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Hunting Island State Park
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Hunting Island State Park
Hunting Island is a 5,000-acre (20 km2) secluded semitropical barrier island located 15 miles (24 km) east of Beaufort, South Carolina, United States in between Harbor Island and Fripp Island. Since 1935, it has been classified as a state park. It is the most-visited state park facility in South Carolina and is a part of the ACE Basin estuarine reserve area. Known for its natural environment, the island remains one of the few remaining undeveloped Sea Islands in the Lowcountry. The park is known for its 19th century lighthouse which bears its name. The park's beach has been featured in several travel publications and was listed in 2013 as a Top 25 beach in the United States by TripAdvisor.
Hunting Island retains its colonial designation of the "Hunting Islands," which served as hunting preserves for Lowcountry planters and elite in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Hunting Island Lighthouse was constructed in the 1850s and soon thereafter destroyed by Confederate forces in the early days of the Civil War. Ten years after the Civil War ended the lighthouse was rebuilt, and later relocated to its current position. The 1893 Sea Islands hurricane swept Hunting Island and other nearby Sea Islands clean, but the lighthouse survived.
In the 1930s, the island was developed into a state park by the Civilian Conservation Corps as bridges were constructed to connect the outer Sea Islands with Beaufort. Thanks to limited human development, the island remains a preserve for its abundant wildlife. There are more than 4 miles (6.4 km) of beach, a dense maritime forest in the interior areas, and an extensive saltwater marsh on the western side. The most notable attraction is the 19th-century lighthouse, listed on the National Register of Historic Places. While not operational, the lighthouse tower features a rotating light in the tower that is turned on at night.
The southern terminus of U.S. Route 21 has been on Hunting Island since 1953. US 21 extended to the south end of the island until about 1980, when erosion destroyed a portion of the highway, forcing the state to create a new entrance to the park and a set of one-lane roads through the palmetto forest. US 21 now ends at the point where it formerly veered east toward the lighthouse.
Since 1980, Hunting Island has suffered major beach erosion as a result of heavy tides from the confluence of the Atlantic Ocean and Saint Helena Sound, and is expected to shrink in size by ten per cent over the next forty years. At times there is ride-able surf on the island, which is best three hours before high tide due to the large continental shelf effect on incoming waves.
In 1993, most of the Vietnam War scenes in Forrest Gump were filmed on Hunting Island and neighboring Fripp Island. Sequences from 1997's G.I. Jane were also filmed in forests on the island.
In 2017, South Carolina purchased St. Phillips Island from Ted Turner, which is now operated as part of Hunting Island State Park, with a regular ferry to take tours of the island.
The wildlife includes loggerhead turtles, deer, alligators, raccoons, minks, diamondback rattlesnakes, and hundreds of species of birds. The island has an abundance of herons and egrets, as well as summertime sightings of the painted bunting. The interior lagoon (which was created by sand dredging in 1968) has become naturalized and home to such species as seahorses and barracuda.
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Hunting Island State Park
Hunting Island is a 5,000-acre (20 km2) secluded semitropical barrier island located 15 miles (24 km) east of Beaufort, South Carolina, United States in between Harbor Island and Fripp Island. Since 1935, it has been classified as a state park. It is the most-visited state park facility in South Carolina and is a part of the ACE Basin estuarine reserve area. Known for its natural environment, the island remains one of the few remaining undeveloped Sea Islands in the Lowcountry. The park is known for its 19th century lighthouse which bears its name. The park's beach has been featured in several travel publications and was listed in 2013 as a Top 25 beach in the United States by TripAdvisor.
Hunting Island retains its colonial designation of the "Hunting Islands," which served as hunting preserves for Lowcountry planters and elite in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Hunting Island Lighthouse was constructed in the 1850s and soon thereafter destroyed by Confederate forces in the early days of the Civil War. Ten years after the Civil War ended the lighthouse was rebuilt, and later relocated to its current position. The 1893 Sea Islands hurricane swept Hunting Island and other nearby Sea Islands clean, but the lighthouse survived.
In the 1930s, the island was developed into a state park by the Civilian Conservation Corps as bridges were constructed to connect the outer Sea Islands with Beaufort. Thanks to limited human development, the island remains a preserve for its abundant wildlife. There are more than 4 miles (6.4 km) of beach, a dense maritime forest in the interior areas, and an extensive saltwater marsh on the western side. The most notable attraction is the 19th-century lighthouse, listed on the National Register of Historic Places. While not operational, the lighthouse tower features a rotating light in the tower that is turned on at night.
The southern terminus of U.S. Route 21 has been on Hunting Island since 1953. US 21 extended to the south end of the island until about 1980, when erosion destroyed a portion of the highway, forcing the state to create a new entrance to the park and a set of one-lane roads through the palmetto forest. US 21 now ends at the point where it formerly veered east toward the lighthouse.
Since 1980, Hunting Island has suffered major beach erosion as a result of heavy tides from the confluence of the Atlantic Ocean and Saint Helena Sound, and is expected to shrink in size by ten per cent over the next forty years. At times there is ride-able surf on the island, which is best three hours before high tide due to the large continental shelf effect on incoming waves.
In 1993, most of the Vietnam War scenes in Forrest Gump were filmed on Hunting Island and neighboring Fripp Island. Sequences from 1997's G.I. Jane were also filmed in forests on the island.
In 2017, South Carolina purchased St. Phillips Island from Ted Turner, which is now operated as part of Hunting Island State Park, with a regular ferry to take tours of the island.
The wildlife includes loggerhead turtles, deer, alligators, raccoons, minks, diamondback rattlesnakes, and hundreds of species of birds. The island has an abundance of herons and egrets, as well as summertime sightings of the painted bunting. The interior lagoon (which was created by sand dredging in 1968) has become naturalized and home to such species as seahorses and barracuda.
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