Hunting Island State Park

If you love Carolina beaches, but don't like high density development and the crowds they bring, I think you'll enjoy Hunting Island State Park campground.

The good stuff includes shady campsites, a wide beach and loggerhead turtle hatchery. Go out about 50 ft from shore and you'll step on round thingys. These are sand dollars and they are everywhere! Don't keep the live ones. Just pick them up, admire them and send them back home to their families. Within the park is the 150 year old Hunting Island lighthouse. Up until last year you could climb to the top. Hopefully, they'll reopen it one day. Oh, and there are shade trees growing along the beach. Sit in the shade while on the beach. What a novel idea!

The bad stuff is in the early part of the 1900s the site was developed with a boardwalk and sidewalks along the shore. Bad idea. The surf claimed them and you can still see this junk at low tide. There's some parts of the surf that you should avoid because of this.

Water and Electric only. Dump station on premise. The rates were around $20 a night as I recall. We've been twice. Went the last week of July. Got to see two baby sea turtles walk from the nesting area to the surf. Last year we saw one baby sea turtle. Go in August/September to see baby sea turtles.

Hunting Island State Park is about 20 miles southeast of Beaufort, SC.

Scott