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Hilton Head Destination Guide
Hilton Head Attractions
Visitor centers are a great resource for information on accommodations, brochures, city maps, and restaurant guides and their knowledgeable staff is available to help make the most of your experience. The Hilton Head Convention and Visitors Bureau is located at 1 Chamber of Commerce Drive. Be sure to stop by or contact them!
Hilton Head offers numerous attractions and activity options. A sampling of the most popular is listed below.
- Baynard Plantation Ruins: The remains of the great antebellum Braddock's Point Plantation, which dates from the mid-18th century, are the last remnant of Hilton Head's glorious plantation culture.
- Beaches: Hilton Head Island, named one of the top 10 family beach areas in the country, has nearly 12 miles of beautiful, pristine beaches offering shallow waters, gentle waves, and often with a view of dolphins swimming offshore; all with public access from specified locations.
Alder Lane Beach access is off South Forest Beach Drive; Coligny Beach Park off Coligny Circle; Fish Haul Park is at the end of Beach City Road; Driessen Beach Park at the end of Bradley Beach Road; Burkes Beach access is at the end of Burkes Beach Road; Folly Field Beach Park jis ust off of Folly Field Road; and Islanders Beach Park is also off of Folly Field Road. Parking is provided at most access points and will be some variation of free, metered, and reserved for annual beach pass parking. Alder Lane, Burkes, and Fish Haul Beaches provide free parking; Coligny Beach Park has free and reserved for passes parking; Folly Field Beach Park is metered; and Islanders Beach Park has annual beach pass parking only.
- Dolphin Tours: Dolphin-watching and marine life study excursion cruises are available through several of the Island's public marinas, tour companies, and through the Coastal Discovery Museum on Hilton Head.
- Golf Courses: Many visitors come to Hilton Head strictly for the numerous championship golf courses. Named one of the country's best places to golf by Golf Digest magazine, Hilton Head offers over 20 courses, many designed by golf's best including Robert Trent Jones, Pete Dye, and Jack Nicklaus. Links on Hilton Head Island include:
- Country Club of Hilton Head: 70 Skull Creek Drive - Fresh water lagoons, pine forest, and salt water marshes are all part of this Rees Jones designed course.
- Harbour Town Links at Sea Pines: 11 Lighthouse Lane - This Pete Dye-Jack Nicklaus designed course is set on the spectacular inland coast of Hilton Head Island and is home to the annual MCI Classic.
- Hilton Head National Golf Club: Highway 278 - This Gary Player signature 27-hole, 6,779-yard golf course is one of the finest golf courses in the Southeast.
- Island West Golf Club: Highway 278, Bluffton - A challenging 18-hole, 6,803-yard, par-72 course “fun” course designed by golf pro Fuzzy Zoeller.
- Oyster Reef Golf Club: 155 High Bluff Road - A semi-private member-owned club with a limited number of tee times for guest play, the course is well-known for its numerous doglegs and spectacular views.
- Palmetto Dunes Resort: Adjacent to Shelter Cove - Palmetto Dunes offers three distinctively different layouts by legendary golf designers - the Robert Trent Jones Oceanfront Course, the Arthur Hills Course and the George Fazio Course. (This resort has also been ranked by Tennis Magazine as one of “The 50 Greatest U.S. Tennis Resorts”.)
- Shipyard Golf Club: 45 Shipyard Drive - This 27-hole course meanders through tall pines, magnolias and moss-draped oaks at the southern end of Hilton Head.
- South Carolina National Golf Club: Cat Island - 8 Waveland Avenue, Beaufort - Situated on a 400+ acre barrier island, 45 minutes from Hilton Head Island, this George Cobb created course takes full advantage of its wooded interior.
- Harbour Town Lighthouse: 149 Lighthouse Road - The 90-foot, red-and-white striped tower of the Harbour Town Lighthouse is the visual centerpiece of the popular Sea Pines. For only a minimal admission charge the Town Lighthouse provides a fantastic view of the Island’s south end as well as the Harbour Town Marina. The Lighthouse also has a museum.
- Marinas: The Hilton Head area has numerous marinas from which you can parasail, rent boats for cruising and fishing and other water activities, take tours, dine, and shop. Some of the larger Marinas on Hilton Head are:
- Harbour Town Yacht Basin: 149 Lighthouse Road – Harbout Town is a colorful marina village filled with great shopping, dining, water sports, and miles of walking and bicycle paths.
- Palmetto Bay Marina: Helmsman Way - Since 1959 Palmetto Bay Marina has been offering fishing, sailing, parasailing, waverunners, boat rentals, tours, kayak rentals, dolphin watches, dining and shopping.
- Shelter Cove Marina: Along with the usual marina options, Shelter Cove has accommodations for up to 170 boats with floating docks for vessels up to 150-feet, and the best view of sunsets on the Island. Shelter Cove Harbour also has arts and crafts on display and free entertainment each summer season beginning in June as well as fireworks at dusk every Tuesday.
- Other Marinas: Hilton Head has numerous other smaller marinas including: BroadCreek, Hilton Head Boathouse, Lady’s Island, Melrose Landing, Port Royal Landing, Schilling Boathouse, Skull Creek, South Beach, and Windmill Harbour.
- Museums: A visit to some of Hilton Head’s museums will provide a fascinating look at the heritage and history of the island.
- Coastal Discovery Museum: 100 William Hilton Parkway – The Costal Discovery Museum offers visitors unique hands-on exploration of the heritage and history of Coastal South Carolina. The Museum offers programs, activities, and exhibits year-round that make learning about Hilton Head and other sea islands an enjoyable experience for island visitors and residents alike.
- Heritage Library: 32 Office Park Road – The Heritage Library is devoted to the study and preservation of history and genealogy. Providing researchers with the tools to study their ancestors the Library holds thousands of books, hundreds of rolls of microfilm, thousands of microfiche, and hundred of CD-Rom database and subscription services.
- Penn Center: St. Helena Island- Established during the Civil War to educate newly freed slaves, the Penn Center is home to the York W. Baily Museum and one of the most significant African American historical and cultural institutions in existence.
- SandBox Children's Museum: 18 Pope Avenue - The Sand Box is a hands-on interactive museum filled with unique entertaining and educational play areas designed to allow and encourage children to explore. Included among the exhibits children can sail away on Captain William Hilton’s ship The Adventure, find their Passport to the World in the international airport terminal with a simulator plane and visit the Loggerhead sandcastle filled with magic sand.
- Nature Areas: Hilton Head's natural beauty can be explored at a number of nature reserves including:
- Newhall Audubon Nature Preserve: Off Palmetto Bay Road at the foot of the Cross Island Parkway - The Audubon Newhall Preserve is a natural wonderland offering a series of short, easy to walk connected trails through 50 acres of pristine forest and abundant flora and fauna.
- Pinckney Island National Wildlife Reserve: One-half mile west of Hilton Head Island off of U.S. Highway 278 – Once part of the Pickney Plantation, this wildlife preserve is home to salt marshes, forestland, brush land, fallow field and freshwater ponds. In combination, these habitats support a diversity of bird and plant life. Wildlife commonly observed on Pinckney Island include American alligators, neo-tropical migrants, raptors, shorebirds, wading birds, waterfowl, white-tailed deer and large concentrations of white ibis, herons, and egrets.
Day Trips:
- Bluffton: Bluffton, located 15 miles north of Hilton Head, is a historic riverfront community situated on a bluff overlooking the May River and source of the famous Bluffton oysters.
- Charleston: Only 105 miles northeast of Hilton Head, Charleston maintains much of its Southern charm and heritage. Horse-drawn carriage tours of the historical sites are popular and maybe the best way to explore Charleston.
- Hardeeville: Just 30 miles northwest of Hilton Head near the I-95 and U.S. Route 278 interchange, Hardeeville is a small but rapidly growing city offering a great glimpse of small town South Carolina living.
- Savannah, Georgia: Only 40 miles northeast of Hilton Head, this historic riverside city is one of the few major cities in the South maintaining its antebellum charm and architecture. The city is home to one of the largest historic districts in the country.
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