Beaches in Beaufort, SC

For an ocean beach, go to Hunting Island State Park, at 2555 Sea Island Parkway. Its beach runs about five miles with no houses behind it, just maritime forest, and where the sea is eating into the island, dead trees stand and lie on the sand in the stretch called the boneyard. The park is open 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., until 9 p.m. during daylight saving time. Admission is $8 for adults, $5 for South Carolina seniors, $4 for ages 6 to 15 and free under 6, and the lighthouse climb is $5 more. There are no lifeguards, so swim at your own risk and stay away from the inlets at either end, where the currents are strong.

The Sands is Beaufort’s in-town beach: a strip of sand on the Beaufort River at the southern tip of the Town of Port Royal, off Sands Beach Road. It is free and open in daylight, and you can drive right down to the sand. It is a river beach rather than the ocean, so think of it for a picnic, a sunset or a walk, and go to Hunting Island for a swim in the surf. Tide times for the river are on the Beaufort, SC tide chart.

Fripp Island, past Hunting Island at the end of Sea Island Parkway, has about three and a half miles of beach, but it is a private, gated community: the public can’t drive in, and you reach the beach only by staying on the island in a rental or as a guest of an owner.

Harbor Island, between St. Helena Island and Hunting Island, is gated as well. Its beach is for owners and their renters, who get a gate pass for the car. If you’re staying on either island, Hunting Island State Park is next door for the lighthouse and the trails.

Both public beaches close to Beaufort, SC are an easy drive from downtown. From downtown Beaufort, the Sands is about 6.5 miles and 12 minutes south, and Hunting Island State Park is about 17 miles and 25 minutes east on US 21, across Lady’s Island and St. Helena Island.

From Hilton Head, the Sands is about 41 miles and an hour from Coligny, and Hunting Island is 51 to 58 miles, 65 to 80 minutes. Staying on Hilton Head? The island’s own beaches are closer: 12 miles of ocean beach with Town beach parks and public parking. If you’re making a day of it, pair the beach with a day trip to Beaufort or the Old Sheldon Church Ruins.

At Hunting Island, dogs are welcome on most of the park, including the beach, on a leash no longer than six feet, but not past the posted markers at the tip of North Beach, where shorebirds nest, and not inside the lighthouse grounds. At the Sands, read the Town of Port Royal’s posted signs before you let a dog off the leash.