Things to Do in Sea Pines, Hilton Head Island

Most things to do in Sea Pines Hilton Head fit into a day without getting back in the car: the beach, a bike ride on the leisure trails, the Forest Preserve, and an evening in Harbour Town. The resort covers the south end of the island, with five miles of beach, three golf courses, a tennis club, a stable and a nature preserve inside one gate.

This guide covers things to do in Sea Pines, South Carolina, whether you are staying inside the gate or driving in for the day. Many Sea Pines Hilton Head activities are open to day visitors, who pay the gate fee at the entrance. Our in-depth pages come first below, then the rest of the things to do in Sea Pines, Hilton Head, SC. For the whole community, see the Sea Pines guide.

Beaches and the Water

The main public way onto the sand is the Sea Pines Beach Club, with parking, restrooms, showers, a surf shop and oceanfront dining at Coast. At the southern tip, South Beach is quieter, with the marina, shops and the Salty Dog Cafe a short walk from the water. Boat tours and fishing charters leave from the Harbour Town Yacht Basin, and the resort runs paddling trips into the salt marsh and tidal creeks.

Nature, History and Horseback Rides

The Forest Preserve is 605 acres of trails, lagoons and boardwalk, and it holds a shell ring more than 4,000 years old. A few minutes away, the Stoney Baynard Ruins are the tabby walls of a plantation house built around 1800. It is a short stop, with no admission charge that we could find.

Lawton Stables, at 190 Greenwood Drive, runs guided one-hour trail rides through the preserve for riders aged 8 and up, plus pony rides for children 7 and under and a small animal farm. It is open Tuesday through Sunday (as of September 2026), and rides book online or at 843-671-2586.

Sea Pines Music: Gregg Russell Under the Liberty Oak

Gregg Russell has played free, family sing-along concerts under the Liberty Oak in Harbour Town for decades. In 2026 the summer shows ran Monday through Thursday from May 27 to August 13, 8 to 9:30 p.m., with spring and Labor Day weekend dates around them. The two shows left this year are the day after Thanksgiving, November 27, and a Christmas show on December 23, both 7:30 to 9 p.m.

The same lawn sits next to the Harbour Town Lighthouse, the shops and the marina, so a concert night usually starts with dinner at one of the Harbour Town restaurants. The rest of the district is in our Harbour Town guide.

Biking and the Trolley

Sea Pines has about 15 miles of paved leisure trails linking Harbour Town, the Beach Club, South Beach and the villas, and at low tide the beach itself is firm enough to ride. The resort’s bike shop, next to Plantation Golf Club, rents adult and kids’ bikes and can deliver them to your villa; islandwide rental companies deliver here too. See biking in Hilton Head Island for the full list.

The Sea Pines trolley is a free shuttle run by the Community Services Associates. In summer 2026 the Blue route (Harbour Town to the Beach Club) and the Green route (Harbour Town to South Beach) ran from May 16 to September 7, and the Red route between Greenwood Drive and Harbour Town runs 4 to 10 p.m. all year. Live locations are on seapinestrolley.com.

Golf and Tennis

The resort has three courses: Harbour Town Golf Links, home of the RBC Heritage, Heron Point by Pete Dye, and Atlantic Dunes by Davis Love III. All three take public tee times.

The Sea Pines Racquet Club, at 5 Lighthouse Lane, has 20 clay tennis and pickleball courts, six of them for pickleball only, and it is home to the Smith Stearns Tennis Academy. Resort guests get court time included, and anyone else can book courts by the hour. For more courts around the island, see tennis and pickleball in Hilton Head Island.

Sea Pines Resort Activities for Kids and Families

The resort’s recreation department runs a list of small, bookable activities. A wagon ride through the Forest Preserve leaves from Heritage Farm on Mondays and Wednesdays ($25 per adult, $20 per child, as of September 2026; under-13s ride with an adult). Crafts to Go at the fitness center, 71 Lighthouse Road, runs 1 to 3 p.m. daily, with stuffed animals, birdhouses and ceramics to make. The department also rents lawn games and posts a self-guided geocaching hunt. Call 843-842-1979 for any of them.

At the Shops at Sea Pines Center, the Farmers & Makers Market sets up on the Plaza every Tuesday from March through November, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., with produce, local makers and live music. Sea Pines Pottery, a paint-your-own studio, is in the same center.

What to Do in Sea Pines Hilton Head as a Day Visitor

Sea Pines is gated, but it is not closed. Visitors pay a gate fee of $10 per day for a standard vehicle (as of March 1, 2026); property owners, resort guests and anyone with a Sea Pines rental reservation don’t pay it. Some merchants at the Shops at Sea Pines Center say they refund the fee when you shop with them, so ask before you count on it.

For a first day, a good order is the Beach Club in the morning, the Forest Preserve or a bike ride after lunch, and Harbour Town for sunset and dinner. For ideas beyond the gate, see things to do in Hilton Head Island.