Some beaches are made for swimming or shelling. Driftwood Beach, on Georgia’s Jekyll Island, is a photographer’s paradise. Scattered across the dunes are large pieces of wood and downed pine and oak trees that have become bleached and petrified by the sun over time. At any time of day, but especially at sunrise and sunset, their sculptural shapes and twisted branches give the beach a dramatic, otherworldly look that’s an amazing photo opp.
On many beaches, you’ll find pieces of driftwood that have washed up from the tides. But this shoreline is different because the trees were always there—the name Driftwood Beach is actually a misnomer. Decades of sand erosion, tidal changes and intense storms brought down trees that grew there long ago, and time and the elements transformed them, creating the remarkable sight we see today.