Parents magazine spotlights Jekyll Island as a favorite nature-inspired family summer destination
Looking for family nature-inspired vacations?
The May 2014 issue of Parents magazine – which hits newsstands April 8, 2014 – offers up enticing mountain, wooded and beach destinations that show kids animals and sea creatures in their natural habitat. We especially love that the “Where the Wild Things Are (pg. 34)” spotlighted one of SouthernMamas.com favorite nearby getaways: Jekyll island and Jekyll’s Georgia Sea Turtle Center -about 90 minutes south of Savannah.
To quote the magazine: “The most budget-friendly of the four barrier islands collectively known as the Golden Isles, this 7-milelong unspoiled getaway about an hour north of Jacksonville, Florida, makes it easy for families to interact with nature rather than just look at it.”
We couldn’t agree more. As Parents points out, the Sea Turtle Center gives a great chance of spotting sea turtles during June and July on one of the center’s guided nighttime beach walks ($14 per person; kids must be 4 or older to participate). Before the walk, families can tour the center, which rehabs sea turtles from all over the country, and may even be able to watch surgery ($7 for adults, $5 for kids ages 4 to 12, free for younger kids).
Parents also highlights Jekyll’s Driftwood Beach, bike paths and the 4-H Tidelands Nature Center’s reasonably priced family programs, including seining—a naturalist casts a net in the water and talks about all the sea creatures uncovered ($5 per person, free for kids 3 and younger).
Parents gives us the scoop on a Jekyll hotel opening soon fully equipped with many vacationing parents dream – activity directors who entertain your kids (potty-trained to age 12) at the free drop-off club.
Other Parents picks for vacations that show kids animals and sea creatures in their natural habitat include: YMCA of the Rockies in Estes Park, Colo.; Sunriver Resort, Ore.; Rankin Ranch dude ranch in Walker’s Basin, Calif.; The Tyler Place Family Resort, Highgate Springs, Vt. and many more adventurous kid-friendly spots.
TO SEE MORE SOUTHERNMAMAS.COM 25 PICKS FOR KID-FRIENDLY DAYTRIPS FROM SAVANNAH, CLICK HERE.