|
Coastal Discovery
Museum
100 William Hilton
Parkway (US 278).
(843) 689-6767
The Coastal Discovery
Museum (at the foot of the Bridge, next to Crazy Crab)
Open year round, call
for special tours & schedules.
Hands-on exploring of
the history, wildlife and heritage of Hilton Head Island.
The Lowcountry's
cultural and environmental heritage is interpreted through interactive
exhibits, tours, walks, cruises, programs and a unique Museum gift shop.
Self Family Arts
Center
15 Shelter Cove Lane,
Hilton Head Island, South Carolina
843 686 3945
Includes an art
gallery and theater for the Hilton Head Playhouse
Shelter Cove
Harbour and Palmetto Dunes
Hilton Head Island,
South Carolina
The following is a
description of one of the “plantations” on Hilton Head Island :
Palmetto Dunes
Plantation is set on a three mile stretch of white sandy beaches. This
makes it ideal for a variety of watersports, including wind-surfing,
sailing and beach cruising. It features three championship golf courses.
The Palmetto Dunes Tennis Center has 25 courts. Convenient bicycle paths
wind through beautiful Palmetto Dunes and Shelter Cove Marina. At
Shelter Cove you will enjoy many boutiques, excellent dining and
spectacular views.
The Beach
Five beach accesses
include Alder Lane, Coligny Beach Park, Driessen Beach Park, Folly Field
Beach Park and Islanders Beach Park.
Sea Pines Forest
Preserve
Sea Pines Plantation,
Hilton Head Island,
South Carolina
Gullah 'n' Geechie
Mahn Tours
847 Sea Island Pkwy.
843/838-7516
tours are at 9:45 and
1:45.
has tours of Beaufort
and sea islands such as St. Helena that focus on the traditions of
African-American culture.
Pinckney Island National Wildlife Refuge
On US 278, 1/2 mile
west of Hilton Head.
Open daily dawn to
dusk.
7.9 mile round trip.
Contains over 4000
acres of salt marsh and small islands. 14 miles of trails for walking
or biking; no cars allowed past the parking lot.
Waddell Mariculture Research and Development Center
On Sawmill Creek Road
about 3 miles west of Hilton Head.
Near the intersection
of 278 and SC46.
The center researches
the cultivation of marketable marine life. Tours of the facility and
ponds by appointment only.
Grove Plantation.
Grove Plantation,
Jebossee Island Rd., Edisto Island
843/889-3084.
Free.
Daily 7:30-4.
This 850,000-acre
area, named for the rivers that bound it (the Ashepoo, Combahee, and
Edisto), is one of the largest, most pristine estuarine ecosystems in
North America. More than 100 bird species, sea turtles, otters, and
other wildlife live here, 17 of which are endangered or threatened,
including the wood stork and loggerhead sea turtle.
Harbour Town Lighthouse
The lighthouse was
constructed by developer Charles Fraser in 1970 and is internationally
recognized as the symbol of Hilton Head.
Audubon-Newhall
Preserve.
Palmetto Bay Rd.,
Hilton Head Island,
843/785-5775.
Free.
Daily dawn-dusk.
Located in the south
of the island, the preserve is 50 acres of pristine forest, where you'll
find native plant life identified and tagged. There are trails, a
self-guided tour, and seasonal plant walks
Edisto Beach State
Park.
843/869-3396
This park has 3 miles
of beach with excellent shelling, housekeeping cabins by the marsh, and
campsites by the ocean (though severe erosion limits availability).
Luxury resort development has begun to encroach around the edges of the
park
Edisto Island
Presbyterian Church.
2164 U.S. 174, Edisto
Island
843/869-2326.
Free.
Grounds and cemetery,
daily 9-5; church usually locked except during services.
Though founded in
1685, the present church dates from 1830. The pink Legare mausoleum at
the back of the cemetery is said to be haunted by the ghost of a young
girl who was inadvertently buried alive in it.
Edisto Museum.
2343 U.S. 174, Edisto
Island,
843/869-1954.
Admission charged.
Tues., Thurs., Sat.
1-4.
This tiny museum
houses artifacts and historical items about the history of Edisto.
Henry C. Chambers
Waterfront Park.
This park, off Bay
Street, is a great place to survey the scene. Barbra Streisand filmed
Prince of Tides here. Its 7 landscaped acres along the Beaufort
River, part of the Intracoastal Waterway, include a seawall promenade, a
crafts market, gardens, and a marina. Some events of the popular
mid-July Beaufort Water Festival, as well as a seasonal farmers' and
crafts market, take place here.
Hilton Head Beaches.
Hilton Head Island has 12 miles of ocean beach, and although the resort
beaches are reserved for guests and residents, there are four public
entrances to the beach. Two main parking and changing areas are at
Coligny Circle, near the Holiday Inn, and on Folly Field Road, off U.S.
278. Signs along U.S. 278 point the way to Bradley and Singleton
beaches, where parking space is limited.
Sea Pines Forest
Preserve.
Hilton Head Island,
accessible via U.S. 278,
843/785-3333.
Sea Pines Plantation
Cost per car for
nonguests, includes access to preserve.
Daily dawn-dusk;
closed during Heritage Golf Classic in Apr.
Sea Pines is a
605-acre public wilderness tract with walking trails, a fishing pond, a
waterfowl pond, and a 3,400-year-old Indian shell ring. Both guided and
self-guided tours are available.
York W. Bailey Museum.
Land's End Rd., St. Helena Island,
843/838-2432.
Donation suggested.
Tues.-Fri. 11-4 and by appointment.
The museum was named after a Penn School graduate, the first
African-American doctor to serve the Sea Islands. The collection
includes photographs, arts, and crafts of the Gullah people, as well as
oral histories.
Animal Life on
Hilton Head Island
Wildlife abounds on
land, in lagoons and in the ocean of Hilton Head Island
Birds:
Sanderlings and
Sandpipers. Egrets are found more often in lagoons and marshes than on
the beach. These are the large, pure white, long legged birds with a
very long thin neck. The Great White Egret is the larger one,
distinguished by a yellow beak. The smaller Snowy Egret has a black
beak. During nesting season both these birds display beautiful, long,
delicate plumes. The huge grayish blue birds similar to Egrets are Great
Blue Herons. They can be seen in lagoons and marshes, but they do come
to the beach at dusk and often remain until nightfall.
The Ibis, often found
on golf courses is identified by a long, curved beak. The Ibis is white
when mature, but the young are mostly brown.
The Wood Stork is
becoming more common on Hilton Head as they lose their habitat in
Florida , due to wetlands drainage. This bird looks all white when
walking, but reveals half black wings (underside) when flying. The Wood
Stork is endangered, with a declining population.
Brown Pelicans glide
gracefully through the air, skimming above the water
The dark colored birds
standing with their wings outstretched are either Anhingas or
Cormorants. Cormorants are more common and can be identified by a hooked
beak, whereas the Anhinga has a straight, pointed beak. They feed by
swimming under water.
The most common bird
on the beach is the Sea Gull. They are scavengers, usually eating dead
things that wash up on the beach.
Hilton Head's inland
birds include songbirds such as the Cardinal, Tufted Titmouse, Mocking
Bird , Sparrow, Chickadee, Woodpecker and Wren. Grackles, a type of
blackbird, are very common and very noisy. The males are an iridescent
black and the females are brown. Ring-necked Turtle Doves are becoming
increasingly common. They are a smoky beige in color, with a black band
at the back of their necks. Finches, Warblers, Hummingbirds various
Ducks and Vireos, among others, are migratory visitors.
Other than the beach,
the best places for bird watching on Hilton Head are the Sea Pines
Forest Preserve and the Audubon Newhall preserve on Palmetto Bay road.
Alligators:
Alligators in Hilton Head can grow to about 12 feet in length.
Turtles:
The turtles sunning themselves on the banks of lagoons are Diamondback
Terrapins. Count the rings on the "diamonds" on it's shell, to tell its
age in years.
The sea turtle you
might see will likely be a Loggerhead. These turtles can grow up to
four feet in length, weighing 400 pounds. Only one Loggerhead egg in
1,000 will result in a hatchling becoming an adult. Loggerhead
hatchlings are guided to the ocean by the reflection of starlight on the
water. The laws that protect Loggerheads provide extremely severe
penalties for anyone who disturbs a nest or interferes with the
hatchlings rush to the sea and also requires lights visible from the
beach to be extinguished or shielded.
Dolphins:
Dolphins are mammals, not fish. Technically, they are "toothed whales"
, with only one blowhole (nostril). Mothers take care of their young
during their first year. They can grow up to 12 feet in length and 800
Lbs. in weight and can swim at speed up to 45 mph. Since Dolphins are
air breathing they are easily spotted when they surface for air.
Dolphins abound in the
waters around Hilton Head. You can see them from the beach or from a
boat. About 200 of the dolphin population is permanent, but many more
are migratory. Many dolphins are friendly to humans and will come up to
a boat out of curiosity.
Zodiac boats hold six
people plus the captain and can go almost anywhere. You are almost
certain to see dolphin when traveling in a zodiac boat.
Crustaceans:
Common crustaceans on Hilton Head are crabs and shrimp. The only edible
crab here is the Blue Crab, which is actually mostly green, except for
the legs. Other crabs are:
Ghost crabs, which
live in holes in the sand above the tide line.
Fiddler crabs are
abundant in the mud flats at low tide, They are smaller than a dime and
live in holes they dig in the mud.
Hermit crabs live in
discarded shells .
Stone crabs are less
common. They can grow up to five inches in width, and are reddish brown
in color.
Horseshoe crabs are
not crabs at all - they are related to spiders. Their large shells, up
to 8 inches across and sometimes including legs and their spiny tail,
are common on the beaches. Horseshoe crabs are fierce looking but
completely harmless to humans.
The shrimp caught in
the waters off Hilton Head are Brown shrimp, Pink shrimp, and White
shrimp.
Side
Trips
There are four main
places of interest to visitors to Hilton Head:
Daufuskie Island
is accessible only by boat, is across Calibogue Sound from Hilton Head.
There are golf courses, condominiums, and gated residential communities,
but the charm lies in the sparsely inhabited areas. Much like Hilton
Head was before the bridge, the roads are unpaved and motor vehicles
are rare. Travel is by foot or by golf cart, except for a few tour
buses.
Savannah, GA
was
recently made famous by the book Midnight in the Garden of Good and
Evil. You can drive (about 50 minutes to downtown) or you can go by
boat (The Spirit of Harbour Town) - the time is about the same. Savannah
has much history and charm. One of the best ways to tour is to take one
of the ''trolley" tours.
The Riverfront is one
of the most recent additions to Savannah. All of the old factories have
been turned into restaurants, boutiques, antique shops, and art
galleries. What was once the least desirable area has become one of the
most popular. The complex can be entered at the river level. Above
this are four levels of shops, etc. At street level one emerges onto
Factors Walk, a cobblestone street with markers at intervals telling the
name of the city and county in which the cobblestones originated in that
section of the walkway.
There are many
excellent narrated tours of the city which describe its architecture and
history.
Beaufort, SC
is about
the same distance in the opposite direction. It has much beauty and
fascinating history. In more modern times it has been the site of
several movies. It is best to tour Beaufort by horse drawn carriage.
Highlights are the lovely antebellum mansions.
Charleston, SC
is about a two hour + drive north There is so much to see and do in
Charleston, and the distance is such that it is probably best to make
that a separate trip in itself rather than trying to append it to a
visit to Hilton Head. |
