Sunrise over North Beach on Tybee Island

North Beach and the river mouth seen from the Tybee Lighthouse

South Point Beach on Tybee Island at low tide

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Ride Tybee Island, keep it open

Georgia's beach town at the mouth of the Savannah River, where fall and winter fronts bring the wind. The island is losing sand, and riders share it with nesting sea turtles.

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6 riders call this homeKite, WingNorth jetty

Everything you need to know about Tybee Island

Live conditions

Why riders love it

What brings people here, from the people who manage it and the people who ride it.

Wind averages 10–15 knots and sometimes 15–20+, blowing three to four days a week. The best months are September through February.
East, northeast and northwest winds work at North Beach. Local guidance is not to ride there with any south in the wind.
The beach is sandy and tidal: lots of room at low tide, much less at high tide. Water is about 80°F in summer and 50°F in winter.

Sources: Kiteforum spot guide

See the wind right now

Access and rules

Each site sets its own rules. The chapter publishes confirmed rules as each site answers in writing, and points riders to the official page before they go.

We found no published City of Tybee Island policy on kiteboarding.
Tybee City Code 12-1a(20) makes it unlawful to walk, swim or wade out to the South End Sand Bar, which the city calls dangerous on a rising tide.
Local riders advise launching well clear of the north jetty and never riding alone.

Sources: WTOC; Kiteforum spot guide; no city kiting policy found as of 2026

Help hold the launch

Ecology and habitat

Stewardship rotates across the city's spots, so riders are known as the people who look after them.

Loggerhead sea turtles nest on Tybee from May. The city's Lights Out program runs May 1 to October 31, and volunteers with the Tybee Sea Turtle Project, trained and permitted by Georgia DNR, walk the beach daily.
Beachgoers are asked to keep the beach clean, flat and dark and to stay off marked nests. The mayor has said Tybee has lost 60 percent of its shoreline in recent years.

Sources: WTOC

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Good to know

Location, facilities and history.

Tybee Island is a barrier island at the mouth of the Savannah River, about 30 minutes east of downtown Savannah.
Riders launch from North Beach near the lighthouse, walking northwest past the jetty, and also from the south end near 19th Street.
Park at the North Beach lot by the lighthouse and use the north walkway.
Wetsuits are needed from November to April. Rip currents, sudden drop-offs and fast tides are the main water hazards the city warns about.

Sources: Kiteforum spot guide; Kiteforum spot guide; WTOC

Meet the riders

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Tybee Island

Wind averages 10–15 knots and blows three to four days a week.

Source: Kiteforum spot guide

Know the spot

Tybee Island

The best months run September–February on fall and winter fronts.

Source: Kiteforum spot guide

Know the spot

Tybee Island

Plenty of beach at low tide, much less at high. Ride the tide chart.

Know the spot

Why Tybee Island needs a chapter

US East Coast

When fall fronts sweep down the Georgia coast, the wind lines up along Tybee's North Beach by the lighthouse. On the right tide the beach is wide and the water inside the river mouth stays manageable.

6riders call this home

Kite, Wingdisciplines riding here

Tybee Island chapter, World Wind Sports

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US East Coast

The island is changing fast. The mayor has said Tybee has lost 60 percent of its shoreline in recent years, beaches are rebuilt with pumped sand, and from May to October the same sand holds loggerhead nests. Riders are a small group here, and there is no written policy for kiting.

6riders call this home

Kite, Wingdisciplines riding here

Tybee Island chapter, World Wind Sports

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US East Coast

A chapter gives Tybee riders a name the city can call: a group that knows the tide windows and the jetty, respects turtle season, and can help write sensible rules before someone else writes them without riders in the room.

6riders call this home

Kite, Wingdisciplines riding here

Tybee Island chapter, World Wind Sports

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The riders, schools and crew of Tybee Island

Riders from Tybee Island, Tybee, Savannah, Wilmington Island, Pooler, Bluffton, Hilton Head Island, Hilton Head and the schools that teach them.

See the rider directory Talk on the board

WWSThe chapterHolds the line on access: one standing voice with whoever manages the launch.WWSThe chapterRuns stewardship days, so the people who manage the beach see riders as an asset.WWSThe chapterRuns sponsored certification weekends, so riders are trained and self-policing.WWSThe chapterHolds the line on access: one standing voice with whoever manages the launch.WWSThe chapterRuns stewardship days, so the people who manage the beach see riders as an asset.WWSThe chapterRuns sponsored certification weekends, so riders are trained and self-policing.

Alice BatsonLevel 4T, Hilton Head Island

Nellie ManringCertified rider, Hilton head islandMMitchell MiglioriLevel 4Q, Hilton Head IslandDDaniel CobbWing Foil Level 5, SavannahSStephan SzymanskiLevel 2H, BlufftonKkaitlen groetzinger groetzingerCertified rider, hilton head

Alice BatsonLevel 4T, Hilton Head Island

iSportsKite, WingiWind spotNorth jettyiKnow thisTybee Island, a barrier island east of Savannah, Georgia.iKnow thisBest wind September to February from the northeast to northwest, about 10–15 knots.iKnow thisNo published city kiteboarding policy; the South End sand bar is off-limits by city code.iSportsKite, WingiWind spotNorth jettyiKnow thisTybee Island, a barrier island east of Savannah, Georgia.iKnow thisBest wind September to February from the northeast to northwest, about 10–15 knots.iKnow thisNo published city kiteboarding policy; the South End sand bar is off-limits by city code.

Live conditions

Wind right now at Tybee Island

Full forecast

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Your gift keeps the chapter running and the beach cared for: cleanup supplies, signage, certification weekends and the costs of being the group the park can call.

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