Hunting Island near Beaufort, SC: A Day Trip from Hilton Head

The park fills its own island at the far end of US 21, east of Beaufort, in Beaufort County. Its address is 2555 Sea Island Parkway, St. Helena Island, SC 29920, though you will also see it written as Hunting Island, SC. From Hilton Head it is a drive of 51 to 58 miles, depending on where on the island you start:

• From the north end (the foot of the bridge): about 51 miles, 65 to 70 minutes.

• From Coligny and the south end: about 58 miles, 80 minutes. Add time for summer traffic on US 278 leaving the island.

Take US 278 west off the island toward Bluffton, then SC 170 east toward Beaufort, across the Broad River. Through Beaufort, follow US 21 onto Lady’s Island, then turn onto Sea Island Parkway (still US 21) for the last 15 miles, across St. Helena Island and Harbor Island to the park gate. Hunting Island State Park and Beaufort make one easy day: lunch or dinner in town on the way back is the usual plan.

For a full day, leave by 8, get to the lighthouse for the first climbs at 9:30, spend the middle of the day on the beach, and finish at the nature center and marsh boardwalk at the south end. If you would rather stay the night, the campground is below.

• Park: 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily, and until 9 p.m. during daylight saving time.

• Admission: $8 for adults, $5 for South Carolina seniors, $4 for ages 6 to 15, and free for children 5 and under. Admission is per person, not per car.

• Lighthouse climb: $5 a person on top of admission; first climb 9:30 a.m., last 4:30 p.m.

• Nature center: 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily.

• Park office: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday to Friday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekends. Call 843-838-2011.

• Campground store: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. The lighthouse gift shop is open 9 to 5 on Saturdays and Sundays.

The Hunting Island Lighthouse, inside Hunting Island State Park, is the only lighthouse in South Carolina that is open for the public to climb. It reopened on May 26, 2026, after being closed since 2022: crews repaired the cast-iron spiral stairs, handrails and observation deck, replaced the glass in the lantern room and repainted the tower.

The climb is 167 steps to a deck 132.5 feet up, with the beach, the forest and the marshes all around. The tower was built of cast-iron sections so it could be taken apart, and in 1889 it was: the sea was reaching it, and it was moved 1.3 miles inland to where it stands now.

• Tickets are first come, first served, $5 a person.

• Climbers must be at least 44 inches tall, weigh less than 260 pounds and be able to climb on their own.

• Children 13 and under climb with an adult 18 or older.

• Shoes are required: no bare feet and no high heels.

• No pets inside the lighthouse.

• The lighthouse closes whenever the weather makes the climb unsafe.

The beach at Hunting Island, SC, runs about five miles, and it feels far wilder than Hilton Head’s: no houses, no hotels, just dunes and maritime forest behind the sand. Hunting Island State Park has several parking areas off the park road, one of them by the lighthouse. There are no lifeguards, so swim at your own risk, and stay away from the inlets at either end, where the currents are strong.

Erosion is the story of this island. The ocean has been cutting into the forest for well over a century, and the trees it kills are left standing and lying on the sand. That stretch is called the boneyard, a sight found on eroding barrier islands along the South Carolina coast. The best known part, Boneyard Beach, is on Little Hunting Island, over a small bridge at the north end. The park closes that bridge when high tides make it unsafe, so check the advisory on the park’s website before you plan the day around it, and go near low tide, when there is the most sand to walk on.

The same erosion took the rental cabins that once lined the beach, and the state has had to pump sand back onto the shore more than once. Dogs are not allowed past the posted markers at the tip of North Beach, where shorebirds nest. From December through February the park allows horseback riding on the beach, by permit.

The Hunting Island State Park nature center is at the south end of the island, by the fishing pier. It has wildlife exhibits and ranger programs, and it lends rods and reels for free, up to four per group.

The fishing pier runs out into Fripp Inlet, and fishing it is included in park admission; pets are not allowed on it. You can also fish the surf, the saltwater lagoon and Johnson Creek. The fishing on Hilton Head page covers the island’s own piers, if you want to compare.

The Marsh Boardwalk is a 0.4-mile walk out over the salt marsh, and a good place to see wading birds. An 8-mile trail for walking and biking runs the length of the park, and kayakers use the lagoon and the creeks; there is a public boat ramp onto the Harbor River and Fripp Inlet.

Coastal Expeditions runs boat tours to St. Phillips Island, SC, an undeveloped island nearby that the park also looks after. Its trail map is on the park’s maps page.

Camping at Hunting Island State Park puts you a short walk from the beach, under pines and palmettos. The campground has 102 sites with water and electric hookups (20, 30 and 50 amp), some of them long enough for a 40-foot RV and others for up to 28 feet, plus 25 tent-only sites with tent pads, fire rings, picnic tables and shared water. There are hot showers, laundry, a dump station and the campground store.

To book camping at Hunting Island State Park, use the SC State Parks reservation line, 1-866-345-7275, or reserve.southcarolinaparks.com. For a same-day site, call the park directly. Rates change with the season and demand.

Before you pick a site, look at the Hunting Island State Park maps: the park map and a separate campground map of the rustic tent sites are both on the park’s maps page.

There is one rental cabin now, near the lighthouse, and pets are not allowed in it or around it. For camping closer to Hilton Head, where the island itself has no tent campground, see RV resorts and campgrounds near Hilton Head.

• Lunch and water. There is no restaurant in the park, only the campground store, so pack a cooler or plan to eat in Beaufort.

• Bug spray. The forest and the marsh bring mosquitoes and no-see-ums in the warm months, especially early and late in the day.

• Closed-toe shoes if anyone is climbing the lighthouse.

• Shade and sunscreen. The beach has no rentals and no lifeguards.

• A six-foot leash. Dogs are welcome on most of the park on a leash no longer than six feet, but not on the pier, in the lighthouse, around the cabin or at the tip of North Beach.

• A tide chart if you are walking to Boneyard Beach: see the questions below.