Jekyll Island Treasures

This two-month-long annual event on Jekyll Island is a favorite tradition spawned from a fishing legacy.

In the early 1900s, east coast fishermen used hollow glass balls, or floats, on their nets as markers. Occasionally, the floats would break loose and wash ashore for lucky beachcombers to find and keep. Collecting these rare, highly sought after glass floats became a hobby in the 1950s.

Today, Jekyll Island hand-picks artists from across the country to create one-of-a-kind glass floats for its annual Island Treasures event.

The glass floats are part of a hide-and-seek style game played on Jekyll Island throughout January and February. Each day, volunteers called Beach Buddies hide glass floats around the island for lucky guests to find and keep.

Each float is marked with a special tag and instructions for treasure finders to register their Island Treasures at the Jekyll Island Guest Information Center where they will receive a certificate of authenticity and artist biography for their one-of-a-kind float. The Center is open Monday-Saturday, 9am – 6pm and Sunday 10am – 5pm.