Things to Do on Daufuskie Island

Most visitors come for the day, and the boat sets the length of it. The morning Vagabond boat from Harbour Town gives you about three hours on the island and the afternoon one about four and a half; both land at Freeport Marina, where the golf carts, the general store and the Old Daufuskie Crab Company are. The public ferry from the C.C. Haigh Jr. Landing docks at Melrose Landing, a short walk along the shore, and the cart companies meet it there. Our Daufuskie Island ferry page has every timetable.

A three-hour day fits a loop: the beach at Bloody Point, the Bloody Point Lighthouse and its winery on the way back up Beach Road, First Union African Baptist Church and the Mary Field School in the middle of the island, and lunch at Freeport before the boat. With longer, add a trail ride, the history museum or the art studios. Everything is a slow cart ride apart, so don’t try to see it all.

Daufuskie has about three miles of Atlantic beach, and all of it is public. Nothing is built along much of it, so the Daufuskie Island beach is mostly sand, driftwood and maritime forest, with dolphins offshore and shells at low tide. The easy ways on are at Bloody Point, on the southern tip, and the public beach path off Cresting Wave Lane; a quieter one is Beach Marker 21 on Avenue of Oaks.

There are no lifeguards and no chair or umbrella rentals, so bring water, shade and anything you want to sit on. Loggerhead turtles nest here in summer: leave marked nests alone and fill in holes before you go. Some beach paths cross private land, so use the marked ones.

Two outfits take visitors riding, on the trails and, in the cooler months, on the beach. Daufuskie Trail Rides, at the Haig Point Equestrian Center on Haig Point Road, takes riders through Haig Point’s maritime forest and along the marsh; its hour-long neighborhood ride runs Tuesday to Sunday from $150 a rider, and its waterfront ride stops for June, July and August for the turtles and the heat. Riders must be 12 or older and under 225 pounds, and its packages can include the ferry and a golf cart.

The Daufuskie Marsh Tacky Society is a nonprofit that keeps the Marsh Tacky, South Carolina’s State Heritage Horse and a descendant of the Spanish horses of the colonial era, on the island. It runs private rides for one to four people, Wednesday to Saturday, and rides on the beach from October 15 to March 15, outside turtle season. Its rides are for people who have ridden before: novices and up, and riders aged 10 to 17 once they’ve had beginner lessons. Book either one at least a day ahead.

Daufuskie’s Gullah history is the reason many people come. First Union African Baptist Church, built in 1884, still holds services; the two-room Mary Field School nearby is where Pat Conroy taught in 1969 and 1970, the year behind The Water Is Wide; and the Daufuskie Island History Museum fills an old church on Old Haig Point Road. Our Daufuskie Island history page tells the story and lists the sites.

At the south end, the Bloody Point Lighthouse keeper’s house is a museum, and Silver Dew Winery pours wine in its old brick oil house. It is the natural stop on the way back from the beach.

The island’s shops are a handful of studios and one general store: Iron Fish, where Chase Allen makes steel fish and mermaids, Daufuskie Blues’ indigo cloth, a glass studio, and the Freeport General Store for snacks and souvenirs. They are all on our Daufuskie Island shopping page.

The water around Daufuskie is half the trip. If you are staying on the island, Daufuskie Adventures runs its boat trips from it. From Hilton Head, several companies run guided trips that cross, stop on the island and bring you back, which is the easy way to see the historic sites with someone who knows them.

Lunch is part of the day. The Old Daufuskie Crab Company sits on the dock at Freeport Marina, the Daufuskie Island Distillery makes rum and runs tastings, and the Silver Dew Winery pours at the lighthouse. At Melrose, on the Atlantic side, are The Sportsman and Corakko Beach Club, in the building the Melrose Oyster House used before it closed. Island hours move with the seasons, so call ahead; our Daufuskie Island restaurants page has every place to eat.

One of Daufuskie’s three courses is open: the Rees Jones course at the Haig Point Club, a private club that takes a limited number of guests, often on a package that includes its ferry. Our Daufuskie Island golf page explains how a visitor plays it and what happened to the island’s other two courses.

Visitors can’t bring a car and there are none to rent, so the island is done by golf cart, bike or on foot. Reserve a cart before you cross, especially in summer; the boat companies and the island’s rental companies will have it waiting at the dock. The gated communities at Haig Point and Melrose keep their roads private.