Georgia sea turtle nesting season is underway on the state’s barrier islands, with female loggerhead turtles coming ashore at night to lay eggs. Four islands host the public-facing side of the work, from a hospital for injured turtles on Jekyll to a privately owned retreat where the local population has climbed 3 percent a year for four decades. Sea Island, which logs every crawl, counted 81 nests by mid-July and is bracing for first hatchlings any day.
Access across the four sites ranges from a state hospital open daily on Jekyll to a barrier island reachable only by ferry. Loggerhead and green sea turtles nesting in Georgia are listed as federally threatened and endangered. Eggs typically hatch between August and September after 45 to 60 days in the sand. Visitors who want to see the work without setting it back should know the rules before they go.
Jekyll Island’s Sea Turtle Hospital
The Georgia Sea Turtle Center on Jekyll Island is the state’s only sea turtle education and rehabilitation facility. Open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., the center runs interactive exhibits, year-round programs and a working hospital where visitors can watch rehabilitation in action.
Since 2007, the center has treated hundreds of sick and injured turtles, with most patients eventually released back to the Atlantic. Admission runs $10 for ages 4 to 12 and $12 for ages 13 and up. Founder Dr. Terry Norton built the program from a single clinic into Georgia’s only sea turtle education and rehabilitation facility.
The center stocks turtle-safe lighting for visitors to take to the beach during nesting season, when conventional flashlights are prohibited on or near the sand from May through October. Approved lights use long-wavelength amber or red LEDs at wavelengths of 560 nanometers or longer, which the center says do not disorient nesting females or hatchlings. Anyone who finds an injured, sick or dead sea turtle on the Georgia coast is asked to call the state hotline at 1-800-2-SAVEME. The center recommends embracing natural darkness on the beach whenever possible during nesting season.
Our hope is to not only help this charismatic species survive but to watch it thrive. And, you can make a direct impact. Your support will continue to help our mission for rehabilitation, research and education of sea turtles and wildlife on the Georgia coast.
Dr. Terry Norton, founder of the Georgia Sea Turtle Center, on the center’s Jekyll Island page.
Cumberland Island, Where a Quarter of Georgia’s Nests Form
The state’s largest barrier island, Cumberland Island National Seashore, hosts the biggest single share of Georgia’s loggerhead nesting. Its 18-mile undeveloped beach, managed by the National Park Service, accounts for 25 to 30 percent of the statewide nesting total each year. The island’s busiest season on record was 2022, when monitors counted 1,255 nests: 1,248 loggerhead, four green and three unknown.
Loggerhead and green sea turtles nesting here are listed as a federally threatened and endangered species. The park’s monitoring program, run in partnership with the Student Conservation Association, sends interns onto the beach from May through October to locate nests, screen them against predators and inventory them after hatching. The 18-mile undeveloped beach runs nearly the full length of the island, with no boardwalks and no beachfront lighting. Because the island is accessible only by ferry or private boat, most visitors plan day trips and arrive early.
Little St. Simons Island’s Three Percent Climb
Little St. Simons Island is a privately owned barrier island that protects several thousand acres of natural habitat. Its conservation page for Little St. Simons Island credits 40 years of protection and management with a measurable result: the local loggerhead sea turtle population is growing 3 percent per year. The same page notes that sea turtle populations worldwide are at risk from over-harvesting, marine pollution, habitat change and entanglement in fishing gear. The lodge offers naturalist-led programs throughout the year, including opportunities to learn about wildlife and coastal conservation. Public access is limited because the island is private, so most visitors come through the lodge or by guided tour.
The conservation page ties the recovery to 40 years of protection and management on the same stretch of barrier-island beach. The lodge offers naturalist-led programming year-round, including during the off-season. Public access is controlled through the lodge because the island is private.
Visitors who want to pair the trip with a stay at the lodge can do so year-round. The lodge’s naturalist programs are scheduled around the nesting calendar, with the heaviest programming during the May-through-October season.
Most visitors will not see a nesting female, since females come ashore only at night. The lodge’s naturalists lead dawn walks that pick up the fresh crawls before wind and tide erase them. A turtle walk is rarely a guaranteed sighting, since timing depends on tides, weather and the animals themselves. Visitors who want a more structured experience can sign up for the lodge’s naturalist-led programs when they book a stay.
Sea Island Tracks Each 2026 Nest
Sea Island, a resort island on the Georgia coast, runs an Adopt-A-Nest program that lets donors fund conservation in exchange for nest updates and adoption certificates. The island serves as a nesting and hatching location for threatened loggerhead sea turtles from mid-May to early October, according to the resort’s program page. Three adoption tiers range from $250 for a virtual adoption to $1,000 for a private nest with the adopter’s name displayed at the site. All proceeds go to the Wildlife Fund of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources. Sea Island also publishes detailed tracking data each season, distinguishing real nests from false crawls.
The 2026 update, posted on Sea Island’s Adopt-A-Nest page, logged 81 nests and 33 false crawls by mid-July, with the first nest of the season laid on May 12. Patrol crews had covered 650 miles of beach by that point in 62 days of dawn monitoring. The 2025 season ended with 91 nests, 48 false crawls and 4,689 hatchlings emerging from marked sites. That year, the average nest held 117 eggs, and the first nest was laid on May 7 with the first hatch on July 4.
Mother turtles deposit 100 to 150 eggs per nest, and a single female can lay four or five in a season without ever returning to check on them, the resort’s program page notes. Each nest then incubates for 45 to 60 days before the hatchlings emerge and make their way to the surf. False crawls, where a female comes ashore and returns to the water without laying, typically run a little less than half of all recorded sea turtle activity on the beach.
- 2026 nests to date: 81, with first hatch “any day now”
- 2026 false crawls to date: 33
- 2026 patrol days: 62, covering 650 miles
- 2025 final nest count: 91 nests, 48 false crawls, 4,689 hatchlings emerged
- 2025 average eggs per nest: 117
| Island | What to do there | Access and cost | Headline figure |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jekyll Island | Tour Georgia’s only sea turtle education and rehabilitation facility | Center open daily 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; admission $10 (ages 4-12), $12 (ages 13+) | Treated hundreds of injured turtles since 2007 |
| Cumberland Island National Seashore | Walk an undeveloped 18-mile nesting beach | Ferry or private boat only | 25 to 30 percent of statewide nesting |
| Little St. Simons Island | Join naturalist-led programs on a private barrier island | Private island with limited public access | Loggerhead population up 3 percent a year over 40 years |
| Sea Island | Track live 2026 nest counts and adopt a nest | Resort island, Glynn County; adoptions from $250 | 81 nests logged to date in 2026 |
What Visitors Should Never Do on a Nesting Beach
Sea turtles and their nests are protected under federal law, and a few habits can ruin a season’s worth of work in a single night. Visitors should never touch a sea turtle or its nest, no matter how tempting a closer look might be. The same rule applies to keeping a safe distance from any nesting turtle coming ashore, since disturbances can send her back to the water without laying. Pets should be leashed and kept away from marked nesting areas at all times.
At night, flashlight use and flash photography are off-limits on or near nesting beaches, because bright white light disorients both nesting females and emerging hatchlings. Approved replacements are amber or red LEDs at wavelengths of 560 nanometers or longer, the same turtle-safe standard sold at the Jekyll Island gift shop. Before leaving the beach each day, visitors should fill in any holes they dug and remove chairs, tents, coolers, umbrellas, flotation devices and beach toys. False crawls happen when a nesting female runs into beach furniture, sand castles or bright lights, and turns around without laying. Anyone who spots an injured, sick or dead sea turtle on the Georgia coast should call the state hotline at 1-800-2-SAVEME.
When Hatchlings Reach the Atlantic
Sea turtle hatchlings typically emerge from their nests between August and September in Georgia, after roughly 45 to 60 days of incubation in the sand. Once they break through the shell, the young turtles crawl to the surface and head for the ocean, usually at night. They navigate by the natural light on the horizon, which is exactly why white flashlights and bright beachfront lighting can send them in the wrong direction.
Sea Island’s 2026 update puts the first hatch “any day now” after a first nest laid on May 12. Last year’s first hatch on the island came on July 4, two months after the first nest was laid. By the end of the 2025 season, 4,689 hatchlings had made it to the surf from 91 marked nests. The next several weeks of the 2026 season will close out as nests laid in May and June start to hatch.
Across the four islands, the late-summer window is the most common time for visitors to see a nest excavation, when crews open hatched nests to count shells and unhatched eggs. The Georgia Sea Turtle Center publishes that inventory work on Jekyll, and the Cumberland team does the same in partnership with the Student Conservation Association. Sea Island publishes its season totals once the last nest hatches, broken out by nest count, false crawls and hatchlings emerged.
One practical note for late-summer visitors: dawn patrols typically run from May through October, so the most reliable way to spot fresh tracks is to walk the beach with a licensed guide before the sun is fully up. Anyone walking the beach on their own should stick to daylight hours and stay clear of any marked nests they come across. Report any injured, sick or dead turtle to the state hotline at 1-800-2-SAVEME. Sea turtles remain federally protected across all four islands, and the same lighting rules that govern the May-through-October nesting season stay in force once the hatchlings start moving on the beach. Visitors who want to learn more can join a guided walk through the Jekyll center, a Student Conservation Association tour at Cumberland, or one of the lodge’s naturalist programs at Little St. Simons.
Frequently Asked Questions
When do sea turtle eggs hatch in Georgia?
Hatchlings typically emerge between August and September in Georgia after 45 to 60 days of incubation. Sea Island’s 2025 first hatch came on July 4, with the 2026 update reporting “any day now” as of mid-July.
Where can visitors see sea turtles in Georgia?
Four barrier islands along the Georgia coast host public sea turtle work. Jekyll Island has the Georgia Sea Turtle Center, the state’s only sea turtle education and rehabilitation facility. Cumberland Island National Seashore offers 18 miles of undeveloped beach and accounts for 25 to 30 percent of statewide nesting. Little St. Simons Island is a private island with a 40-year conservation record. Sea Island runs an Adopt-A-Nest program with live tracking each season.
Can you touch a sea turtle in Georgia?
No, federal protection makes it illegal to handle sea turtles without proper permits, per the Georgia Sea Turtle Center. To report an injured, sick or dead sea turtle anywhere on the Georgia coast, the center points visitors to the state hotline at 1-800-2-SAVEME.
How long does it take sea turtle eggs to hatch?
Sea turtle eggs incubate in the sand for 45 to 60 days before hatchlings emerge, according to Sea Island’s program page. Mother loggerheads deposit 100 to 150 eggs per nest, can lay four to five nests in a season, and never return to check on any of them.
What kind of sea turtles nest in Georgia?
Loggerheads dominate, with greens nesting in much smaller numbers. Cumberland Island’s 2022 record season included 1,248 loggerhead nests and four green turtle nests among 1,255 total.
