Jekyll Island Georgia has always been one of my favorite places to vacation. It’s hard to beat the quaint island feel that offers easy-going bike riding, sightseeing, and wide-open beaches. There’s just something about this place that seems magical and it’s a great way to get away from the crowds of the bigger cities.
Jekyll Island is mostly uncrowded since the island has limited access to development. This makes it a wonderful choice for those looking to get away on a camping trip. The campground on Jekyll Island is a popular place and it is often difficult to get a campsite during the season. Sometimes you can get lucky and snatch up a spot that someone has canceled. Otherwise, campsites may need to be reserved far in advance to make sure that you will have a place to park your RV.
I have been to Jekyll Island many times and have always driven past the campground but never stayed in it. Recently, my wife and I had the chance to stay for a week at the campground in our camper van. We were finally able to see why this place is always so popular. As a photographer, I enjoyed being at the campground and within walking distance to one of the best gems on the east coast for photographers, Driftwood Beach.
Our Experience Staying At The Campground
The layout of this campground is a little different from most campgrounds that you might stay in. It’s a little messy when you first look throughout the campground and notice that RVs are parked all over the place. It seems as though RVs are just parked in any place they want to be. Most of the campsites are not marked with a parking area so you have to pull in to your campsite the best you can.
This seemed a little off-putting to me at first but it’s not as bad as it seems once you get parked and settled in. During our stay, we got to stay in two different campsites.
To view a current map of this campground as well current rates, check out the Jekyll Island campground website.
First Stay – Location T-1
Fortunately, the camping spot that I chose when I reserved my stay was an excellent location. The location was T-1 and after staying in this location for two nights and strolling around the campground quite a bit, I would consider it one of the best campsites in the whole campground.
It is a pull-through site that loops around. It’s large and allows you to be further away from your neighbors than you would be in other spots throughout the campground.
I parked my van in a way that the sliding door was facing nothing but trees. We had complete privacy upon opening our sliding door without other campers in sight. All hookups were located right next to our parking spot including sewage so it was easy to connect to shore power and dump grey and black water tanks (cassette toilet in our case).
The only problem with this location was that there weren’t as many trees as there are deeper inside the campground. There were a few trees that gave us shade in the afternoon. However, this wasn’t all bad because it allowed us to keep our solar system fully charged.
We were only able to stay at this campsite for two nights of our stay and then we had to move to a different location for the next two nights because of availability when I reserved my dates.
Second Stay – Location G-13
The second location that I stayed in was G-13. This location was not near as private as my first one as I had RVers all around me. This was just a basic spot where we were able to park. It wasn’t particularly enjoyable since I had campers on all sides of me so there wasn’t much privacy. On a good note, there were plenty of trees that gave us plenty of shade and helped to keep us cool.
This campsite had no defined parking area and the ground wasn’t paved or gravel. Instead, it was dirt and covered in leaves from all the trees towering above. It didn’t rain while we were there but I would think that this type of campsite could get a little messy during rainy days.
My Thoughts On Staying At This Campground
I’ll have to admit that I liked the first campsite much better than the second one. If you are like me and want to be further away from neighbors, the T loop is a great place to be (my preference would be one of these: T1, T2, T3, T10, T11). Either way though, we had a pleasant experience with this campground and thoroughly enjoyed our stay for the entire time we were there.
The campground has lots of rules and they seem to be enforced very well. There was very little noise at night and I slept well with my windows open and didn’t hear much of anything. People seem to abide by the rules and keep it a quiet and joyful place for others.
The campground is a very family-oriented place and you will see children laughing, playing, and riding bikes throughout the day. However, once night falls, the campground becomes a peaceful and quiet place to stay.
Amenities
There are plenty of amenities that you can enjoy while you are at this campground. Although we didn’t utilize any of these amenities, they do have a community center, laundry mat, basketball court, a store, and bathroom facilities on The premises. They also have free unsecured Wifi that we didn’t really use. The service was very slow so we just used our LTE (Mint Mobile) which is available all over the island.
We did utilize the showers and bathrooms on occasion while we were there.
Bathrooms & Showers
There are two separate bathhouses in the campground and the bathrooms are typical of what you will find in standard campgrounds. They are certainly nothing to write home about and will get the job done if you need to use the bathroom or take a quick shower. They are typical of American public bathrooms with little to no privacy and cleanliness is not always the greatest. They were fine but anytime you have a bunch of people coming in and out of public bathrooms, they are going to get messy.
They have stalls with toilets and sinks in the bathroom areas. In the shower area, there are multiple shower stalls with curtains on them for privacy. While not the greatest, they get the job done and allow you to stay nice and clean with a hot water shower while on your vacation.
It would be nice to see more private areas but this is typical of campgrounds. Some RV parks I have been to have private rooms that contain a toilet and a shower in one space. If not this, it would be great to see private toilet rooms. I am not a fan of public restrooms and specifically the stalls with walls that don’t go all the way down to the floor. I avoid them for the most part.
The showers were fine and they provide ample space and privacy to take a nice hot shower. There is one shower stall that has a privacy door on it and all the others have a basic shower curtain. Seems that there is always someone in the one with the privacy door so you will have to be lucky to get that one.
Pros
- It’s nice and quiet. I was able to sleep well the entire time I was at the campground. I was able to relax and enjoy my stay without distractions the entire time I was there.
- All sites have full hookups (except the 12 primitive sites). This included electrical connections, water, cable, and sewer. I didn’t use the cable connection but I did use the electric and water as well as the sewer to dump our greywater and cassette toilet tank.
- Nice community of RVers. The campground was filled with the typical RV crowd that is mostly nice people looking to enjoy their stay just the same as you are.
Cons
- Bathrooms aren’t the greatest. As mentioned above, the bathrooms aren’t the greatest that I have seen at campgrounds I’ve been to.
- Some spaces are not well-defined. People seem to park all over the place with some of the parking spaces not well-defined. You have to just shimmy your way into a spot. This is not true of all of them but keep in mind that some may be this way.
- Some spaces are not paved. One of our campsites had a soft floor that will get a little messy during the rain. However, the other site we had was on gravel.
- You’ll need a way to get around. The campground is located at one end of the island so you’ll need a way to get into the heart of Jekyll Island if you intend to explore. You can always walk but it will help to have a bike, golf cart, car, etc.
Can You Camp On The Beach At Jekyll Island?
It would be nice if you could but it is against the rules and I wouldn’t want to chance it. You are better off sticking to the campground on the Island. In our case, we took our van to a beach access parking area during the day to hang out and have lunch. It gave us a chance to be near the beach and have our little home with us. You’ll see a lot of people doing this in the large beach access parking lots. However, they will be gone at night time.
Georgia state police patrols the area so I wouldn’t want to be caught trying to chance it. I would assume that there would be a hefty fine if you get caught doing it. Just follow the rules and stay at the campground. It’s close enough to the beach that you could just walk to it anyway.
Are Pets Allowed At Jekyll Island Campground?
Absolutely they are but there may be a fee associated with it. This is common and is currently only $3.75 per day for each pet. As you walk through the campground, you will see lots of pets as you generally do in campgrounds or RV parks. We took our dog with us as Jekyll Island is a very pet-friendly place. You can enjoy walking your dog along the bike paths or the beach.
For the most part, people keep their dogs under control throughout the campground. You’ll hear the occasional bark but I never heard anything at night. We did hear someone complaining in the front office about some campers that had dogs that were barking enough to be annoying. This seemed to be taken care of pretty quickly by the campground staff so it’s good to know that they do enforce the rules when necessary.
Just a reminder to be courteous to others around you if you have a dog. Make sure your dog isn’t creating a nuisance for others around you. People don’t want to hear your barking dog and it isn’t cute to them like it may be to you.
Historical Sites Close To Jekyll Island Campground
No matter where you are on Jekyll Island, you have access to some rich history. Jekyll Island is a small island so everything is pretty close by. Of course, it will help if you have a car to use to get you to various locations. If not, you may want to consider bringing or renting a bike or golf cart on the island. Red Bug Motors is what we always use when we are there.
You can take it and explore the historical area of Jekyll Island which is only a few miles down the road from the campground. You’ll be able to see the historic district where lots of historical structures exist. You can also pay to take a trolly tour so that you can learn about the area. The trolly tour is well worth the price.
The following locations are some of the places you might want to visit and are within close access to the campground.
- Horton House. Constructed in 1743, this house belonged to Major William Horton. It’s one of the oldest buildings in the state of Georgia and makes a great photo backdrop. It’s the closest historical building to the campground.
- Jekyll Club. It’s the stomping grounds of the wealthy from days past including the Morgans, Rockefeller’s, and the Vanderbilts. It is also the place where the Federal Reserve was created. Today it is a hotel but it certainly has an interesting history. If you haven’t read The Creature From Jekyll Island, I highly recommend it.
- Historic District. The DuBignon Cottage, Goodyear Cottage, Hollybourne Cottage, Indian Mound Cottage, Mistletoe Cottage, and Moss Cottage are among the historical structures that you will find in the historic district. It’s a really cool area to walk around and experience the history around you.
- Driftwood Beach. Not really a historical site but it is a unique and popular place to visit. It’s within a short walk from the campground. With its gnarly, dead trees scattered about, it’s a wonderland for photographers and you will see lots of them in the early morning and evening hours.
Bottom Line
Jekyll Island makes a great place to vacation if you like places that aren’t so crowded. It isn’t your typical packed beach experience. It makes the perfect location for those who travel in RVs. Overall, the campground is a nice place to stay and provides all the amenities that you could ever want.
Whether you are driving a motorhome, pulling a travel trailer, or setting up a tent, the campground will accommodate you. The campground is popular for a reason and it is nearly always operating at full capacity unless you happen to go during the winter, which isn’t a bad idea.
The Jekyll Island campground can provide you with a nice little home away from home for a fair price. We enjoyed our stay at the campground and I know that we will be back for more stays in the future.
