Sights

Contrary to what many think, there are actually quite a few things to do on Hilton Head [1] that don’t involve swinging a club at a little white ball or shopping for designer labels, but instead celebrate the area’s rich history and natural setting. The following are some of those attractions, arranged in geographical order from where you first access the island.

• Pinckney Island National Wildlife Refuge [2]
• Coastal Discovery Museum [3]
• Green’s Shell Enclosure [4]
• Union Cemetery [5]
• Fort Mitchel and Mitchelville [6]
• Zion Chapel of Ease Cemetery [7]
• Audubon-Newhall Preserve [8]
• Harbour Town [9]
• Stoney-Baynard Ruins [10]
• Sea Pines Forest Preserve [11]

Orientation

Hilton Head Islanders have long referred to their island as the “shoe” (and speak of driving to the toe, going to the heel, etc.). If you take a look at a map, you’ll see why. Hilton Head bears an uncanny resemblance to a running shoe in action pointed toward the southeast, with the aptly named Broad Creek forming a near facsimile of the Nike “swoosh” symbol.

Running the length and circumference of the shoe is the undisputed main drag, U.S. 278 Business (William Hilton Parkway), which crosses onto Hilton Head right at the “tongue” of the shoe, a relatively undeveloped area where there are still a few old African American communities. The new Cross Island Parkway toll route (U.S. 278), beginning up toward the ankle as you first get on the island, is a quicker, much more convenient route straight to the toe near Sea Pines.

While it is technically the business spur, when locals say “278” they’re talking about the William Hilton Parkway. It takes you the entire sole of the shoe, including the beaches, and on down to the toe, where you’ll find a confusing, crazy British-style roundabout called Sea Pines Circle. It’s also the site of the Harbour Town Marina and the island’s oldest planned development, Sea Pines Plantation.