You can climb a Civil War-era lighthouse on this raw, untouched South Carolina barrier island

It’s more than a beach day

Fifteen miles east of Beaufort, a 5,000-acre island sits between the Atlantic and the South Carolina Lowcountry, largely the same as it’s always been. No resort towers.

No boardwalks. Just maritime forest, salt marsh, five miles of beach, and a lighthouse that survived a war, a relocation, and a four-year restoration.

Hunting Island draws more than a million visitors a year, and most of them leave wondering why they waited so long to come.

This hunting preserve became South Carolina’s most visited park

In the 1800s and early 1900s, wealthy planters used this island as a private hunting preserve.

The public didn’t get access until the 1930s, when the Civilian Conservation Corps came in, built bridges connecting the outer Sea Islands to the mainland, and turned it into a state park.

They left the landscape mostly alone, and that decision still holds. Fallen trees stay where they fall.

Logs wash up and decompose. The island sits inside one of the largest undeveloped estuaries on the East Coast, and it shows.

Five miles of beach with room to breathe

The northern stretch of beach runs wide, with ivory sand and enough room that you never feel crowded even on a busy weekend.

The water here runs clearer than most of the South Carolina coast.

Piping plovers work the shoreline ahead of you, and brown pelicans glide in formation just above the surf. Walk south and the island changes.

Erosion has pushed the ocean close to the tree line, and the beach narrows to a strip of sand between water and woods.

Boneyard Beach: where the forest met the sea and lost

The south end of the island holds one of the stranger stretches of coast you’ll find anywhere.

Sun-bleached tree trunks rise from the sand, some upright, some toppled at angles, their bark long gone and their wood turned white and smooth.

Decades of coastal erosion have swallowed the maritime forest here, leaving the skeletons of live oaks and palmettos scattered across the beach.

Come at low tide and the wet sand reflects the wood and the sky. Photographers show up before dawn to catch the light hitting the driftwood.

A lighthouse that survived a war and a move down the beach

Confederate soldiers destroyed the original 1859 lighthouse during the Civil War so Union ships couldn’t use it to navigate the coast.

The replacement, built in 1875, used cast-iron sections designed to be taken apart and moved, and that turned out to be a practical decision.

By 1889, beach erosion had eaten away at the ground beneath it, so workers relocated the entire structure 1.3 miles inland. It’s still there, 132 feet tall, with 167 steps to the top.

It’s the only publicly accessible lighthouse in the state.

The lighthouse reopens after a four-year, $3 million restoration

The lighthouse closed in February 2022 for a full restoration.

Workers repaired the lantern room, replaced windows, rebuilt decks and rails, and restored the historic cast-iron staircase.

The original lens was disassembled, cleaned, and put back together, then installed in a new ADA-accessible display area at the base.

As of April 2026, state officials have cleared the lighthouse for reopening, with a grand opening expected soon.

After dark, an LED lamp in the tower flashes the same light pattern it used in 1859.

Eight miles of trail through marsh, forest, and beach

More than eight miles of trails cross the island, and they cover most of what makes this place worth exploring.

The Marsh Boardwalk takes you out over the water to a small island with a deck above a tidal creek, one of the better spots in the park for watching birds.

The Diamondback Rattlesnake Trail is a 1.9-mile route built for experienced walkers and mountain bikers.

If you want the full picture, the island loop runs 8.6 miles through maritime forest, salt marsh, and along the beach.

A rebuilt pier where you don’t need a fishing license

The original fishing pier at the southern tip of the park was wrecked by Hurricane Matthew in 2016. The rebuilt version reopened in 2021, extending 950 feet into Fripp Inlet over water up to 28 feet deep.

The park holds a commercial fishing license that covers everyone fishing on the pier, so you don’t need your own.

The Nature Center loans out rods and reels for free through a program with the SC Department of Natural Resources.

You show up, grab a rod, and fish.

Sea turtles nest here every summer, alligators year-round

From May through August, loggerhead sea turtles come ashore at night to lay eggs.

Every morning during nesting season, volunteers walk the beach at dawn to find and mark the nests before the crowds arrive. The island also has deer, raccoons, diamondback rattlesnakes, and the rare coral snake.

The saltwater lagoon, dredged in 1968, has turned into its own ecosystem, home to seahorses and barracuda.

Birdwatchers can find painted buntings, bald eagles, herons, egrets, and pelicans throughout the park.

The Nature Center sits right next to the pier

The Nature Center is open daily from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and keeps live animals on display alongside exhibits about the island’s habitats.

Rangers run programs throughout the year, including naturalist walks, beach explorations, and turtle talks during nesting season.

A pond out front, thick with duckweed, draws ducks, fish, and alligators.

If the lighthouse is still closed when you visit, VR headsets at the visitor center let you do a virtual climb of the tower and see what the observation deck looks like from the top.

Take the ferry to an island Ted Turner once owned

St. Phillips Island sits just off Hunting Island and has never been developed. Conservationist Ted Turner bought it in 1979 and kept it that way.

South Carolina purchased the island in 2017, and guided ferry tours began in 2020. The National Park Service designated it a National Natural Landmark in 1986.

The 4,680-acre island has old-growth maritime forest, beaches, and wildlife that includes bobcats, alligators, sea turtles, and roseate spoonbills.

Most visitors never make it over there, which means you probably will have it nearly to yourself.

Camp under live oaks draped in Spanish moss

The campground has 100 sites with water and electrical hookups, plus shower and restroom facilities.

Live oaks draped in Spanish moss shade most of the sites, and complimentary wifi runs across the campground and up to the visitor center.

A track chair is available at no extra cost for visitors with mobility challenges, provided through the Ford Bronco Wild Fund.

Book early, especially for summer. Reservations require a minimum of two nights, and sites fill up fast once spring hits and the loggerheads start coming back.

Visit Hunting Island State Park in South Carolina

You can reach Hunting Island State Park at 2555 Sea Island Parkway in St. Helena Island, South Carolina.

The park is open daily from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., extending to 9 p.m. during Daylight Saving Time. The Nature Center keeps its own hours, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily.

Check the official website before you go for the latest on lighthouse reopening dates, ferry tour reservations for St. Phillips Island, and campsite availability.

Admission fees apply at entry.

This article was created with AI assistance and human editing.

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