Where to Run in the Golden Isles

St. Simons Neighborhoods

St. Simons Island has numerous residential areas that are great for running. Most are just off Demere or Frederica Road and offer shade, little traffic and attractive scenery.
  • Redfern Village to the Shops at Sea Island is 1.8 miles.
  • Redfern Village to Sea Palms Guest Entrance is 3 miles.
  • Redfern Village to Fort Frederica is 5.2 miles.

St. Simons Frederica Park
The Hampton Spur is a five-mile expansion of the Island-Wide Trail System connecting Hampton Point to the rest of St. Simons Island. GITC donated monies to the 20 acre Frederica Park which opened in November 2009 and was the first new park on St. Simons Island in 50 years. The park has a concrete running/ walking oval around the athletic field. There is plenty of parking at the park, water and rest rooms. You can run the Island-Wide Trail towards the Hampton Point Marina.
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GITC has dedication plaques on four trail benches, so be sure to look for them and use them. Two GITC benches are near a bike rack and accessed from a wooden bridge, right outside the Frederica Park. The third bench is further north on the path on the right hand side facing the woodland and the the fourth bench is last bench on the trail and overlooks a beautiful marsh setting.  Find out more about our efforts.
  • Frederica Park to Village-Pier is 8.5 miles.  Follow Lawrence Road south to Frederica Road.  South to Kingsway.  South to the Village-Pier.

FJ Torras Causeway

 Depending on weather conditions, running the FJ Torras Causeway joining Brunswick to St. Simons Island can be enjoyable or painful. There is no shade and little water. It is relatively safe, thanks to the bike path, but traffic can be disconcerting on the bridges. Running the Causeway is not recommended for beginners or inexperienced runners, especially during the summer. One way is 4 miles.

St. Simons Christ Church
  • Village/Pier to Christ Church - all on Bike path. Mostly shaded. 13.6 miles round trip
  • Shops at Sea Island to Christ Church - all on bike path. Mostly shaded. 3 miles one-way
  • Redfern Village to Christ Church - all on bike path. Mostly shaded. 4.8 miles one-way

St. Simons Beach Running
St. Simons Island beach is adequate for running, although at high tide there can be little beach in some places. Water and restrooms are available near the Neptune Park fishing pier, Massengale Park and the Coast Guard Station parking area. 
  • Pier to King and Prince Resort is 1 Mile 
  • King and Prince to Massengale Park is .25 Mile.
  • Massengale Park to the Coast Guard Station is .25 Mile
  • Coast Guard Station to East Beach is 1 Mile.







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Additional St. Simons Running Routes

For more St. Simons running routes, check out the USA Track & Field's suggested routes: click HERE.

Where NOT to run on St. Simons
There are a few roads on St. Simons that we do not suggest running on, however we don't recommend you run on Sea Island Road, it does not have a bike path, and traffic can be heavy.  Hopefully this will change soon.  The SSI Land Trust is currently looking for final funding to complete a bike path there.

Running on Jekyll
The USA Track & Field website lists multiple good Jekyll running routes: click HERE for suggestions.

Brunswick's Sidney Lanier Bridge
A 5K route primarily all on the Sidney Lanier Bridge. Start on the North end of the bridge,  run over to the other side flat land, and return back, crossing the bridge twice. Remember to always run facign oncoming traffic. Not for the timid,  this route should only be attempted by those who have properly trained. 

Additional Brunswick Running Routes
The USA Track & Field website lists multiple good Brunswick area running routes: click HERE for suggestions.
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