GOING TO THE BEACH!
The beaches on Hilton Head Island rank among the most beautiful in the world, according to Travel and Leisure Magazine. Hilton Head boasts 12 miles of ocean beach, plus additional stretches of beach facing Port Royal and Calibogue Sounds. The sand of our ocean beaches (except just below the dunes) is very firm, providing an excellent surface for walking, jogging, games of many types and even biking. Most of Hilton Head's ocean beaches are backed by natural dunes. Many also are lined by towering pines, live oaks and palmetto trees. At low tide, almost all of our beaches are very wide. Even at high tide, most still remain wide enough for most beach activities except, perhaps, for bicycling. Bikes travel best on the hard-packed portion of the beach covered by water at high tide.
Clams, mole crabs and a variety of miniature sand dwellers hide beneath the surface of our beach, filtering sea water for sustenance and waiting to be food for the shore birds that abundantly populate our coastal island. Sand Pipers, with their fast feet and short beaks, feed on one level of the subterranean creatures, while the Sanderling with its longer beak reaches to a layer below. Loggerhead turtles, an endangered species, come to shore during the summer months to bury their eggs in the soft sand. Late night visits to the beach may provide a view of one of these rare animals, which weigh around 200 pounds.
When you are at the beach, please do not walk on the dunes or pull bikes across them. Dunes are remarkably fragile, and even seemingly modest wear can be the start of wind or water erosion. There are plenty of boardwalks or other commonly used access points that make starting one of your own unnecessary. Similarly, please do not pick the sea oats or other beach vegetation. They are very attractive if left undisturbed, and are important to the preservation of the dunes.
Beaches in South Carolina all are public property (technically, to the high water mark), so beach-goers may walk as far along a beach in either direction as they wish. However, most land bordering Hilton Head's beaches is private property...which can be crossed only with permission.
Hilton Head beaches generally are quite safe, although there sometimes is a noticeable undertow at the north island beaches if the weather and tidal conditions are right. There are lifeguards at all of the beaches listed here during the swimming season. Umbrellas, chairs and various forms of water-oriented sports equipment are available for rent.
Many Island beaches are easily reached by the general public. However, for some access is intended only for owners of immediately adjacent property, and for guests staying in those properties.
Alcohol Is Banned!
Alcoholic beverages of all types are prohibited on Hilton Head's beaches. The ban is intended to make Hilton Head's practices consistent with those on most other East Coast beaches, and to help preserve the pleasant family oriented nature of our beaches. If you are accustomed to having a beer or other alcoholic beverage on the beach, please obey the law...and avoid taking a chance of having your day ruined by a fine or even less pleasant penalty!
Other Beach Regulations
No Vehicles
No Anchoring Motorized Watercraft
No Sand-sailing, 9:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m., Memorial Day Weekend-labor Day Weekend.
No Glassware
No Sleeping On The Beach After Midnight
No Animals, 10:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m., Memorial Day Weekend-Labor Day Weekend. No Animals At Any Hour In Designated Swimming Areas.
Don't Disturb Sea Turtles
No Fireworks
No Indecent Exposure
No Disorderly Conduct
No Commercial Activity In Designated Swimming Areas:
No Fishing Or Surf Casting
No Use Of Surf Boards Or Similar Objects
No Frisbees and/or Other Team Sports Involving A Ball
No Recreational Games With Metal Components, Such As Metal Horse shoes.
Sea Pines Beaches (limited access)
Sea Pines Plantation beaches are broad and usable at either high or low tide. They are especially untouched in the South Beach area.
Access to beaches on Sea Pines Plantation is limited largely to property owners and visitors with accommodations on the plantation. All plantation property owners, residents and overnight visitors may reach the beach at the Sea Pines Beach Club where there is ample parking.
There also are numerous beachwalk access points on Sea Pines for residents and visitors in a position to walk to the beach. Parking is not available near most beachwalks. The Tower Beach Club, in the South Beach area, provides access and parking for property owners.
North and South Forest Beach (both public and limited access)
The public beach immediately adjacent to Coligny Circle and the Holiday Inn probably is the most frequently used beach on Hilton Head.
All on-street parking close to the beach, including in and around Coligny Circle, is prohibited. However, there is a large town parking lot opposite the Holiday Inn, behind Smokehouse Restaurant. The entrance is from Pope Avenue, directly across from Lagoon Road. There is a $4.00 daily fee for parking before 2:00 p.m., a $2.00 fee for parking after 2:00 pm and, usually, no charge after 4:00 pm. Save your receipt for re-entry. Parking costs $.25 per quarter hour at metered spaces.
There also are approximately 30 short-term metered parking spaces just off Coligny Circle, adjacent to the Holiday Inn. There is a charge of $.25 for each 15 minutes. There is a maximum of two hours on the meters, after which more money is required. This parking area is intended for people who wish to take a stroll on the beach or who have other short-term parking needs.
The Beach Park adjacent to Coligny Circle includes attractive landscaping and a beach pavilion. There are public rest rooms, a public changing area, water fountains, showers for sand removal, a sheriff's sub-station building, bike racks, telephones and vending machines. There also is a drop-off area where beach-goers may be dropped off with whatever they wish to carry to the beach before the driver proceeds to the town lot or elsewhere.
If the town parking facilities are full, some alternatives are to find a place to park in a non-posted area further away from the beach or to go to the North Island Beaches.
The town government is quite serious about enforcing its parking regulations. All violators will be subject to ticketing, having a "boot" placed on one of their wheels or towing.
The beach south of Coligny Circle is a limited access beach, with access available to property owners and visitors staying in hotels, motels and condominiums in the area. The beach is broad and very attractive.
In general, the number of people on the beach declines as one walks north or south from Coligny Circle and the Holiday Inn. If you like to have relatively few people share the beach with you, find an access point somewhere near the Marriott Grande Ocean Resort and walk south. One such access point is Alder Lane, just south of the Marriott Resort. There 23 metered spaces available at Location two, on Woodward Drive (across South Forest Beach Drive from the Marriott Grande Ocean Resort). On-street parking is prohibited in nearby areas. Beach-goers must be dropped off and park cars elsewhere if a metered space is not available. The beach area that is to the immediate north of Coligny Circle is of the ulimited access variety.
Shipyard Beach (limited access)
The beach where Shipyard Plantation and the Crowne Plaza Resort have ocean frontage and immediately north opposite the southern part of Palmetto Dunes is accessible to property owners and guests staying in nearby accommodations. Access to the beach on Shipyard Plantation is limited to property owners and visitors with accommodations on the plantation. On Shipyard Plantation, follow Shipyard Drive all the way to its ocean end, where a substantial number of parking spaces may be found.
Palmetto Dunes Resort (limited access)
There are numerous neighborhood beach access points north and south of the Marriott Beach & Golf Resort, which are available to Palmetto Dunes property owners and guests staying in nearby accommodations. Access to these beaches is limited largely to property owners and visitors with Palmetto Dunes accommodations.
North Island Beaches (public access)
Singleton Beach, Burkes Beach, Driessen Beach and Folly Field/Starfish Beach all are accessible to the public. The beach park at Driessen Beach is relatively new. It has 212 parking spaces, rest rooms, vending machines, etc. There is a parking charge. The beaches are broad, and flanked by sand dunes. Except for the area at the entrance to Folly Field/Starfish Beach, overcrowding normally has not been a problem. Even on major holidays, just a short walk north or south probably will lead to satisfactorily few people immediately nearby. The limited access beaches of Palmetto Dunes Resort and Port Royal Plantation are within walking distance for those who enjoy a pleasant, leisurely stroll, although you might find them to be a bit far for carrying all your beach equipment.
There also are rest room and other public facilities, plus 52 metered spaces, in the Folly Field Beach area. Parking is forbidden by the sides of streets where there are no meters. There is a limited number of additional spaces to park ê both at Burkes Beach and at Singleton Beach.
Most people probably would find the Driessen Beach and Folly Field Beach to be the better of the four north island alternatives. Substantially more people traditionally have chosen the Folly Field Beach than any of the other North Island Beaches. Finally, a word of caution. Areas in and near mud flats and salt marsh can be very soft, with the result that an unwary walker can sink into mud that can be as much (we are told) as a couple of feet or more deep. So, please do exercise caution near salt marsh and mud flats. Mud flats typically are found on the immediate coastline NOT bordering the ocean (such as on Port Royal and Calibogue Sounds), and also around some streams and inlets. However, to the best of our knowledge, we believe there are no mud flats present near any of the oceanfront beaches.
