The Beaches of Beaufort, SC
Here in Beaufort, SC to say we love the water is an understatement. Besides being on a boat, one of our favorite places to enjoy the water is on a beach! Often times we even use our boats to get to the beach! If you’re looking for some local knowledge on the beaches near Beaufort, SC this guide is for you.
All of our beaches are on barrier islands that are constantly being shaped by our strong currents, waves, and occasional tropical storms and hurricanes. These islands are also used by a wide variety of wildlife, birds, nesting sea turtles, etc. so you never know what you’ll see on them. Some of our barrier island beaches have bridges for convenient access while there are a number of other beaches that are only accessible by boat.
Hunting Island Beach
Hunting island State Park is by far our most popular beach in the Beaufort area. Being a state park, it is largely undeveloped and full of natural beauty. The main entrance is the most popular with parking in close vicinity to the beach and a historic lighthouse. The second entrance (closest to Fripp Island) has a cool nature center and requires a bit of a walk, around 2/5 of a mile, to get to the beach. Be sure to have bug spray as the misquotes on this trail can be really bad. The reward of this trail is that it lands you on the “boneyard beach” where the ocean has overtaken the forest and left trees strewn about for a unique beach experience. For those looking to camp, there is a well maintained state campground on the North end of the island that is a treat to stay at. There are quite a few trails on Hunting Island but most days we would recommend biking the longer trails to stay away from the mosquitos.
Beach Front: 4.5+ miles
Access: Public access with a fee/pass
Amenities: Restrooms in certain locations, nature centers, camping
Highlights: Light house, boneyard beach
Fripp Island Beach
Fripp Island, South Carolina, is a quiet, family-friendly private beach community adjacent to Hunting Island. The beaches on Fripp Island are wide, and gently sloping offering plenty of room to walk and bike. The island itself is developed but the development is low and surrounded but live oak trees. The island is known for its abundance of deer that are often seen wandering among homes.
Beach Front: 3 miles
Access: Gated with access available through vacation rentals and the resort
Amenities: Golf, marina, biking and walking trials
Highlights: Laid back beach community
Harbor Island Beach
Harbor Island is a quiet, gated beach community between Beaufort and Hunting Island. This is a small low island but it offers a great beach, good amenities and typically more affordable rentals than some other places in the area.
Beach Front: 1 Mile
Access: Gated with access available through vacation rentals
Amenities: Sports complex
Highlights: Laid back beach community
Sands Beach
Sands Beach is more of a sandbar that you can drive to but it is a popular place to visit for the the sun, sand, and water. The beach can be crowded on warm weekends so we prefer to visit it for sunrise, sunset, and during cooler months but it's an easy beach option for anyone in Beaufort and Port Royal. Sands beach itself was created from sand dredged from the Beaufort River and Battery Creek so it is not uncommon to find sharks teeth there. Another popular attraction to Sands beach is the waterfront boardwalk and observation tower that offer great views of the waterways and Parris Island. It is not uncommon to see dolphins cruising the river in-front of Sands Beach and the boardwalk.
Beach Front: .25 Mile
Access: Public access
Amenities: Port-a-jons, boardwalk
Hilton Head Island
Hilton Head Island’s beaches are about an hour from Beaufort. The island is one of the most popular vacation destinations on the East Coast so there is no shortage of information on it. While it’s a great place to vacation, most people in the Beaufort area would much rather visit the quieter Hunting Island when we go to the beach.
Boat Access Only Beaches
There are a number of boat access only beaches in Beaufort. These beaches see far fewer visitors so they are the best place to get away from crowds, find sea shells, and see wildlife and birds. To access these beaches you need a boat and a good grasp of what the tide is doing to make sure your boat doesn’t become stranded or float away. While the beaches are legal to use, anything above the mean high tide mark on these beaches is private land that is not permissible to access. These are by far our favorite beaches to visit but they do require some planning and local knowledge. Beaufort Dolphin Adventures does offer backcountry adventure trips to these beaches. These barrier islands include Bay Point, Bull Point, Capers and Prichards Island. St. Philips Island is a State Park and is accessible through the St. Philips Island Ferry from Hunting Island State Park.
Sand Bars
Another popular alternative to the regular beaches are our numerous sandbars. It is very common on weekends to see a number of boats congregated at the Beaufort Downtown Sandbar as well as others in the area. This is especially true during holidays and the Beaufort Water Festival Celebrations. Beaufort Dolphin Adventures offers trips to our local sandbars as part of our custom adventures and captained boat rentals.
Experience the Beaufort Beaches by Boat!
The Beaufortonian is our custom-built 14 passenger tour boat specifically made for navigating the Beaufort waterways. We offer a number of private boat tours including: