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Hunting Island State Park, Beaufort, SC

Photo: Cdamgen at English Wikipedia ., Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons. Cropped and resized.

Sport & OutdoorOutdoor AdventureFamily FavoriteHistory Buff

Hunting Island State Park

2555 Sea Island Parkway · Beaufort, SC

Why you should go…

Hunting Island is a semitropical barrier island east of Beaufort, kept largely undeveloped as a state park since 1935. You can climb 167 steps to the top of its lighthouse, the only publicly accessible lighthouse in South Carolina, built with cast-iron sections so it could be moved. Below, five miles of beach, a fishing pier, a nature center, marsh trails and a saltwater lagoon fill out the day.

  • #state park
  • #lighthouse
  • #beach
  • #hiking
  • #barrier island

Good to know

General sport & outdoor guidance

Habits that pay off across this whole category, not rules for this one venue. Always check the official site for the specifics.

  • Weather calls the shots

    Check the forecast the morning of and keep an indoor backup in your pocket for the day it turns.

  • Shoes, water, sun cover

    The three things that decide whether you last the whole outing or cut it short after an hour.

  • Parking and launches fill early

    On a nice weekend, lots and trailheads are often full by mid-morning.

  • Daylight shrinks in shoulder season

    Spring and fall visits need an earlier start than the same trip in July.

What's around here?

The closest stops to Hunting Island State Park, ordered by straight-line distance. A few more like it, plus some different kinds of fun so you can build a full day.

  • Sightseeing
    Family Favorite

    Harbour Town Lighthouse

    Under $25

    Climb 114 steps up the red-and-white striped lighthouse for views over the Harbour Town yacht basin.

    27 mi awaySwitch it up: Sightseeing

  • Sport & Outdoor
    Free

    Angel Oak

    Free

    Stand beneath a centuries-old Southern live oak whose massive limbs dip to the ground and rise again in a small city park.

    32 mi awayMore like this

  • Sightseeing
    History Buff

    Drayton Hall

    $25–$50

    Tour an 18th-century Palladian plantation house on the Ashley River, then explore its grounds, gallery and cemetery.

    41 mi awaySwitch it up: Sightseeing

  • Sightseeing
    Iconic

    The Battery

    Free

    Stroll the harbor seawall promenade past antebellum mansions to the oaks and cannons of White Point Garden.

    41 mi awaySwitch it up: Sightseeing

  • Sightseeing
    History Buff

    Middleton Place

    $25–$50

    Stroll the oldest landscaped gardens in the United States, tour the house museum and visit the stableyards on the Ashley River.

    41 mi awaySwitch it up: Sightseeing

  • Sightseeing
    History Buff

    Magnolia Plantation and Gardens

    $25–$50

    Walk centuries-old gardens of azaleas, camellias and live oaks along the Ashley River, then tour the house.

    41 mi awaySwitch it up: Sightseeing