Are you looking for the best ways to make the end of your summer special?
Try exploring the Lowcountry communities before school is in session.
Visit these 12 attractions and experiences around the Hilton Head area and South Carolina Lowcountry before fall this year.
Meet a mermaid or become one yourself
Hang out with the Mermaid of Hilton Head or even become a mermaid yourself! Grab your family and embark on the mermaid encounter tour. This 75-minute tour provides children with tattoos and magic name tags that grow wildflowers if planted, bubble wands, an opportunity to meet a mermaid, a restroom aboard a cover boat and other opportunities throughout the tour.
For more mermaid fun, travel to the Mermaid of Hilton Head retail store, located at Tanger 2 Outlets, or become a mermaid with a special mermaid experience and professional photo shoot. Both children and adults can become a mermaid and may choose between options such as the beach at sunset, an indoor beach experience or a bachelorette experience.
Nina Leipold dresses as a mermaid and gives tours of Hilton Head Island. Rick Leipold Island Life HH Photography
Visit the Angel Oak
Although not in the Hilton Head area but still in the Lowcountry, take a day trip to the Angel Oak Tree on Johns Island. If you want to explore a bit north of the island, it’s only an approximately 2-hour drive from Hilton Head.
The Angel Oak Tree, located on Johns Island, is at least 400 to 500 years old. The State file photo
The Angel Oak Tree is 65 feet high with a circumference of 25.5 feet, shading an area of 17,000 square feet, and is a hot commodity as the destination receives approximately 400,000 visitors each year, according to the City of Charleston’s official website.
The legendary Angel Oak Tree spans more than 17,000 square feet. Laurie Larsh CharlotteFive
This tree is considered to be the largest Live Oak Tree found east of the Mississippi River and is estimated to be approximately 300 to 400 years old.
Angel Oak Tree Park can be found at 3688 Angel Oak Road on Johns Island and is open Monday through Saturday from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. and Sundays from 1-5 p.m.
Charles Fraser Statue
Placed just off the side of the road, you may have noticed this sight without ever giving it much thought.
Located on the south end of the island on Pope Avenue nearly halfway to Coligny Plaza, this hidden statue is a token toward part of the island’s history, especially to the Sea Pines resort community.
Drew Martin dmartin@islandpacket.com
Charles Fraser, the man behind much of Hilton Head Island’s story, advocated to keep the island’s flora and fauna to preserve the natural beauty of Hilton Head as he worked to develop the resort destination.
Delayna Earley dearley@islandpacket.com
A statue of Fraser walking beside an alligator can be found in Compass Rose Park, which is a small, quiet park dedicated to remembering the island’s unique history. It includes art, water features and covered plazas.
From left, Jennifer Pavelka and Janice Tuozzo photograph Jennifer’s son, Jack, 6, as he poses on the statue of Charles Frasier walking with an alligator at Compass Rose Park on Pope Avenue on Monday. The visitors from New York, who were taking a break from biking along Pope Avenue, said they were impressed with the park, which is one of many improvements the town has made in recent years in the Pope Avenue, Palmetto Bay Road, Dunnagans Alley and Arrow Road areas.
Hilton Head Island Rear Range Lighthouse
Also known as the Leamington Lighthouse, the Hilton Head Island Rear Range Lighthouse is located in the Leamington community of the Palmetto Dunes Resort on Hilton Head Island. This lighthouse can be entered through Palmetto Dunes, is free to visit and can be found between the 5th and 15th greens of the Arthur Hills Golf Course. For your visit, it’s important to note that passes are not given after 5 p.m. and motorcycles are not allowed in Palmetto Dunes.
Edward C. Robison III Submitted to The Island Packet
The inside of this lighthouse is no longer open to the public. However, it is featured on the National Register of Historic Places and is part of the Inventory of Historic Light Stations. Additionally, visitors can get their U.S. Lighthouse Society Passport Book stamped at three different nearby locations. These include the Arthur Hills Pro Shop, Palmetto Dunes General Store and the Palmetto Dunes Welcome Center.
This lighthouse is considered to be “the one true lighthouse” of Hilton Head Island, according to the lighthouse’s website, the only historic lighthouse of Hilton Head and one of only a handful of surviving lighthouses in the state of South Carolina.
Thomas J. Calanni Submitted to The Island Packet
However, at the moment, the lighthouse is currently closed to visitors due to a golf course project, but is expected to reopen on Aug. 27.
Edward C. Robison III Submitted to The Island Packet
Go horseback riding under live oaks
Take your family, friends or other half horseback riding through the island’s south end with Lawton Stables. The beloved stable has been named as a ‘must do’ on Hilton Head by many and is a place the entire family can enjoy. Lawton Stables’ trail rides allow guests to fully immerse themselves in the Lowcountry environment as they make their way through trails in over 600 acres of the Sea Pines Forest Preserve.
A group of horses and riders crossing Greenwood Drive on Monday are reflected in a lagoon as they return to Lawton Stables following a trail ride through the Sea Pines Forest Preserve. Jay Karr
Pony rides are available for children aged 7 and under and there is a free animal farm with several small animals to feed and for everyone to enjoy.
The Audubon Newhall Preserve is a great place to observe and be surrounded by nature in a less populated area of the island.
The preserve is open daily from sunrise to sunset and has free guided tours led by a Master Birder every Tuesday morning at 8:30 a.m. No reservations are required in advance. Parking is available to the public and the preserve is dog-friendly as long as pets remain leashed and are picked up after.
Matt Richardson Special to The Bluffton Packet
The Audubon Newhall Preserve is a 50-acre nature preserve with over 140 recorded bird species on the south end of the island with interconnected trails that add up to around a mile total with wide paths and an observation deck.
The preserve is located at 55 Palmetto Bay Road, which can be found on the south end of Hilton Head Island. It is owned and operated by the Hilton Head Island Audubon Society.
Matt Richardson Special to The Bluffton Packet
Have a pirate day
Become a pirate by spending the day with Pirates of Hilton Head. Join them on the island’s first and only custom pirate ship as your kids will become part of a pirate crew throughout the entirety of your journey. Everyone on board will get their own pirate name, learn how to talk like a pirate and search for treasure on the Hilton Head Pirate Cruise. The 1.5 hour cruise has a $39 admission and $10 admission for infants.
If you’re looking to continue your pirate’s way of life, continue your journey to Pirate’s Island Adventure Golf of Hilton Head to follow in the footsteps of the pirates Blackbeard and Captain Kidd as you read along to their stories while engaging in an immersive miniature golf experience. During each of the pirate’s courses, you’ll get to climb a mountain or explore hidden caves.
Pirate’s Island Adventure Golf of Hilton Head is located at 8 Marina Side Drive from 9 a.m. until 10 p.m. daily.
Pirate’s Island Adventure Golf of Hilton Head is located at 8 Marina Side Drive from 9 a.m. until 10 p.m. daily. Sarah Claire McDonald
Gullah Heritage Trail Tours
Hilton Head Island’s Gullah Heritage Trail Tours was founded in 1996 by a Gullah Family Partnership on Hilton Head Island. Since then, the “family has been involved in preserving Gullah cultural heritage, blending Gullah cultural values in the SC-GA Low Country, for more than 40 years,” states the company’s website.
Based on the island, Gullah Heritage Trail Tours aims to cater to visitors and locals in the Lowcountry who have an interest in learning more about the history of Gullah culture in the surrounding area. This company gives guests the opportunity to learn more about the rich history and add an important learning element to their vacation or aid a curiosity in the deeper history of the Lowcountry. The pick-up location for tours can be found at 70 Honey Horn Drive, Hilton Head Island, SC on the north end of the island.
Stoney-Baynard Ruins
The Stoney-Baynard ruins on Hilton Head’s south end is a sight to see for any history buff scouring the area. Located in the resort community of Sea Pines, visitors can still see bits of the old home to this day.
The remains of the main house at the Stoney-Baynard Ruins in Sea Pines on Hilton Head Island. The ruins are what remains of the mansion at what was once called Braddock Point Plantation. They can be found off of Plantation Drive. Sarah Claire McDonald smcdonald@islandpacket.com
The mansion was once used as quarters for Federal forces and was later burned down, allegedly by Confederate arsonists, and the mansion’s tabby foundation, a corner wall, and the foundations of other outbuildings are what remain. These ruins are listed on the National Register of Historic Places list.
The entrance to the Stoney-Baynard Ruins can be found at the south end of Hilton Head Island in Sea Pines off of Plantation Drive. Sarah Claire McDonald smcdonald@islandpacket.com
Today, the ruins are located off of Plantation Drive in Sea Pines. Baynard Ruins Park is on the right just after passing Baynard Cove Road and Marsh Drive.
The first placard of many at the Stoney-Baynard Ruins in Sea Pines on Hilton Head Island that provide detailed information on the historic site that is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Sarah Claire McDonald smcdonald@islandpacket.com
Historic Mitchelville Freedom Park
Historic Mitchelville Freedom Park, located on Hilton Head Island’s north end at 40 Harriet Tubman Way, is a place of historical significance and is the location of the first freedmen community established during the Civil War.
Jay Karr jkarr@islandpacket.com
The park features interpretive signs for visitors to learn from as well as beach access, walking trails, an observation gazebo, historic exhibits and a picnic pavilion. In addition, the island’s Historic Mitchelville Freedom Park is one of 26 sites in the state of South Carolina that is recognized on the Reconstruction Era National Historic Network.
Visitors may go on a self-guided tour of the land or a private tour on select dates and several programs and events take place in the area.
Drew Martin dmartin@islandpacket.com
Sea Pines Forest Preserve
Located within the Sea Pines community on the south end of Hilton Head Island, the forest preserve may come as a surprise to many who view the island’s southernmost end as a shopping, dining and golfing destination nestled throughout winding neighborhoods and between the South Beach Marina and Harbour Town.
Guy Tucker Submitted
The preserve has been a protected area for wildlife, their inhabitants and guests to explore the outdoors since 1970 and encompasses 605 acres of natural flora and fauna. The Sea Pines Forest Preserve includes boardwalks over wetlands, pathways suitable for horseback riding, fishing docks and bridges.
The preserve is open from sunrise to sunset. Guests looking to explore the area will have to pay a $9 gate fee into Sea Pines, unless they hold a resident or guest pass.
Staff photo
Take a helicopter ride
Want to see a bird’s eye view of Hilton Head Island? Travel high in the sky with Hilton Head Helicopters and view the island from the clouds. The company offers nine different tours that will certainly make for a thrilling memory for years to come. Budget-friendly options are also featured, such as the “Ocean View” tour that begins at just $39 per person.
Many tours will take you over different parts of the island, but other options are available as well. These options include tours that will take you over Old Town Bluffton, remote islands and downtown Savannah or a remote island populated by over 3,000 monkeys.
To view available tours, get more information or book your flight time, interested parties may call 843-505-7182, email reservations@flyhhi.com or go online at https://www.flyhhi.com/helicopter-tours/.
Sarah Claire McDonald worked as a Service Journalism Reporter for The Island Packet and Beaufort Gazette. She specialized in writing audience-focused, unique, spotlight stories about people, places and occurrences in the Lowcountry. Originally from the Midwest, Sarah Claire studied news media, communications and English at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, where she graduated in 2021.
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