We had been hearing about Hunting Island State Park (SC) for
months before we actually went there. It is
said to be the most visited park in South Carolina, so we just had to visit it as well. Though we were there almost 2-weeks ago, the
park is so lovely, that it deserves a (belated) blog post.
Hunting Island is part of the archipelago of islands known
as the Sea Islands. To get to Hunting
Island, you pass Parris Island (think Marines), and the turn off to Hilton Head
(think big bucks). Hunting island is a
long skinny island with wetlands on one shoreline and the Atlantic Ocean on the
other. It is the home of a lovely
lighthouse.
The campground is right on the beach. The dunes that separate the campers from the
beach have been entirely eroded in one area, and are small in another. Some of the campsites on the beach have
gotten tiny over the years as the ocean has eroded them away.
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| Tiki surfing in Tiki-sized waves |
The beach is very, very wide at low tide. The waters off of it are shallow, with tiny
wavelets. The waves break far off shore,
interrupting their energy as they continue toward the beach. At high tide, the waves lap right at the edge
of the campsites. That said, there is
something serene about the beach. Down
from the campground are the skeletons of what was once a maritime forest, with
some of the dead trees standing in the water.
At low tide you can collect sand dollars at the water’s edge. Our last morning there, the winds had picked
up during the night, churning great gobs of sea foam.
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| A rare photo of Dana on a bicycle |
We rode our bicycles to the lighthouse. The off-road trail followed along the top of ancient dunes, and was
difficult for Dana (who bicycles more easily on paved surfaces without sand traps
at the bottom of hills - thank you very much), but the scenery of the forest was quite lovely and
worth the adventure. We climbed to the
top of the lighthouse for a spectacular view of the island.
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| View from the lighthouse |
For eats, we would recommend the Shrimp Shack which is just
that, serving a menu that revolves around fried shrimp and the shrimp
burger. Suspend the warnings against
fried food and you will truly enjoy these yummy eats. We also got fresh fish and oysters from the
Mainline Market, an open air market near the entrance to the park. Our experience with the Johnson Creek Tavern
was mixed – Russ’ broiled seafood was delicious and Dana’s shrimp and grits was
inedible.
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| Shrimp Shack |
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| Shore birds and gulls at low tide |
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| Pretty thistle from our bike ride |
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| The lighthouse |
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| The lighthouse stairs |
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| Sunrise and sea foam |
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| More sea foam |
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