Who it suits
Family Activities on Hilton Head Island
Hilton Head Island was planned around families, which is a different thing from being built for children. There are no waterslide towers on the…
8 places
Beaufort County, South Carolina
The island that hid itself under the trees
Twelve miles of Atlantic beach, sixty-odd miles of bike path, bottlenose dolphins resident in the creek behind the marina, and a sign ordinance strict enough that you will drive past your own rental house. Here is how to read the place.
- 60+miles of public leisure path
- 12miles of Atlantic beachfront
- 24golf courses on 42 square miles
- 0billboards, by ordinance
Today
Conditions on the island right now
Air and water temperature, the marine forecast for Calibogue Sound and the Atlantic beach, and today's tide times — which decide more of your plans here than the sky does.
Conditions on Hilton Head Island
83°
Partly cloudy · feels like 91°
TodayHigh 87° · Low 73°
Humidity76%
Wind8 mph SE
Rain4%
Sunrise 7:10 AMSunset 7:20 PM
Near-perfect conditions for dolphin cruises and beach time across Hilton Head today.
Updated
Full forecast and tidesBest time to go outside today
Early morning, 8 AM – 2 PM
Near-perfect conditions for dolphin cruises and beach time across Hilton Head today.
Outdoor comfort88 out of 100 · Excellent
Sweet spot around 8 AM at 75°F.
Updated
On the water
Water85°F
WavesCalm — 1.0 ft
Swell period5.2s
BoatingExcellent
Seas around 1.0 ft with 8 mph of wind — flat enough for small boats and cameras.
SwimmingExcellent
Water at 85°F with 1.0 ft of surf — warm, and calm enough for children.
FishingExcellent
Seas 1.0 ft, wind 8 mph on a 5s swell — offshore is on the table.
Updated
Start here
Start here: the island in ten things
The short list we give friends who have five days and no plan. Beach, boat, bike, marsh and the north end, in the order that actually works around the tide.
Budget
Free Things to Do on Hilton Head Island
Hilton Head is an expensive place to stay and a surprisingly cheap place to spend a day, provided you understand one distinction that most lists…
9 places
Who it suits
Things to Do for Couples on Hilton Head Island
Start with the geography, because it decides almost everything about a couple's weekend here. Hilton Head's twelve miles of developed beach face…
8 places
Things to do
Golf on Hilton Head Island
Hilton Head fits roughly two dozen golf courses into 42 square miles, which tells you most of what you need to know about how the island was…
4 places
Things to do
Nature and Wildlife on Hilton Head Island
Hilton Head is a barrier island that was developed with an unusual instruction: keep the trees. The building-height and sign ordinances that stop…
7 places
Who it suits
Things to Do for Adults on Hilton Head Island
Hilton Head is not a party island and never set out to be. The town's sign and building-height ordinances killed neon and high-rises decades ago…
8 places
Things to do
Bike Rentals on Hilton Head Island
Hilton Head is one of the few American resort destinations where a bicycle genuinely replaces the car. The town maintains more than 60 miles of…
6 places
Who it suits
History and Culture on Hilton Head Island
Most visitors arrive on Hilton Head believing its history begins with golf. It begins with a shell ring in the Sea Pines Forest Preserve that Native…
8 places
Who it suits
Rainy Day Activities on Hilton Head Island
The most useful thing anyone can tell you about rain on Hilton Head is that it usually isn't a day. From roughly June through September the island…
6 places
Things to do
Day Trips from Hilton Head Island
Hilton Head sits in an unusually rich corner of the map. Within an hour of the bridges you have one of America's most photographed historic cities…
4 places
Places
Places worth crossing the bridge for
The lighthouse at Harbour Town, the 4,000-year-old shell ring on Fish Island, the first self-governed town of freed people in the United States, and the rest of the island's real landmarks.
Landmark
Harbour Town Lighthouse
114 steps up a red-and-white tower nobody asked the Coast Guard for, with an island history museum stacked on the landings.
0.5–1 hoursA small per-person admission to climb, on top of the Sea Pines gate pass charged per vehicle at the community entrance.
Nature preserve
Sea Pines Forest Preserve
FreeSix hundred and five acres of trails, lagoons and a 4,000-year-old shell ring — free to walk, once you have paid the Sea Pines gate.
1–3 hoursFree to enter — but non-residents pay the Sea Pines daily gate pass to drive in
Museum
Coastal Discovery Museum at Honey Horn
FreeSixty-eight acres of marsh boardwalk, live oak allee and camellia garden, free to walk, with the island's best interpretation indoors.
1–2.5 hoursFree entry to the museum and the 68-acre grounds. Donations encouraged.
Historic site
Historic Mitchelville Freedom Park
FreeIn 1862, formerly enslaved people founded a town here and governed it themselves. Free to enter, and the most important hour on the island.
1–2 hoursFree. Donations support preservation, interpretation and the ongoing archaeology.
Wildlife
Pinckney Island National Wildlife Refuge
FreeFour thousand free acres on the causeway, wading birds by the hundred at Ibis Pond, and not a restroom or water tap anywhere.
1–4 hoursFree — no entry fee and no parking charge
Marina
Shelter Cove Harbour & Marina
FreeMid-island marina on Broad Creek with summer fireworks every Tuesday, a giant Neptune on the quay, and no gate pass to pay.
1–4 hoursFree to visit and free to park. No gate pass. Boat trips and activities are charged.
Beach
Coligny Beach Park
FreeThe island's busiest access: free parking, real changing rooms, rental chairs, and a lot that is gone by ten in July.
2–6 hoursFree. Parking is free too, year-round, unlike every other Town beach park.
Historic site
Stoney-Baynard Ruins
FreeOyster-shell concrete walls of a cotton planter's house, with the foundations of the quarters that made it possible a few steps away.
20–45 minutesFree at the site. You still pay the Sea Pines gate pass, charged per vehicle, to enter the community.
Book it
Boats that actually leave from near you
Dolphin cruises out of Shelter Cove and Broad Creek, sunset sails on Calibogue Sound, and inshore charters that fish the tide rather than the clock. We note the departure marina on every one, because a 20-minute drive at 5pm is not nothing.
Some links below go to Viator, our booking partner. We earn a commission on bookings made through them — at no extra cost to you, and with no influence on what we recommend.
Editor's Pick
Best all-round dolphin cruise
Why we chose it
The trip we point most visitors at: a 90-minute departure from the Broad Creek or Calibogue side, a captain who narrates the marsh rather than just pointing, and engines dropped into neutral when animals come near. Short enough for young children, long enough to work two creek systems, and priced in the shared-cruise band rather than the charter band.
Kayaking & Canoeing
Guided Kayak Tour of Broad Creek (opens in a new tab)
Editor's PickFree cancellationSmall group
1K reviews
Stable sit-on-top boats, a two-hour paddle with the tide, and dolphins that routinely surface alongside.
2 hours
Saved listing — live prices unavailablePrices checked
from $55
Best for Families
Best for families with small children
Why we chose it
Morning departure, a restroom aboard, shade over most of the seating and discounted child pricing. Ninety minutes is the sweet spot with a three to eight year old, and the protected water inside Broad Creek means no one turns green. Book the earliest slot in summer, before the sea breeze and the afternoon storms build.
Dolphin & Whale Watching
Dolphin Watching Cruise from Shelter Cove Marina (opens in a new tab)
Best for FamiliesFree cancellationLikely to sell out
2.4K reviews
Cruise Broad Creek and Calibogue Sound aboard a covered catamaran while a local captain tracks the island's resident bottlenose dolphins.
1–2 hours
Saved listing — live prices unavailablePrices checked
from $42
Two ways to do this
Joining a departure, or taking the boat yourself
Shared departures carry the most people for the least money. Small-group trips cap the numbers, which costs more per seat and buys you room on the boat and a guide who can answer you. Both are listed here so you can decide which you are buying.
Best value for a group
Dolphin & Whale Watching
Dolphin Watching and Salt Marsh Eco Tour (opens in a new tab)
Best ValueFree cancellationInstant confirmation2.1K reviewsAn easy, affordable introduction to the Lowcountry's tidal ecosystem, narrated the whole way out and back.
1–2 hours
Saved listing — live prices unavailablePrices checked
from $39Usually$45Small group — capped numbers
Dolphin & Whale Watching
Dolphin and Nature Cruise on Calibogue Sound (opens in a new tab)
Small GroupFree cancellationSmall group876 reviewsA naturalist-led run down the Sound toward Daufuskie, with time spent idling wherever the dolphins are feeding.
2 hours
Saved listing — live prices unavailablePrices checked
from $55
More of what is running now
Index
Browse by what you feel like doing
Twenty-five ways into the island, from paddling the Palmetto Dunes lagoon system to a wet afternoon at the Coastal Discovery Museum when the thunderstorm parks over Broad Creek.
Explore
- Things to DoHilton Head does not look like a beach town, and that is the first thing to plan around…
- AttractionsHilton Head's attractions are not scattered at random, and the single most useful thing…
- BeachesTwelve miles of Atlantic shoreline, all of it public. That is the first thing to…
- History & CultureMost visitors arrive on Hilton Head believing its history begins with golf. It begins with…
- Day TripsHilton Head sits in an unusually rich corner of the map. Within an hour of the bridges you…
- ShoppingShopping on Hilton Head looks different from shopping anywhere else because of an…
Tours
- All ToursAlmost everything worth booking on Hilton Head happens on the water, and almost every…
- Dolphin ToursDolphin watching is the island's biggest tour category, and the reason is geography rather…
- Boat ToursHilton Head is a real island, not a spit joined to the mainland, and the quickest way to…
- Fishing ChartersThree completely different days get sold on this island under the same two words. Knowing…
- Sunset CruisesHere is the fact that decides this entire category: Hilton Head's beaches face east. The…
Outdoors
- GolfHilton Head fits roughly two dozen golf courses into 42 square miles, which tells you most…
- Nature & WildlifeHilton Head is a barrier island that was developed with an unusual instruction: keep the…
- Bike RentalsHilton Head is one of the few American resort destinations where a bicycle genuinely…
- Horseback RidingHorseback riding on Hilton Head is a forest activity, not a beach one, and that is the…
- KayakingKayaking here is not really about the boat. It is about the tide, and once you understand…
- Water SportsThe first thing to understand about water sports on Hilton Head is where they happen. On…
Who it suits
- With KidsHilton Head Island was planned around families, which is a different thing from being…
- Free Things to DoHilton Head is an expensive place to stay and a surprisingly cheap place to spend a day…
- For CouplesStart with the geography, because it decides almost everything about a couple's weekend…
- For AdultsHilton Head is not a party island and never set out to be. The town's sign and…
- Rainy DaysThe most useful thing anyone can tell you about rain on Hilton Head is that it usually…
- After DarkSet expectations first, because this is where visitors are most often caught out. Hilton…
Plan
This season
What the island is doing this month
Loggerhead nesting and lights-out from May, the Heritage at Harbour Town in April, the fall redfish run, winter shelling on the north-end flats. The calendar matters more here than in most places.
- FallSeptember – November
- 77°F / 59°FAverage high / low
- SteadyVisitor numbers
- Mid season ratesWhat it costs
September through November is the local answer to the best-time question. The water holds its heat into October, often warmer than it is in May, while the crowds thin after Labor Day and weekly rates drop noticeably from late September. Highs ease from the mid-eighties in September to about seventy in November. Humidity breaks in October, and the no-see-ums calm down after the first cool night.
It is the best inshore fishing of the year. Redfish school in the creeks off Broad Creek and Skull Creek, and bull reds move through Port Royal Sound. Golf conditions are excellent and tee times are easier to get than at any point since winter.
The caveat is weather. September and early October are the busiest part of hurricane season, and a storm two hundred miles offshore can still put dangerous surf and rip currents on the beach for days with clear skies overhead. Sea turtle nesting runs to 31 October, so the lights-out rule still applies.
On in fall
- Redfish and speckled trout schooling in the creeks
- Ocean still swimmable well into October
- Weekly rental rates fall sharply after Labor Day
- Shorebird migration through the north-end flats
- Bike paths and golf courses at their most comfortable
Worth doing in fall
Things to do
Fishing Charters on Hilton Head Island
Three completely different days get sold on this island under the same two words. Knowing which one you are buying is most of the job. Inshore is…
Things to do
Golf on Hilton Head Island
Hilton Head fits roughly two dozen golf courses into 42 square miles, which tells you most of what you need to know about how the island was…
Things to do
Kayaking on Hilton Head Island
Kayaking here is not really about the boat. It is about the tide, and once you understand that, every other decision gets easier. Hilton Head sits…
Who it suits
History and Culture on Hilton Head Island
Most visitors arrive on Hilton Head believing its history begins with golf. It begins with a shell ring in the Sea Pines Forest Preserve that Native…
Who it suits
Things to Do for Couples on Hilton Head Island
Start with the geography, because it decides almost everything about a couple's weekend here. Hilton Head's twelve miles of developed beach face…
Who you are with
Picked for who you brought with you
A family of five in a Palmetto Dunes villa and two people with a Harbour Town dinner reservation are on different islands. These are the lists we would hand each of them.
Travelling with kids
Who it suits
Family Activities on Hilton Head Island
Hilton Head Island was planned around families, which is a different thing from being built for children. There are no waterslide towers on the…
Two of you, long weekend
Who it suits
Things to Do for Couples on Hilton Head Island
Start with the geography, because it decides almost everything about a couple's weekend here. Hilton Head's twelve miles of developed beach face…
Adults, no early alarm
Who it suits
Things to Do for Adults on Hilton Head Island
Hilton Head is not a party island and never set out to be. The town's sign and building-height ordinances killed neon and high-rises decades ago…
Spending nothing
Budget
Free Things to Do on Hilton Head Island
Hilton Head is an expensive place to stay and a surprisingly cheap place to spend a day, provided you understand one distinction that most lists…
Also worth a look
News
Openings, closures and beach notices
New restaurants and tour operators, renourishment closures, ferry timetable changes and storm updates from around Beaufort County. Short items, checked before we post them.
Travel alert
Turnover Saturday: Why US-278 Backs Up Every Summer Afternoon
Checkout is 10, check-in is 4, and everyone tries to cross in between. The fix is arrival timing, not route choice.
Travel alert
Hurricane Season Runs June 1 to November 30. What That Means for a Beach Week
The season is six months long but the real risk clusters August to October. Beaufort County evacuates as a single unit, which changes how you should book.
Beach update
Lifeguards Are Back on the Beach Parks, and the Parking Meters Are Back On Too
Shore Beach Service staffs up from late March and peaks in summer. The Town's paid-parking window opens the same month, with one notable exception.
Beach update
After a Winter Blow, the North End Gives Up Its Shells
Fish Haul Creek and Mitchelville face Port Royal Sound, and a day or two after a winter storm the flats there are the best beachcombing on the island.
Last updated . We date every item so you can tell how old the information is.
Where things are
Every beach access, trailhead and marina on one map
Including which gates want a day pass, where the parking is free, and which boat ramps and kayak launches are usable at low water.
Every place shown on this map is also listed below as a link, grouped by area.
© OpenStreetMap contributors
What the pins mean
- Beach5
- Marina2
- Water feature5
- Nature preserve2
- Park1
- Wildlife1
- Historic site2
- Landmark1
- Museum2
- Neighbourhood3
All 24 places in Hilton Head
Beaches & water12
Parks & outdoors4
- Forest PreserveFree
- Pinckney IslandFree
- Jarvis CreekFree
- Newhall PreserveFree
History & culture5
Town, food & nightlife3
Guides
Longer reads from our editors
Beach-by-beach comparisons, the Gullah Geechee sites worth your morning, how the tide changes a kayak trip, and which of the island's 24 courses will actually take a visitor's tee time.
Guide
Where to Watch the Sunset on Hilton Head Island
FeaturedHilton Head's beaches face east. The ocean side gets the sunrise, and the sunset belongs to the creeks, the sounds and the marsh on the other side of the island. That one fact changes where you should be standing at seven o'clock.
9 min readTom Brantley
Guide
Dolphin Watching on Hilton Head Island
FeaturedThe dolphins here are residents, not migrants, which changes how you plan a sighting. What the tide has to do with it, what a fair price looks like, and where to watch from shore for nothing.
10 min readTom Brantley
Guide
Hilton Head Island with Kids: A Guide by Age Band
FeaturedHilton Head is one of the easiest family beach destinations on the Atlantic coast, mostly because of its bike paths and its flat, wide sand. What changes with your children's ages is the logistics.
9 min readMarisa Delgado
Guide
Three Days on Hilton Head Island: An Hour-by-Hour Itinerary
FeaturedThree days is enough for Hilton Head if you plan around the tide instead of the clock. This itinerary does that, and gives you somewhere dry to go when the afternoon storms build.
8 min readMarisa Delgado
Guide
Gullah Heritage on Hilton Head Island
FeaturedHilton Head has one of the most significant Gullah Geechee communities in the United States, and it is a living one. Where its history happened, who to learn it from, and how to be a decent guest.
10 min readRenée Osei
Guide
A First-Timer's Guide to Hilton Head Island
FeaturedThe island is twelve miles long, gated in places, and deliberately hard to read from the road. Here is how it is organised, what you will actually be charged for, and where to base yourself.
10 min readMarisa Delgado
Last updated . Guides are revisited when prices, hours or access change.
About us
How this guide is written
We live and report in the Lowcountry. We say when something costs money, when a lot fills by ten, when a boat only runs in summer, and when we have not been able to confirm a price. Where we earn a commission on a booking, the link says so.
We are a small editorial team that covers Hilton Head Island and nowhere else on this site. Everything here — the descriptions, the comparisons, the reasons one boat suits a family of six better than another — is written by us. Nothing on this page is an operator’s marketing copy reprinted as if it were ours.
We name what costs money and roughly how much, we say when a car park fills by mid-morning, and we say when a boat only runs between April and October. Where we have not been able to confirm a price or an opening time ourselves, we say that too rather than guessing — hours and fees change seasonally, so check before you travel.
Our news items are assembled from verified sources and are labelled where they were machine drafted; every one is checked against the source before it is published. Our editorial standards page sets out the whole method, including how we correct an error once we know about it.
Last updated — the date an editor last went through this page end to end.
Who writes this
- Marisa DelgadoSenior EditorMarisa has edited Lowcountry travel coverage for a decade and spends part of every summer in a rental off Folly Field Road. She writes the practical pages on this site: parking, passes, bridges and what things cost. She checks the town's ordinances before she checks anyone's marketing.
- Tom BrantleyOutdoors & Water EditorTom guided kayak and fishing trips out of Broad Creek before he wrote about them, and still keeps a tide chart in his head rather than his phone. He covers paddling, boats, beaches and wildlife for us, and he will tell you when the conditions are wrong for the trip you had in mind.
- Renée OseiCulture & History EditorRenée writes about Lowcountry history from archives and from the people who lived it, covering Mitchelville, the island's Gullah Geechee community, the tabby ruins and the shell rings that predate all of them. She checks names and organisations before she prints them, and she points readers to Gullah-owned businesses wherever there is one to point to.
Read the detail
Keep in touch
One email a week: what has opened, what has closed, the week's tide-friendly plans, and which boats still have seats. No more than that.
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