Parks in Bluffton, SC

Bluffton’s parks come in two kinds. In Old Town they are small and old, a string of lawns under live oaks running down to the May River, a short walk from Calhoun Street’s shops and restaurants. Out along Bluffton Parkway and Buckwalter Parkway, where most people now live, they are big and new: ball fields, a skatepark, a pool, and a 37-acre park with a zip line. Then there are the preserves, where the only sounds are birds. This guide covers the Bluffton parks a visitor is likely to want, with the boat landings and dog parks at the end. For the rest of the town, see our things to do in Bluffton guide.

You can walk every one of these in an afternoon. Start at Wright Family Park at the bottom of Calhoun Street, where the boardwalk runs along the river beside the public dock, then follow the bluff to Oyster Factory Park, where the Bluffton Oyster Company still shucks by hand next door. DuBois Park and Martin Family Park are a few blocks inland, near the Heyward House, and are the ones with a playground (DuBois Park’s is built like a shrimp boat) and shade for a picnic. Oak Grove Park is a small green on Colcock Street.

With children, the big parks are the ones to know. New Riverside Barn Park is the newest and the favorite: the playground has a giant owl to climb, a zip line and water to splash in, and there are trails around the rest of its 37 acres. Oscar Frazier Park is where Bluffton plays ball, with fields, courts and a playground of its own. MC Riley Park, on Goethe Road, is a neighborhood park. For rainy days, bowling, mini golf and the rest, see our Bluffton things to do guide.

For a walk away from everything, Bluffton has two preserves. Widgeon Point is in Okatie, north of town on SC 170 (Okatie Highway), and it is the easier of the two: a short loop trail, a bird blind over the marsh and a pavilion for lunch. Beaufort County and the Open Land Trust own it together. Victoria Bluff, near the US 278 corridor, is bigger and wilder, with wide trails through pine, oak and palmetto. It is managed partly for hunting, so check the SCDNR notices at the gate before a fall or winter walk, and wear something bright.

Bluffton has no ocean beach. Alljoy Beach is a strip of sand and shell on the river, fine for a paddle and a sunset but not a day on a towel. The town’s real beach appears in the middle of the river at low tide: see our May River guide for the sandbar, kayak tours and today’s tides, and our Hilton Head beaches guide for the Atlantic, over the bridges.

The Bluffton dog park most people use is the one inside Oscar Frazier Park, handy to Old Town. North Dog Park, off Sergeant William Jasper Boulevard, serves the north end, and Berkeley Hall Dog Park is near the Berkeley Hall community off US 278. Dogs are welcome on a leash in the Old Town parks. For the island, our dog-friendly beaches guide has the rules for Hilton Head’s sand.

Bluffton’s public boat landings put you on the May River and the other tidal rivers around town. In Old Town, the ramp at Oyster Factory Park is the closest to the shops, and the Calhoun Street dock is for tie-ups and tour pickups. The Alljoy and Brighton Beach landings, side by side on the lower river, are the quickest way to the sandbar and Calibogue Sound. For island launches, see our Hilton Head boating guide.