Sun City Hilton Head, SC

Sun City Hilton Head is not on Hilton Head Island. It is a gated community for people 55 and over on the mainland near Bluffton, South Carolina, on land that was a paper company’s pine plantation until Del Webb, the builder behind Arizona’s original Sun City, bought 5,100 acres of it in 1993. The gates opened in June 1995 and the first residents moved in that August. It has grown to more than 5,725 acres, about nine square miles, across Beaufort and Jasper counties, with more than 18,000 residents and room for more than 20,000 when the last lots are built on.

Because it spans two counties, the postal addresses vary. Most of the community gets its mail as Bluffton, so you will see it written as Sun City, Bluffton, SC, and the southern end as Sun City, Okatie, SC; the northern neighborhoods around Argent Lakes and Sun City West, off Sundance Drive, are in Hardeeville. The center of the community is Town Square, on Sun City Lane and Del Webb Boulevard, where the association’s offices, Pinckney Hall and the 548-seat Magnolia Hall theater stand.

The age rule is written into the covenants. Every home must have at least one resident aged 55 or over (the builder may sell some new homes to buyers from 50), and no one under 19 may live here, although grandchildren can visit for up to 90 days a year. The community is divided into nearly 70 named neighborhoods of houses, duets and villas, and the managed neighborhoods among them pay a neighborhood assessment on top of the base one. For the other gated communities in the area, see our Hilton Head neighborhoods guide.

Homes here sell two ways. Del Webb, now part of PulteGroup, is still building in the newest sections, lists the community under Bluffton and shows its model homes by appointment; for Sun City Hilton Head floor plans, its current models are the Compass, Hallmark, Palmary, Prestige, Stardom and Renown. Everything else is a resale, through a local agent, and our Sun City Hilton Head homes for sale page searches every listing. The exception to Del Webb’s plans is Riverbend, a gated neighborhood by the marsh where owners build custom homes. Our Hilton Head real estate guide covers the wider area.

Every lot pays the association an annual base assessment, $2,820 in 2026, billed quarterly, which includes two activity cards, the pass residents use to get into the amenities. Homes in Sun City North and Sun City West and in a managed neighborhood pay an assessment on top, and a resale adds one-time fees at closing; the whole schedule is on our Sun City Hilton Head HOA fees page.

Renting is allowed, but not for a holiday. Every lease must run at least 90 days, short-term and transient rentals are not permitted, and each tenant registers with the association and pays a renter registration fee. Renters must meet the same age rule as owners; see Sun City Hilton Head rentals for how a lease works. For a vacation near here, look at our Hilton Head vacation rentals instead.

The Sun City Hilton Head Community Association is the nonprofit that owns and runs everything shared: the roads, gates, golf courses, clubhouses, pools, trails and lagoons. Every lot owner is a member, with one membership per lot, and an elected board sets the rules and the budget. Its Resident Services office, in Palmetto Commons at 127 Sun City Lane, handles registrations, activity cards and renter paperwork on weekdays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Most of what people move here for is inside the gates. There are four fitness centers (Hidden Cypress, Purrysburg, the Lakehouse and the Breakwater Fitness Collective in Sun City West), eight pools, three of them indoor, and an indoor track. The New River Sports Park has pickleball and volleyball courts and a softball field; there are tennis courts at Town Square, bocce, croquet and horseshoes, a crafts center, a woodworkers’ shop, three dog parks, 7.5 miles of walking trails, and a boat and RV park with a campsite.

Lake Somerset, 19 acres, is for fishing and picnics, and the Riverbend Lodge has a pool and a dock with a kayak launch. Magnolia Hall puts on shows and concerts, and Pinckney Hall has a ballroom and a stage. More than 100 chartered clubs and resident groups meet in the buildings, and Sun City Hilton Head residents book tennis and bocce courts and tee times through Chelsea, the association’s online reservation system, and pickleball courts through CourtReserve.

Sun City’s golf is private. Its three courses are for residents and the guests they bring, and there is no public access, so you cannot book a round as a visitor. Hidden Cypress and Okatie Creek are 18-hole courses designed by Mark McCumber, and Argent Lakes, in the northern section, is an 18-hole executive course, par 61. Residents reserve tee times online, and each course’s golf shop takes same-day calls. Guest rates and the three courses side by side are on our Sun City golf page.

If you are visiting and want to play, the public courses nearby are in our Bluffton golf guide, and the island’s are on our Hilton Head golf courses list.

There are four places to eat inside the gates, and they are open to the public, though you need a visitor pass from the gate or a resident’s call-in to drive in. Jameson’s Charhouse at Hidden Cypress is the fine-dining room, and the same group runs The Clubhouse at Okatie Creek, a casual restaurant looking over the course, and AL’s Pub at Argent Lakes, a pub and pizzeria with outdoor seating. The Brackish Bar & Lounge in Sun City West serves drinks and small plates inside or by the pool. Basil & Bourbon, the Italian restaurant that was Nonna Rosa, is just outside on US 278. Menus, hours and phone numbers are on our Sun City restaurants page; for everywhere else, start with our Hilton Head dining guide.

Sun City has ten gates. Residents drive through on a registered decal and tag; everyone else needs a pass, called in to one of four: the Main Gate at 1 Sun City Boulevard, the North Gate on Fording Island Road (US 278), the Riverbend Gate on Tidewatch Drive and the Sun City West Gate on Sundance Drive. A resident can also request a guest’s pass on the association’s website or app. It lasts up to 30 days, and the guest keeps it on the dashboard.

Guests 16 and over who want to use a pool or a fitness center without their host pick up a free guest ID card at any fitness center, good for 14 days; younger guests stay with their host. Some amenities charge guests a fee, the golf courses among them. Contractors cannot come in on a guest pass; the association has a separate process for vendors.

Inside, residents get around by car, bike and golf cart. Registered golf carts may use the streets, keeping to the right, but not the trails or the sidewalks, and security enforces the speed limits with fines. Where the pass gates, clubhouses and courses are is on our Sun City Hilton Head map, which prints on one page.