Unique Things to Do in Hilton Head
Hidden gems off the beaten path: moonlit paddles, tabby ruins, Gullah tours, gator lagoons and an island with no bridge.
These are the unusual things to do in Hilton Head that a beach week tends to miss: a fort most visitors never see, mud with a smell of its own, and boats you drive yourself. Each card opens our guide to it.
Unique Activities to Try on Hilton Head
Full moon paddles, alligator boats, Gullah tours and Daufuskie trips with live availability. Booking opens here on HHI.com.
Booked through FareHarbor, the island operators’ own booking system. HHI.com may earn a commission.
After Dark: Full Moons, Fireworks and Turtles
The island goes quiet after sunset, and some of its best moments come then. The Sea Pines Resort also runs a seasonal nature program, Full Moon Shore Explore.
Guided full moon and sunset paddles into the marsh creeks, built for beginners. Dolphins feed in Broad Creek most days.
The boat with a giant crab on its roof. Catch blue crabs the Gullah way, on a chicken neck with no hook.
Loggerheads nest at night from May through August, and the nests hatch from mid-July into October.
Hidden Gems of Hilton Head History
Tabby walls of a plantation house built around 1800, the island’s only main-house tabby ruins, free inside Sea Pines.
A Civil War Union earthwork on a bluff above Skull Creek, its walls still standing. Visit with a free gate pass.
Founded by freed people in 1862, widely regarded as the first self-governed freedmen’s town in the US. Free to walk.
A 2½-hour bus tour of the Gullah neighborhoods, led by guides born on the island before the 1956 bridge.
The living culture of the Sea Islands: its language and food, the Gullah Museum and the families still on their land.
Wild Hilton Head: Gators, Marsh and Moss
605 acres of trails and a shell ring over 4,000 years old. Take the wagon journey, or an electric boat past the gators.
Yes, they live here, in the lagoons, ponds and golf course water. Where to see one, and how far back to stay.
A free 4,053-acre refuge just off the bridge, with 14+ miles of trails. Egrets and ibis gather at Ibis Pond.
Low tide at Fish Haul Beach turns up whelks, moon snails and fossil shark teeth. Boats run out to Vanishing Island.
The soft, sulfur-smelling marsh mud locals call the scent of home. Why it smells, and how not to lose a shoe in it.
Not a moss and not from Spain: a bromeliad, kin to the pineapple, that lives on air and rain, draped on the live oaks.
Drive Your Own Boat, Ride a Segway or a Horse
Drive your own two-seat catamaran behind a guide, at up to 30 mph through the creeks. Drivers must be licensed adults.
A small group of skiffs out of Broad Creek Marina, each driven by its own party, with a guide leading through the marsh.
A short lesson, then shaded trails at Honey Horn with a guide. One 2-hour ride goes out to Historic Mitchelville.
Lawton Stables leads one-hour trail rides through the Sea Pines Forest Preserve for riders 8 and up, plus pony rides.
Off the Beaten Path: Day Trips from Hilton Head
No bridge, no traffic lights and about 550 people, a ferry ride across Calibogue Sound. You get around by golf cart.
A boat over, then a golf-cart tour of the 1884 Gullah church, Pat Conroy’s school, the lighthouse and art studios.
Climb 167 steps up the only lighthouse in South Carolina open to climb, then walk five miles of wild beach.
Forrest Gump, The Great Santini and The Prince of Tides were shot around Beaufort, an hour up the road.
About This List
The beaches, the golf and the dolphin cruises are on our main list of things to do on Hilton Head Island. This page is the rest: places with a story, wildlife you will not see from a beach chair, and trips you steer yourself. Several sit behind the Sea Pines or Hilton Head Plantation gates, so check each guide for passes and fees.
For the island’s outdoor side in more depth, see the Hilton Head nature guide. For a wet day, try things to do indoors, and for food, see where locals eat.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the most unusual things to do in Hilton Head?
Paddle a marsh creek under a full moon, crab the Gullah way from a boat with a giant crab on its roof, walk up to the tabby walls of the Stoney-Baynard Ruins, ride an electric boat past the alligators in the Sea Pines Forest Preserve, or take the ferry to Daufuskie Island, which has no bridge.
What unique activities would locals suggest on Hilton Head Island?
A Gullah Heritage Trail tour with a guide who grew up here before the bridge, a walk at Historic Mitchelville Freedom Park, low-tide shelling for fossil shark teeth at Fish Haul Beach, and the trails of Pinckney Island, which are free.
What is there to do on Hilton Head at night?
Take a full moon or sunset kayak tour, or a summer Tuesday crabbing trip that stays out for the Shelter Cove fireworks. From May through October the beach lights go out at 10 p.m. for nesting sea turtles. For music and bars, see nightlife on Hilton Head.
What can we do on Hilton Head if it rains?
Most of this list is outdoors. For a wet day, see things to do indoors in Hilton Head: two museums, bowling, escape rooms, a cinema and live shows.
What can kids do on Hilton Head besides the beach?
Captain Kidd sport crabbing hands children kid-sized poles and gives a prize for the most crabs. Lawton Stables has pony rides and an animal farm, the alligator boat in the Sea Pines Forest Preserve has child fares for 12 and under, and older children can ride a Segway from age 10 or 12, depending on the tour.
Do I need a gate pass for any of these?
For some. The Stoney-Baynard Ruins, the Forest Preserve and Lawton Stables are inside Sea Pines, which charges visitors $10 a day per car. Fort Mitchel is inside Hilton Head Plantation: ask at the guard station for a pass, with a photo ID.
Local guides like this come standard for Guests of Partner Properties — one small part of what a Partner Property gives every guest.
Book Partner Properties