Reynolds Mansion on Sapelo Island

Sapelo Island is one of Georgia’s most untouched barrier islands, and Reynolds Mansion sits at its heart — a Spanish Revival estate built by tobacco heir R.J. Reynolds Jr. in the 1930s. Reaching the island requires a ferry from the Sapelo Island Visitor Center in Meridian, which immediately sets the tone: this is a place you have to earn. With over 6,100 acres of maritime forest, salt marsh, and pristine beach, the island feels like stepping back in time.

The mansion itself operates as a state-run guest house, offering overnight stays inside the restored estate. Guided tours take visitors through the island’s layered history — from its Native American roots and plantation era to the Gullah Geechee community of Hog Hammock, one of the last intact Gullah communities on the Georgia coast. Meeting residents and learning their traditions is the kind of experience you simply cannot get elsewhere.

Activities center on the natural landscape: birding along the marshes, beachcombing on Nanny Goat Beach, hiking through live oak canopy draped in Spanish moss, and exploring the University of Georgia Marine Institute’s research grounds. Wildlife is everywhere — fiddler crabs, osprey, dolphins in the sound.

The best time to visit is October through April, when temperatures cool and mosquitoes retreat. Summer visits are rewarding but bring serious heat and bugs.

Explore Nearby

• Sapelo Island LightA — Lighthouse in Georgia
• Sapelo Island RangeFront Light — Lighthouse in Georgia
• South Carolina Highway 170 — Scenic Byway in South Carolina
• James Edwin McTeer Bridge & the Causeways scenic byway — Scenic Byway