Hunting Island State Park

Get out of Town

This is one in a monthly servivce. Look for the next installment on Jan. 17.

The beauty of a great day trip or weekend getaway involves not only the destination but the journey.

A trip from Charleston to Hunting Island State Park, 16 miles east of Beaufort, offers plenty to see and do on both the trip and the island itself. While there is a great deal of road construction on U.S. Highway 21, few delays were encountered on a recent warm weekday.

Lowcountry treasures dot the roadside, making it hard to drive straight through:

-- Buy South Carolina-made products — such as muscadine cider, Carolina Gold rice and pickled garlic — at the Carolina Cider Co. near Yemassee. It is housed in an old general store that, thanks to a successful petition campaign, was saved from being torn down for road widening.

-- Enjoy what one local called the "best cheeseburger in the East" at Lowcountry Produce in Lobeco. While you wait, look for produce, such as tangerines and grapefruit grown on nearby St. Helena Island, and a variety of Southern canned and baked specialties. Locals also rave about the shrimpburger at The Shrimp Shack on St. Helena Island.

-- Stroll through historic Beaufort, which was discovered by the Spanish in 1514 and chartered by the British in 1711. The second oldest town in South Carolina features beautiful street scenes, a waterfront park and lots of small shops. Perhaps time your trip to experience a movie at the Highway 21 Drive-in in Beaufort.

The trip, however, doesn't trump the destination.

While Charleston has its fair share of barrier island beauty, few places compare to the wildness, accessibility and variety of Hunting Island, so named because it once was used extensively for hunting deer, waterfowl and raccoon.

The focal point of the island is the Hunting Island Lighthouse, which originally was constructed in 1859, rebuilt in 1875 (after being destroyed during the Civil War) and moved more than a mile inland in 1889. For just $2, you can walk 167 steps to the top of the lighthouse, which offers a stunning view from 132 feet of the 5,000-acre park's maritime forest canopy, the beach, marsh and expanse of Atlantic Ocean.

"People are awestruck by the view up here — most can't get over the fact that they are over the tops of the trees," says Sandra Harrell, an Upstate resident who is a volunteer lighthouse keeper with husband Charlie during November and December.

One stunning aspect of the island's 3-mile-long beach is the pine forest, which comes up to the mostly duneless edge of the beach. The forest features an understory of palmetto, dwarf palmetto and several "boneyard" areas, where the remains of sun-bleached, dead trees provide a natural sculpture garden.

Another unusual feature of Hunting Island is the lagoon, a perfect spot for fishing, floating on a raft and bird-watching (species include pelican, heron, oystercatcher, kingfisher and stork).

The lagoon, on the south end of the island, offers a chance to escape the wind and blowing sand of the beach. One factoid: Scenes from both "Forrest Gump" and "G.I. Jane" were shot here.

The island also offers an array of trails, including one measuring 5 miles, for walking, biking and running.

For those wanting to spend a night or two, or up to two weeks, the island has a 200-site campground on the north end for tent and RV camping (see box for more information), as well as more than a dozen state-owned cabins for up to eight people on the south end of the island. Rates range from $89 to $172. The cabins, however, tend to be in high demand from April to October. Renters tend to book 11 months in advance and must book the cabins for a week. The park doesn't allow pets at the cabins.

Private cabins, some of which look nicer than the state-owned ones, also are available for rent.

The Hunting Island staff offers nature programs and help at the Hunting Island State Park Visitor Center. When The Post and Courier arrived and asked questions, staffers seemed more interested in setting up a room for a banquet or party than taking a few minutes to provide help and feedback. The greeting at the guard shack was similarly gruff and short.

While everything can't be perfect, a day trip to Hunting Island, with or without side trips, probably will leave you wanting more.

Reach David Quick at 937-5516 or dquick@postandcourier.com.