- Address
- 53 Leamington Lane
- Parking
- Roadside only, none on the lawn
- Cost
- Free to visit
Hilton Head Rear Range Lighthouse in Palmetto Dunes
Hilton Head’s 1880s range light stands inside the gated Leamington neighborhood of Palmetto Dunes. The outside is free to see, the tower is closed.
1881
first lit, to guide ships into Port Royal Sound
90+ ft
iron-skeleton tower, closed to climbing
Free
to see from outside, with a visitor pass to enter Leamington
This is the Palmetto Dunes lighthouse, not the red-and-white one at Harbour Town.
The Hilton Head Rear Range Lighthouse is the island’s old navigation light, and the one locals call the Leamington Lighthouse after the neighborhood around it. It stands between two holes of the Arthur Hills course, inside Palmetto Dunes, and it is a different lighthouse from the red-and-white one at Harbour Town. If you are looking for the Palmetto Dunes lighthouse, this is it.
Visiting the Lighthouse in Palmetto Dunes
You can walk up to the lighthouse and look at it for free, but the tower itself is closed and you cannot climb it. It sits inside the private Leamington gate, so you need a visitor pass first. Get it at the Palmetto Dunes gate house, then drive on to the Leamington Gate and turn onto Leamington Lane. Passes are not issued after 5 p.m., and motorcycles are not allowed in Palmetto Dunes.
Park along the road. Parking on the lawn around the lighthouse is not allowed. The rest of the resort’s gate rules are in the Palmetto Dunes guide. If you collect Lighthouse Society passport stamps, the lighthouse’s own visitor page lists the Arthur Hills pro shop, the Palmetto Dunes General Store and the Welcome Center as places to get one.
The History of the Leamington Lighthouse
Congress paid for a pair of range lights in 1876 to guide ships into Port Royal Sound. A range light works as a pair: a sailor lines the tall rear light up with a shorter front light and stays in the channel. The Hilton Head rear light was built in 1879 and 1880, and lit on August 1, 1881, once the lights on nearby Parris Island were ready.
The tower is an iron skeleton, more than 90 feet tall, standing on six concrete piers with a stair running up its center. A brick oil house and a water cistern from the same era stand beside it. The resort’s owner refurbished the lighthouse in 1985, and it was renovated again in 2019. It is on the National Register of Historic Places.
More Lighthouses and Things to See Nearby
The Harbour Town Lighthouse is the one you can climb. Read about it on our Harbour Town Lighthouse page, and see the Arthur Hills course that surrounds this one. Back in the community, Leamington is the neighborhood around the tower.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can you visit the Leamington Lighthouse?
Yes, to see it from outside. It is free, but it stands inside the gated Leamington neighborhood of Palmetto Dunes, so you need a visitor pass, and passes are not issued after 5 p.m.
Can you climb the Hilton Head Rear Range Lighthouse?
No. The tower is closed to the public.
Where is the Hilton Head Rear Range Lighthouse?
At 53 Leamington Lane in Palmetto Dunes, between two holes of the Arthur Hills golf course.
Where do you park at the Leamington Lighthouse?
On the street. Parking on the lawn is not allowed.
Is the Rear Range Lighthouse the same as the Harbour Town Lighthouse?
No. The Harbour Town Lighthouse is in Sea Pines. The Rear Range Lighthouse, also called the Leamington Lighthouse, is in Palmetto Dunes.
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