City Information

Hilton Head Island's history stretches back much further than its modern-day resort roots. Once the land of Indian tribes who left intriguing oyster shell mounds behind. Later the land of English colonists who cultivated indigo and rice crops. And later still, as the 19th century dawned, the land of wealthy antebellum cotton planters.

As the site of the largest naval engagement of the Civil War, Hilton Head Island also played a critical role in that conflict-and paid a devastating price-its fields, fine plantation houses, and way of life destroyed.

Keeping The Gullah Culture Alive
Handed down through generations of native African-American Islanders, the Gullah culture of the sea islands, was once in danger of extinction. But today, thanks to the efforts of groups like the Beaufort-based African-American Cultural Center and Hilton Head's Native Island Gullah Celebration-as well as individuals like nationally known storytellers Ron & Natalie Daise and Marlena Smalls, whose Hallelujah Singers are artists in residence at The Arts Center of Coastal Carolina-the distinctive patois and traditional customs of the Gullah people live on across the Low country.

Heritage tours, festivals and live musical and storytelling performances offer a glimpse into this fascinating-and once largely invisible-side of the sea Islands' antebellum plantation culture.

Other interesting Island side trips include visits to Bluffton, just over the bridge on the mainland and Daufuskie Island, a brief ferry ride across Calibogue Sound.

Boasting the area's most extensive historic district and a quaint down-home Southern charm, Bluffton is a popular spot for antiquing and sightseeing. Stop first at the circa-1840 Heyward House Historic Center for information on tours and exhibits.

Daufuskie Island, once best known as the setting for author Pat Conroy's autobiographical novel, The Water Is Wide, is now known equally for its world class golf courses and beautiful beachfront. Gullah Heritage Tours offer an entertaining and enlightening introduction to the Island's native culture.

South Carolina history has seen it all - colonists from three different countries, historic struggles between nations and within a nation, the rise of the agrarian south, the fall of slavery and so much more. Native Americans, English, Spanish, and French colonists, pirates, African-Americans, and soldiers - all part of South Carolina history - have all left their footprints on the sands of South Carolina's Treasured Coast.

Evidence of early Hilton Head, South Carolina history dates to 1450 B.C. with The Indian Shell Ring in the Sea Pines Forest Preserve. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the site proves that the oyster has been a staple in Lowcountry cuisine for a very long time. In 1663, Sir William Hilton lent his name to the island while searching for the entrance to Port Royal. His glowing report of the ideal farming conditions promoted British colonization.

Explore the South Carolina outdoors, where the marshes, rivers, and forests compete with the ocean in daily beauty contests, you'll understand why this area is called the Treasured Coast. An astonishing variety of fish, fowl, and land animals graces our marshlands and sea coast. Walking or bicycling around Hilton Head or Bluffton is the best way to quietly eavesdrop on our wilder residents. You'll meet herons, egrets, wood ducks, Carolina chickadees, jays, bluebirds, and yellow-rumped warblers. Sing "Summertime" as you watch fish jump out of the water. See turtles sun themselves on the banks of lagoons, and catch glimpses of white-tail deer and small brown rabbits among the trees. Appreciate the food chain as you view marsh hawks hovering and hunting. Listen very carefully at low tide and you'll even hear the sounds of oysters in the mud.

The foliage is, quite simply, spectacular in any season. Tall, skinny pines share the landscape with redbuds, gum trees, Chinese tallow trees, and live oaks. Marsh grasses, ferns, orchids, water lilies, cattails, swamp potatoes, and flowers of every color, shape, and aroma will fill your senses as they fill the South Carolina outdoors.

Like the loggerhead turtles that toddle to the sea from their nests, you'll be drawn to the ocean and the flat, smooth beaches. Give in to the daily cycles of sunrises, sunsets, and the ebbing and flowing of the tide, and you'll find how easy it is to act naturally in the majestic South Carolina outdoors.

Use the Bluffton, Beaufort and Hilton Head, South Carolina outdoors & activities itineraries below to help plan your next Treasured Coast vacation. Featured itineraries for the South Carolina outdoors include Sun & Fun which features water sports, lighthouse tours, trolley tours, dolphin watches and beachfront activities; and Saddles & Paddles which features horseback riding, nature walks & lectures, wildlife refuges, water cruises and stargazing. What are you waiting for? Enjoy the great South Carolina outdoors!