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

    US Route 101 in Benbow, Garberville and Redway

    By
    The communities of Benbow, Garberville and Redway can all be found along US Route 101 within southern Humboldt County.  The former surface alignment of US Route 101 in Garberville and Redway once crossed the Garberville Bluffs along what is now Redwood Drive via a corridor constructed as part of the Redwood Highway during the 1910s.  US Route 101 through Benbow, Garberville and Redway was modernized by 1935.  US Route 101 would eventually be upgraded to freeway standards in Benbow, Garberville and Redway by extension of the Redwood Freeway during 1966-68.  As the cover photo the original grade of US Route 101 and the Redwood Highway can be seen at the Garberville Bluffs during 1934.  US Route 101 can be seen in the communities of Benbow, Garberville and Redway on the 1935 Division of Highways Map of Humboldt County .   The history of US Route 101 in Benbow, Garberville and Redway Benbow, Garberville and Redway lie on the banks of the South Fork Eel River of southern Humboldt County.  D
    Post a Comment
    Read more

    Highways in and around Old Sacramento; US 40, US 99W, CA 16, CA 24, CA 70, CA 99, CA 275, and more

    By
    This past weekend I was visiting the City of Sacramento for a wedding.  That being the case I decided to head out on a morning run through Old Sacramento, Jibboom Street Bridge, I Street Bridge, Tower Bridge, and path of US Route 40/US Route 99W towards the California State Capitol.  My goal was to retrace the paths of the various highways that once traversed the Old Sacramento area. This blog is part of the larger Gribblenation US Route 99 Page.  For more information pertaining to the other various segments of US Route 99 and it's three-digit child routes check out the link the below. Gribblenation US Route 99 Page The old highway alignments of Sacramento The City of Sacramento lies at the confluence of the Sacramento River and American River in Sacramento Valley.  Sacramento Valley was discovered by Spanish Explorer Gabriel Moraga in 1808.  Moraga referred to the fertile Sacramento Valley akin to a "Blessed Sacrament."  By 1839 John Sutter Sr. settled in Mexican held
    Post a Comment
    Read more

    Old Stage Road in Tulare County and Kern County

    By
    Old Stage Road is an approximately 30-mile rural highway comprised of Tulare County Mountain Road 1, Kern County Mountain Road 447 and Tulare County Mountain Road 109.  Old Stage originates at Jack Ranch Road near Posey and ends at the outskirts of Porterville at Deer Creek.  Old Stage Road notably is comprised of two 19th Century stage routes.  From White Mountain Road northwest to Fountain Springs, Old Stage Road overlays Thomas Baker's 1860s era stage road to Linn Valley (now Glennville) and the Kern River Gold Rush Claims.  From Fountain Springs to Deer Creek, Old Stage Road is comprised of the 1853 Stockton-Los Angeles Road. Featured as the blog cover is the northward descent on Old Stage Road along Arrastre Creek to the town site of White River.  What became White River was settled along a spur of the Stockton-Los Angeles Road as "Dog Town" when gold was discovered nearby.  By 1856 the community had been renamed Tailholt.  A stage road from Tailholt to Linn Valley w
    Post a Comment
    Read more