Sea Island

Sea Island, connected via a causeway from St. Simons Island, is privately owned. There are two high-end hotels — the Sea Island Beach Club and the Cloister — and a gated community with 500 residences. The island is not open to the public — one must be a resident/guest/hotel guest in order to be admitted entry to Sea Island. The best running on Sea Island is around the hotel paths, on the beach, or on Sea Island Drive. Some additional details below:

Sea Island Dr./Ocean Rd. This road runs along north Sea Island for 3.3 miles. At the 2.4 mile mark, Sea Island Dr. turns into Ocean Rd., skirting the perimeter of the golf course. The view from the road is mainly of high-end homes along the water — there aren’t really ocean views. To vary the run, it’s fun to run in and out of the residential side streets leading to Sea Island Dr., numbered #1-30 as you head north. Also, off Ocean Rd. near the golf course, you can run on Forest Dr./Oglethorpe Dr. for about 1.5 miles to the end of the island, along the western side of the golf course. MAP

Along the Beach. There’s nearly 3.5 miles of good beach running on Sea Island. The beach is fairly wide, and features fairly firm, compact sand near the water’s edge and at low tide. There are access points to the beach every couple of blocks from the residential neighborhood connecting to Sea Island Rd.

Sea Island Rd. For additional variety, Sea Island Rd. offers pleasant running just off island. From the gate, there’s a path along the road for 1.5 miles to the intersection with Frederica Rd. For the first mile, there are nice, open marsh views. The final 1/2 mile features lovely foliage– hanging oaks and the like. MAP