Hunting Island State Park

Hunting Island State Park
Hunting Island
Marshes surrounding Hunting Island
Type	state park
Location	Beaufort County, South Carolina (Lowcountry & Sea Islands)
Nearest city	Beaufort
Coordinates	32°21′59″N 80°26′40″W / 32.36639°N 80.44444°W / 32.36639; -80.44444Coordinates: 32°21′59″N 80°26′40″W / 32.36639°N 80.44444°W / 32.36639; -80.44444
Area	5,000 acres (20.2 km²)
Elevation	sea level
Created	1935^[1]
Etymology	"Hunting Islands" map reference (ca. 18th century)
Operated by	South Carolina Department of Parks, Recreation & Tourism
Visitors	1.2 million
Camp sites	Both regular and RV campsites^[2]
Hiking trails	island hike/bike trail (8.0 mi) campground trail (1.0 mi) marsh boardwalk (0.4 mi)
Other information	Admission fees: $5.00 for adults $3.25 for S.C. seniors $3.00 for children ages 6-15 free for children ages 0-5
Website	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, USA. 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. Renowned for its natural beauty, 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 unique beach has been featured in several travel publications and was listed in 2013 as a Top 25 beach in the United States by TripAdvisor.^[3]

The Hunting Island lighthouse from beach

History

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 light 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. Visitors enjoy 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 currently features a rotating light in the tower that is turned on at night.

A campsite at Hunting Island

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 scenes in Forrest Gump were filmed on Hunting Island and neighboring Fripp Island.

The Marsh Boardwalk at Hunting Island

Wildlife

The wildlife includes loggerhead turtles, deer, alligators, raccoons, 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.

Each summer Loggerhead Turtle hatchlings emerge from the sand and walk out to the ocean. Around 60 and 130 nests are laid annually on the beach. A volunteer organization, the friends of hunting island has a permit from the SC Department of Natural Resources to find and protect the nests. Each morning during nesting season, volunteers walk every mile of the beach to help find and protect nests.

Facilities

Hunting Island provides locations for recreational vehicles and tent campers on the northern portion of the island. All but one park's cabins have been destroyed in recent years due to high beach erosion. A 2-mile-long (3.2 km) lagoon is adjacent to a washed-out cabin road and serves as a popular location for fishing.

Hunting Island Visitors Center is located in the middle of the island, overlooking a small lagoon. The center provides general information on the island, and has space for activities and offices for park staff. The center is also connected with Hunting Island's extensive trail system and is a short distance to several beach access points.

The Hunting Island Nature Center features live animals and exhibits about the habitats and history of the park. The center is located at the entrance to the Paradise Pier fishing pier, which juts into the Fripp Inlet between Hunting and Fripp Island.

The lighthouse is open year-round to the public. Visitors are able to climb to the viewing deck of the 136-foot-tall (41 m) tower for a nominal fee.

Hunting Island's 4 miles (6.4 km) of beachfront provide a pristine, natural experience for visitors. Although the beach is heavily eroded towards the southern end of the island, ample shore remains in the central section and in the campground areas towards the north end.

The state park also features several trails for hiking and biking, including a 6.1-mile (9.8 km) loop trail that cuts through the maritime forest and along the lagoon. The trail also connects to the Marsh Boardwalk, a popular stop for photographers. A short 5-minute walk leads visitors across a section of marsh onto a hammock and towards a deck along a tidal creek.

References

↑ "Introduction".
↑ "Camping at Hunting Island State Park". 31 January 2013.
↑ http://www.tripadvisor.com/TravelersChoice-Beaches-cTop-g191#14

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Hunting Island State Park.

State Parks of South Carolina

Upstate	Caesars Head Croft Devils Fork Jones Gap Keowee-Toxaway Kings Mountain Lake Hartwell Musgrove Mill Oconee Oconee Station Paris Mountain Rose Hill Plantation Sadlers Creek Table Rock

Midlands	Aiken Andrew Jackson Baker Creek Barnwell Calhoun Falls Cheraw Chester Dreher Island Goodale H. Cooper Black Jr. Hamilton Branch Hickory Knob Lake Greenwood Lake Wateree Landsford Canal Lee Poinsett Redcliffe Plantation Rivers Bridge Santee Sesquicentennial

Coastal	Charles Towne Landing Colleton Colonial Dorchester Edisto Beach Givhans Ferry Hampton Plantation Huntington Beach Hunting Island Lake Warren Little Pee Dee Myrtle Beach Woods Bay

The Lowcountry of South Carolina

Counties	Beaufort County Colleton County Hampton County Jasper County Charleston region

Major communities	Beaufort Bluffton Estill Hampton Hardeeville Hilton Head Island Port Royal Ridgeland Sun City Walterboro Varnville Yemassee

Sea Islands	Daufuskie Island Edisto Island Fripp Island Harbor Island Hilton Head Island Hunting Island Lady's Island Port Royal Island St. Helena Island

History & culture	Historic places Beaufort history of historic district Cuisine Gullah culture Port Royal Experiment Sea Islands Hurricane

Military installations	Laurel Bay MCAS Beaufort MCRD Parris Island Beaufort Naval Hospital

Natural areas	ACE Basin Pinckney Island NWR Savannah NWR Sea Islands State parks Colleton Hunting Island Lake Warren

Other articles	BJWSA Hargray Sea Pines TCL USC-Beaufort RBC Heritage

Protected areas of South Carolina

Federal

National Parks	Congaree

National Historic Sites and Monuments	Charles Pinckney NHS Fort Sumter NM Ninety Six NHS

National Military Parks and Battlefields	Cowpens NB Kings Mountain NMP

National Historic Trail	Overmountain Victory

National Forests	Francis Marion Sumter

National Wildlife Refuges	Cape Romain Carolina Sandhills Ernest F. Hollings ACE Basin Pinckney Island Santee Savannah Tybee Waccamaw

National Estuarine Research Reserves	Ashepoo Combahee Edisto Basin North Inlet-Winyah Bay

Wilderness Areas	Cape Romain Congaree Ellicott Rock Hell Hole Bay Little Wambaw Swamp Wambaw Creek Wambaw Swamp

Wild and Scenic River	Chattooga River

State

State Parks	Andrew Jackson Baker Creek Barnwell Caesars Head Cheraw Chester Colleton Devils Fork Edisto Beach Givhans Ferry Goodale Hickory Knob Hunting Island Huntington Beach Jones Gap Kings Mountain Lake Warren Landsford Canal Lee Little Pee Dee Myrtle Beach Oconee Paris Mountain Poinsett Santee Sesquicentennial Table Rock

State Historic Sites	Charles Towne Landing Colonial Dorchester Hampton Plantation Musgrove Mill Oconee Station Redcliffe Plantation Rivers Bridge Rose Hill Plantation

State Recreation Areas	Calhoun Falls Dreher Island Hamilton Branch Lake Greenwood Lake Hartwell Lake Wateree Sadlers Creek

State Natural Areas	Aiken Croft Keowee-Toxaway Lee

State Forests	Harbison Manchester Poe Creek Sand Hills Wee Tee

Wildlife Management Areas	Bear Island Belfast Bonneau Ferry Campbell's Crossroads Crackerneck Donnelley Draper Edisto River Fant's Grove Gray Court Hickory Top James Ross Jim Timmerman Keowee Mason McBee McConnells Tract Palachucola Pee Dee Samworth Santee-Delta Thurmond Turkey Creek Turtle Island Webb Woodbury Worth Mountain

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Saturday, April 02, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.