The New Georgia Gold Coast Bike Tour Kicked Off To Rave Reviews!
Cypress trees & spanish moss, abundant wildlife & birds, historic inns of the Golden Isles, wonderful seafood: that’s the new Georgia Gold Coast Bike Tour!
Experience history, wildlife and the Atlantic Ocean from your bike! Welcome back to the eleven riders and two guides recently back from Wilderness Voyageurs’ Georgia Gold Coast bike tour. Beginning and ending in Savannah, GA, riders enjoyed up to 123 miles within the historical city of Savannah and Georgia’s Golden Isles. This ‘active vacation’ give you no worries and plenty of support at the end of a long day with local meals and accommodations awaiting your arrival. Need some rest and relaxation? No problem! There are options every day to cut back the miles and take advantage of alternative excursions, out of the saddle. Despite some wet weather, smiles were never hard to find on this Georgia coast vacation!
Just Ask Bike Tour Guide Josh
Wilderness Voyageurs bike tours provide an intimate experience with a 1 to 6 guide to rider ratio; a trip’s maximum capacity is 12. Among our colorful and helpful bike tour staff is, the one and only, Josh! Armed with a Master’s degree in environmental education, Josh can name any bird you see. Along with his broad knowledge of birds, Josh is also well-versed in botany and many of the other wildlife species you’d see on this trip. Wilderness Voyageurs is lucky to be able to build new tours around the strengths of their guide staff! ( read about the development of this bike tour)
Q: Do you have to be an advanced touring cyclist to make it around the Georgia Gold Coast?
A: No! You don’t have to be a super hard-core biker or bike mechanic to do a bike tour. We get people from all over, of all ages and cycling abilities who simply want to experience a place via bicycle instead of getting stuck in a tourist trap. You get to tailor your own trip, you choose how much you ride.
Q: What’s the benefit of using a Wilderness Voyageurs guided bike tour?
A: I think people like showing up and knowing all they have to do is ride their bike. They don’t have to worry about shuttle or logistics. No worrying about food and lodging once you get to your destination. That’s what makes it vacation- it’s only about the best parts of a long bike trip the whole time.
Day 1: Savannah & Environs
MEET AND GREET your fellow riders and guides, Josh and Gary, at Reynolds Square in downtown Savannah! Get comfy in the saddle. Up to 41 miles of riding ahead, including a guided tour of Abercorn Square, Forsyth Park, The Pirate House and other historical sites within the city of Savannah.
Day 2: Darien Wildlife Tour
RISE AND SHINE! MAKE EVERY DAY COUNT! Journey out of Savannah towards the night’s destination of Darien, GA. Sync up your snack reserves at our Support and Gear (SAG) vehicle before embarking on the day’s
37-mile cruise of Georgia’s coastal wetlands. Explore the habitats and their inhabitants at Harris Neck Wildlife Refuge before making your way to Cathead Creek, where you’ll trade pedaling for paddling during a guided kayak tour of the areas tidal forest and abandoned rice fields and irrigation canals! Finish this aquatic day with the catch of the day at Skip’s Fish Camp before settling in at the beautiful Darien Waterfront Inn.
Q: What was your favorite part of the trip?
A: Visiting the Harris Neck Wildlife Refuge was awesome! We saw wood storks, glossy ibis, little blue herons, alligators, dragonflies, butterflies, turkey, deer, muskrats… Just a ton of species in one reserve, in one afternoon.
Day 3: Historical St. Simon, Georgia
APRIL SHOWERS BRING MAY FLOWERS! SAG up and enjoy the beauty and history St. Simons Island has to offer. Maybe you ramp up the speed a bit- you’ll cap your riding at 25 miles today. Explore Fort Frederica, a military outpost and town during the 1700’s, before admiring the beauty of Christ Church Frederica and its gardens under a canopy of spanish moss. Pedal on and you’ll find the battlefield where The Battle of Bloody Marsh occurred.
Q: So I heard it rain a bit on the trip, how does the tour fair when weather turns rough?
A: It can be a challenge but it turns into a neat camaraderie-building thing. The group has to get through it together. I think it also shows a cool side of the landscape. Things smell sweeter, you have the roads to yourself… it made the garden look almost tropical. We do a good job being prepared for it. It shows people can still recreate and have fun despite the weather.
Day 4: Jekyll Island Beaches
ISLAND TIME’S THE BEST TIME! Your legs will be sore but you’ll be sorry it’s the last day. Departing from St. Simons Island, pedaling onward to Jekyll Island’s 20-miles paved, ocean front bike path. Ride along Driftwood Beach and you know what the main attraction will be. After this last pedal, riders have the opportunity to check out either South End Beach’s bird sanctuary OR The Georgia Turtle Center, a public and interactive turtle rehabilitation hospital.
Q: You’re also a white water rafting guide and kayak instructor, what do you like most about being a bike tour guide?
A: Our guests are inquisitive, intelligent people in all aspects of life. They are people who want to see new places and things in an unconventional way and that’s a great group to work with. The experience broadens you every time… for both the riders and guides!
Start or finish your bike season on the Gold Coast.
We offer this trip in both the spring and fall because it’s an awesome way to ease back into the saddle when you’re still out of shape from winter and provides a great ride to extend your cycling season to its fullest into fall! The terrain on this tour features friendly trails- flat and paved- lessening the strain as you get your spin back. Likewise, when you just don’t want the cold and snow to slow your roll, take this bike vacation and enjoy the endless summer of the deep south.
Oh the places you can go…
Maybe you’ve already explored the Georgia Gold Coast or perhaps you’re looking for a different kind of scenery on your bike tour vacation. Wilderness Voyageurs boasts an extensive bike tour program with something for every rider.
Explore Appalachia on classic Pennsylvania rides like the 150-mile Great Allegheny Passage and the annual Rail-to-Trails Sojourn or go big on a Colorado bike tour of the Rocky Mountains or bike the Katy Trail through Missouri!
Are you a history buff who enjoys cycling? Immerse yourself in an ageless culture on a Pennsylvania Dutch Country bike tour or see the battlefields where American history was written on our Civil War bike tour. Wherever your destination preference, let Wilderness Voyageurs do the logistics behind the scenes so you let your hair down in the wind!
Like what you’ve seen? Reserve your biking vacation today!
Let what you see? Check out more Georgia gold coast bike tour photos on our Pinterest Board!
Blog content was written by Tara Nathan.
If in Ohiopyle, stop in and see us at:
Wilderness Voyageurs, 103 Garrett Street, Ohiopyle, PA 15470
Or give us a call at: 1-800-272-4141
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