Skip to main content

Hunting Island State Park - South Carolina

Image
By
One of South Carolina's most popular and also yet unknown beaches is Hunting Island State Park.  Known for the numerous species of wildlife and plant life, Hunting Island is one of the highlights of the South Carolina Low Country.   It is quite the opposite of the built up areas of Myrtle Beach's "Grand Strand" to the north and more rural to the golf paradise known as Hilton Head Island to the south.

Hunting Island has a unique blend of palm, pine and other trees.
The park is well known for its natural beaches, lagoon, wildlife, lighthouse and camping.  Through out the park there are numerous hiking and nature trails.  The marshwalk on the west side of the park is a great place to capture sunsets and wildlife.  Overall, the park consists of over 5,000 acres of beach, forest, and marsh. (1)

The shoreline of Hunting Island is threatened by beach erosion.
Another highlight of the park is the lighthouse.  The Hunting Island Lighthouse is South Carolina's only lighthouse accessible to the public. (2)  The originally structure was built in 1859.  The second and existing structure was built in 1875 and moved due to beach erosion to its present location in 1889.  The lighthouse was decommissioned on June 16, 1933. (1)  Besides the lighthouse and wildlife, the beach maybe the park's number one attraction.  Since the 1930s when the park was built by the Civilian Conservation Corps, the state has done its best to keep the beach in its natural state and preserve it from further erosion.

The Atlantic crashes onto Hunting Island
Some of the little known facts about Hunting Island are: scenes from Forest Gump and G.I Jane were shot on the lagoon side of the island.   The Vietnam War scenes in Forest Gump were shot here. (2)  There are is also a campground and a number of rental cabins available at the park.
 
 
To get to Hunting Island is very simple, from either direction on Interstate 95 to exit 33 and follow US Highway 21 to its end at the entrance of the park.

All photos taken by author - August 2001

  • (1) Hunting Island State Park. Unknown: Hunting Island State Park, 1982.
  • (2) Sorensen, R.J. & IVAP. "Hunting Island Lagoon and Fishing." Hunting Island Beach, Beaufort, SC, USA. http://www.huntingisland.com (Feb. 16, 2003)
  • Hunting Island, SC ---Unknown
  • Hunting Island ---Discoversouthcarolina.com
    •  





    Labels:

    Comments

    Post a Comment

    Popular posts from this blog

    2018 Mojave Road Trip Part 2; The deadly desert highway (California State Route 127 and Nevada State Route 373)

    By
    After leaving Barstow via Old Highway 58 my next destination was in Death Valley.  To access Death Valley from rural San Bernardino County required a trek on north on Interstate 15 to California State Route 127 which becomes Nevada State Route 373 at the state line. Along I-15 I encountered the road sign oddity that is Zzyzx Road about eight miles south of Baker.   Zzyzx Road is a four mile road that used to go to the Zzyzx Mineral Springs and Health Spa.   The spa was founded in the 1940s and the owner made up the name "Zzyzx" to claim it was the last word in the English Language.  The spa has been shut down since the 1970s and is now part of a Desert Studies Center for California State University. The southern terminus of CA 127 in Baker is located at I-15 exit 246.  CA 127 is a 91 mile north/south highway which runs to the Nevada State Line in Inyo County.  CA 127 is called Death Valley Road from I-15 northward.  South of CA 127 ...
    4 comments
    Read more

    Finding the Pre-Emption Road of New York State

    By
      The Pre-Emption Road (or rather a series of roads named Pre-Emption Road) follows a survey line called the Pre-Emption Line, drawn in the early days of the United States. The story begins with Massachusetts and New York having competing land claims to modern day Western New York State that have their roots in colonial charters granted by the British. After the Revolutionary War ended, this land became the frontier of the nation and its settlement became a priority for the new American government. During this era, there were a lot of competing land claims that needed to be settled. It was no different with the land claims between New York State and Massachusetts. On November 30, 1786, Massachusetts and New York sent representatives to Hartford, Connecticut to resolve their competing land claims. In less than three weeks, the representatives had reached a compromise. Massachusetts would receive pre-emption rights, meaning the right to sell the land after the Indian title ...
    Post a Comment
    Read more

    What's In a Name?: When the Roads Really Do Tell a Story

    By
      Our tagline on the Gribblenation blog is "because every road tells a story". Some roads tell different stories than others. Along our travels, we may see historic markers that tell us a little story about the roads we travel or the places we pass by. Some historic markers are more general, as to telling us who lived where or what old trail traversed between two towns. During my travels across New York State and other states or provinces, I pass by many historic markers, some with interesting or amusing references to roads. I wanted to highlight a few of the markers I've seen along my travels around the Empire State and help tell their stories. Those stories may be as specific as explaining the tales of a tree that was used to help measure a distance of eight miles from Bath to Avoca in Steuben County, as referenced on the Eight Mile Tree historical marker above. They may also help point the way along historical roads first used centuries ago, or may help tell a local l...
    Post a Comment
    Read more