Jarvis Creek Park, Hilton Head Island

• Size: 53 acres
• Loop: 1 mile, paved
• Hours: 6 a.m. to 9 p.m.
• Parking: free

Jarvis Creek Park is a 53-acre Town park off William Hilton Parkway on the north end of the island, built around a lake of about 11 acres. Locals often shorten it to Jarvis Creek. It is one of the easiest places on Hilton Head for a flat walk, with a one-mile paved loop and boardwalks over the marsh edges, and it costs nothing to visit.

The Lake Loop

The paved trail circles the lake, with wooden bridges over the marshy sections. Along the way look for herons and other wading birds in the shallows, and alligators sunning on the banks. Keep your distance from them and from the water’s edge. The loop is shaded in places and flat, so it works for strollers.

What Else Is in the Park

• Fishing dock: a dock and fishing pier on the lake. The lake is stocked with bluegill and largemouth bass, for catch-and-release fishing. See the fishing piers guide for the island’s other docks.

• Fitness trail: the PRO Wellness Fitness Trail, with more than ten outdoor stations, and a covered exercise pavilion.

• Playground: kids’ play equipment near the lake. See the playgrounds guide.

• Picnic shelters and grills, reserved through the Island Recreation Center, which is less than a mile away.

• Restrooms, free parking, public art and Wi-Fi.

The park is open 6 a.m. to 9 p.m., and 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. once daylight saving time ends. For more parks, see the Hilton Head parks page, and for wildlife you may spot here, the nature guide.