A Bakers-Dozen Action Filled Activities for Rambunctious Kids on A Jekyll Island Vacation |
by Rick Freeland
http://www.jekyll-island-family-adventures.com
Kids seem to come with a boundless supply of frenetic energy, coupled with a vivid imagination. After hours cooped up in an automobile (“are we there yet?”), they’re desperate for action! Here are 13 adventure activities to make a Jekyll Island Vacation one that will fire their imaginations and burn off that surplus energy while keeping them occupied for hours.
1. Driftwood Beach – besides being one of the most photogenic beaches on the east coast, Driftwood Beach is a great playground for imaginative kids. Huge trees, uprooted by erosion, dot the beach. Children can run wild within the maze of driftwood, playing pirate or space explorer or whatever their active minds can come up with. Or just climb on the tree limbs and explore the tidal pools for stranded sea life. Driftwood beach is a child’s wonderland.
2. Summer Waves –
Summer Waves, Jekyll Island’s own water park, invites
kids to make like dolphins. Their 11 acre water park features the
Frantic Atlantic wave pool, the Pirate Passage water slide, and more
watery attractions for splashing, swimming and floating to their hearts
content.
3. The Georgia Sea Turtle Center – who says learning can’t be fun. At
the Georgia Sea Turtle Center, kids can, through a series of interactive
stations, pretend to be a turtle, and live out a turtle’s life from
hatchling to adult. Interpretive programs, a gift shop, and a turtle
hospital, where trained staff nurse sick or injured turtles back to
health, are just a few of the Center’s offerings. Don’t forget to ask
the staff if they’re releasing any rehabilitated turtles into the ocean
– that’s a fun event kids and adults won’t want to miss.
4. Tidelands Nature Center – kids can hike nature trails on a
Jekyll Island Vacation, handle
hands-on exhibits, or learn about sharks. Or sign up for Tidelands
guided sea kayak trips into the marsh, and pretend they’re Louis and
Clark, exploring the rivers of America.
5. Bike Exploring – with 20 miles of formal bike trails (and an entire
island to explore informally),
bicycle adventures are some of Jekyll
Island’s best active pursuits . Kids can ride beside the beach, explore
the Historic District, or just take off on a “see where we wind up”
exploration. Don’t want to bike? Then take a Jekyll Island Segway Tour
of the maritime forest environment.
6. Fishing – with so much water around, it’s no wonder that Jekyll
Island has some great fishing opportunities. Kids can surf-fish from the
beach. Or throw a line from the Jekyll Island Fishing Pier. Or try for
bream in one of the many ponds open for fishing. Or, with Dad, take a
guided inshore or offshore trip on a quest for larger game.
7. Beach Play – most kids like to frolic on the beach, and Jekyll Island
offers 9 miles of sand to frolic on. Jekyll Island beaches are wide and
mostly flat, with plenty of room for throwing Frisbees or playing
volleyball. Ride the surf with a boogie board, or head for South beach
and St. Andrews point, the best place to search for shells.
8. Sports – A Jekyll Island Vacation provides many opportunities for playing
sports. Bring a soccer ball – the island is home to a huge soccer
complex. Like tennis? Try the Tennis Center, with 13 clay courts. For
golfers, there’s Great Dunes, Pine Lakes, Indian Mound, and Oleander
golf courses - and also a mini-golf course for younger kids.
9. Kite Flying – like kites? The beach is perfect for flying kites.
Performance kites are the rage these days. They let kids swoop and dive
and maneuver like aerial acrobats. For adventurous older kids there’s
kite boarding. Sail the waves on a board pulled by a kite!
10. Crabbing – grab a lift ring or a cast net, and head to the water for
an adventure that even the smallest child can participate in.
11. Geo-caching – Jekyll Island has geo-caching waypoints blanketing the
island, with caches of “treasure” waiting to be found. Download waypoint
coordinates from Geocaching, the official geo-caching web site, grab the
kids and your GIS, and start hunting for treasure!
12. Horse Back Rides – ride gentle horses along island trails and on the
beach with Victoria’s Carriage and Trail Rides.
13. Special Events – sign your kid’s up for the shrimp eating contest at
the Wild Georgia Shrimp and Grits Festival. Enjoy music and dancing at
the Beach Music Festival. Jekyll Island sponsors festivals celebrating
nature, birding, and the arts. They also put on tennis and golf
tournaments, cross country races, even a kid-centered Olympiad. One of
the most popular events is the annual Easter Egg Hunt in the Historic
District.
No matter what your rambunctious kid likes to do, they’ll find a way to
expend that excess energy on a Jekyll Island Vacation.
Come join the fun!
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