, the fishing pier, and the bike trail -- money well invested! We biked nearly 20 miles -- the perimeter of the island, the spur out to the northern end's fishing pier/picnic grounds, as well as the spur to the picnic grounds at the southern end. Parts of the trail are old roadway as seen below...


... but most is asphalt, primarily in good repair. Some new concrete path has been laid to replace old asphalt -- probably an ongoing maintenance issue. The fishing pier area on the northern end of the island has beautiful views as seen below, as does the southern spur of the trail. Many times the trail abuts the ocean as in the first photo.




The path also traverses the Historic District seen below, and countless signs explaining the history of buildings and the island abound. The trail also takes bikers past the original residences and graveyard on the northern tip of the island.

A favorite section of mine was the "mountain bike" section which was not paved (a paved alternate route is available). Part was dirt covered with needles from the long leaf pines, part was roots and sand, and a newer segment through an environmentally sensitive area was constructed (photo below) of "pervious material" to "allow storm water to penetrate back into the soil to recharge the aquifer." It is built with a 4" base gravel layer topped with "plastic gravelpane cells" into which "stabilizer and gravel fill material" is placed. This provides a natural surface for recreational users but also allows emergency/maintenance vehicles to travel the trail.

A map of the island's trails is below this photo, and it shows "Driftwood Beach" where the next photo was taken (far upper left.

 (Click to enlarge)