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South Carolina Day 2: Hunting Island State Park

29 November 2022 • 291 km / 181 mi (map)

  • Added to Eric Scouten :: Travel on 28 December 2022
  • South Carolina 21

We had heard a strong recommendation to check out Hunting Island State Park, so “on our way” from our friends’ house on Edisto Island to Charleston, we checked it out.

Now, driving along the coast in South Carolina is an exercise in avoiding large marshy river deltas, so it took us a fair while to get there, as you’ll see in the map below.

We started with a stroll on the beach (no photos) and then walked out on the Marsh Boardwalk to investigate one of the hammock islands.

A long wooden boardwalk stretches straight ahead across a golden coastal salt marsh, leading toward a distant gazebo and a line of pine trees on the horizon under a clear blue sky. Dark, still water reflecting the sky runs alongside the walkway through the tall marsh grasses.
Marsh Boardwalk, Hunting Island State Park, Hunting Island, South Carolina
A golden-brown coastal salt marsh with a narrow tidal creek winding through the tall grasses, where a lone white egret stands wading in the shallow water. Tall pines and moss-draped oaks rise on the left, with distant trees and a few buildings on the horizon under a clear blue sky.
Marsh Boardwalk, Hunting Island State Park, Hunting Island, South Carolina
A coastal salt marsh under a clear deep-blue sky, with golden grasses and a small pool of standing water in the foreground and clusters of pines and shrubs along the tree line in late afternoon light.
Marsh Boardwalk, Hunting Island State Park, Hunting Island, South Carolina
A tidal salt marsh with a calm winding creek reflecting a clear blue sky, surrounded by expansive golden-brown marsh grasses under low afternoon light, with faint contrails streaking the sky.
Marsh Boardwalk, Hunting Island State Park, Hunting Island, South Carolina
A white great egret perched atop a low tree amid coastal shrubs and bare branches, with golden marsh grass stretching to the horizon under a clear pale blue sky.
Marsh Boardwalk, Hunting Island State Park, Hunting Island, South Carolina
A white great egret with a yellow bill peers out from dense stands of tall marsh grasses in golden and green tones, its head and neck barely visible above the reeds.
Marsh Boardwalk, Hunting Island State Park, Hunting Island, South Carolina
A large white bird flies low with wings outstretched over a golden marsh, with a dense line of green trees in the background under a pale blue sky in late afternoon light.
Marsh Boardwalk, Hunting Island State Park, Hunting Island, South Carolina
The long shadows of two people cast across golden marsh grasses at a coastal wetland in late afternoon light, with dark, still water reflecting the reeds in the foreground and a line of pine trees and live oaks against a clear blue sky in the distance.
Self-Portrait in Shadows · Marsh Boardwalk, Hunting Island State Park, Hunting Island, South Carolina

A fisherman we met there encouraged us to go a few miles down the road to the Nature Center Scenic Trail. We did, and oh, what a good suggestion that was!

A gravel path leads through a subtropical forest lined with palmetto palms, saw palmetto fronds, and tall pines, lit by warm late-afternoon sunlight under a clear blue sky.
Nature Center Scenic Trail, Hunting Island State Park, Hunting Island, South Carolina
A coastal marsh scene at Hunting Island State Park, with palm trees and live oaks draped in Spanish moss framing a small still pond reflecting the sky. Golden late-afternoon sunlight filters through the trees, and saw palmetto fronds and grasses fill the foreground.
Nature Center Scenic Trail, Hunting Island State Park, Hunting Island, South Carolina
A wooden boardwalk with an arched span crosses a tidal creek through golden salt marsh grasses under a clear blue sky at Hunting Island State Park. Pines, oaks, and palms line the horizon in warm late-afternoon light, with a pine branch framing the upper left.
Nature Center Scenic Trail, Hunting Island State Park, Hunting Island, South Carolina

It was near dusk when we got there and — as with the night before — we were treated to beautiful sunset scenes.

A coastal salt marsh at sunset, with a winding tidal creek reflecting the golden sky on the left and expansive marsh grasses in the foreground. The low sun glows orange above a distant tree-lined horizon under a pale blue sky streaked with wispy clouds and contrails.
Nature Center Scenic Trail, Hunting Island State Park, Hunting Island, South Carolina
Nature Center Scenic Trail, Hunting Island State Park, Hunting Island, South Carolina · by Lisa Rozmyn
A calm tidal creek in a coastal marsh reflects a line of pines and cabbage palmettos growing on a grassy bank, backed by pale blue sky in the late afternoon light. Golden marsh grass rims the water’s edge with mudflats exposed below the vegetation.
Nature Center Scenic Trail, Hunting Island State Park, Hunting Island, South Carolina

Welcome to Boneyard Beach, where shifting sands have transformed a once-forested marsh into a sandy beach with the occasional remnants of now-lifeless trees.

A large weathered dead tree stands on a pale sandy beach with fallen driftwood scattered along the shoreline behind it, silhouetted against a clear sky that fades from deep blue overhead to warm orange near the horizon at dusk.
Little Hunting Island Boneyard Beach, Hunting Island State Park, Hunting Island, South Carolina
Weathered, barnacle-encrusted dead tree branches and stumps protruding from smooth wet gray sand on a tidal beach, some bleached white and others dark, at Boneyard Beach in Hunting Island State Park, South Carolina.
Little Hunting Island Boneyard Beach, Hunting Island State Park, Hunting Island, South Carolina
A bare, weathered dead tree standing in shallow ocean water at Boneyard Beach, its leafless branches silhouetted against a soft dusk sky graded from blue overhead to pink and peach near the horizon. A faint contrail streaks across the sky as gentle ripples move across the calm sea.
Little Hunting Island Boneyard Beach, Hunting Island State Park, Hunting Island, South Carolina
Little Hunting Island Boneyard Beach, Hunting Island State Park, Hunting Island, South Carolina · by Lisa Rozmyn
Nature Center Scenic Trail, Hunting Island State Park, Hunting Island, South Carolina · by Lisa Rozmyn
A tidal salt marsh at sunset, with a winding creek reflecting the orange glow of the low sun on the horizon. Silhouetted trees and a water tower line the distant shore, above marsh grass, exposed mudflats, and a still, glassy channel of water in the foreground.
Nature Center Scenic Trail, Hunting Island State Park, Hunting Island, South Carolina

We’ll be in Charleston the next few days. Looking forward to exploring this historic city!

Edisto Island to Hunting Island to Charleston, South Carolina · 291 km / 181 mi
(Mouse over or tap on the markers to see the photos there. Use the button to adjust the map’s position and zoom.)

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